WorldWideScience

Sample records for socio-cultural theoretical perspectives

  1. Socio-Cultural Perspectives on Causes and Intervention Strategies

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    AJRH Managing Editor

    Ngezi exclusively rely on socio-cultural intervention strategies to solve the problem of male infertility. ... infertility which integrates the socio-cultural perspectives in policy and programming, if ..... out that the concept of using traditional medicine.

  2. Evolution of Theoretical Perspectives in My Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otero, Valerie K.

    2009-11-01

    Over the past 10 years I have been using socio-cultural theoretical perspectives to understand how people learn physics in a highly interactive, inquiry-based physics course such as Physics and Everyday Thinking [1]. As a result of using various perspectives (e.g. Distributed Cognition and Vygotsky's Theory of Concept Formation), my understanding of how these perspectives can be useful for investigating students' learning processes has changed. In this paper, I illustrate changes in my thinking about the role of socio-cultural perspectives in understanding physics learning and describe elements of my thinking that have remained fairly stable. Finally, I will discuss pitfalls in the use of certain perspectives and discuss areas that need attention in theoretical development for PER.

  3. Risks in socio-cultural perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwee, S.L.

    1981-01-01

    An exposition is presented of the principles of a socio-cultural risk theory based on the statement 'Risk is structured uncertainty'. It deals with hazards of human behaviour, risk as a challenge, hazards in nature and in culture, in science and enterprise, to close with a few words on today's crisis and uncertainty. (Auth.)

  4. How do children construct a socio-cognitive understanding of minds? : A cultural perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Tsuji, Hiromi; Hiromi, TSUJI

    2010-01-01

    This paper reviews the studies investigating the social influence on the development of socio-cognitive understanding of minds from a cultural perspective. Research on the western indi vidualistic interpretation of the theory of mind is reviewed and implications from these studies are discussed. The cultural niche is then addressed with reference to existing culture studies. This paper will then discuss hypotheses that could be tested in order to help us reach a better explanation of “cul...

  5. Exploration of Food Culture in Kisumu: A Socio-Cultural Perspective

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    Fredrick Argwenge Odede

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available Increasingly food culture in the context of socio-cultural dimension is becoming important for sustainable urban development. In the last four years food festivals have been held in Kisumu attracting several interests both from within and without the City. The Kisumu fish night event of 2013 marked the melting point of food culture in Kisumu. This paper thus explores the noble intention of integrating food culture in Kisumu as a socio-cultural capital for the advancement of City sustainable development agenda. To an agrarian society, life is about food from its production, the processing/preservation up to the consumption or the sharing. People connect to their cultural or ethnic background through similar food patterns.  People from different cultural backgrounds eat different foods leading to the question: Are Luos in Kisumu defined by their own food culture? This study further investigated the mode of production, and storage of food resources, examined food cuisines of the Luo community in Kisumu, and assessed the food habits, practices and beliefs associated with food cuisines, as well as, the nutritional and socio-cultural values of Luo cuisines. The research employed qualitative methods of data collection such as interviews, observation, focused group discussion and photography using purposive and snowball sampling technique. Content analysis was used to draw general universal statements in thematic areas with respect to the research objectives. The study revealed that Luo community in Kisumu has a food culture laced with rich cultural practices, rituals and societal norms that defines them as a distinct cultural identity but interacts with other cultural groups in the metropolitan city of Kisumu. Further, the study confirms that indeed food culture is vital for sustainable development of urban centre granted that Kisumu largely evolved as urban centre for exchange of goods for food.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  7. Workplace learning from a socio-cultural perspective: creating developmental space during the general practice clerkship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Zwet, J; Zwietering, P J; Teunissen, P W; van der Vleuten, C P M; Scherpbier, A J J A

    2011-08-01

    Workplace learning in undergraduate medical education has predominantly been studied from a cognitive perspective, despite its complex contextual characteristics, which influence medical students' learning experiences in such a way that explanation in terms of knowledge, skills, attitudes and single determinants of instructiveness is unlikely to suffice. There is also a paucity of research which, from a perspective other than the cognitive or descriptive one, investigates student learning in general practice settings, which are often characterised as powerful learning environments. In this study we took a socio-cultural perspective to clarify how students learn during a general practice clerkship and to construct a conceptual framework that captures this type of learning. Our analysis of group interviews with 44 fifth-year undergraduate medical students about their learning experiences in general practice showed that students needed developmental space to be able to learn and develop their professional identity. This space results from the intertwinement of workplace context, personal and professional interactions and emotions such as feeling respected and self-confident. These forces framed students' participation in patient consultations, conversations with supervisors about consultations and students' observation of supervisors, thereby determining the opportunities afforded to students to mind their learning. These findings resonate with other conceptual frameworks and learning theories. In order to refine our interpretation, we recommend that further research from a socio-cultural perspective should also explore other aspects of workplace learning in medical education.

  8. Typology of Video Gamers in Croatia: Some Socio-Cultural Characteristics

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    Krešimir Krolo

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available This article presents the results of a large scale online survey of the video gaming population in Croatia (N=3251 conducted in 2014. The theoretical part discusses approaches to mapping of videogaming profiles, as well as problems in defining and conceptualizing the video gamer and video gaming as a culture, relying first and foremost on compatible sociological perspectives (Crawford, 2011. The emphasis is laid on the importance of expanding the standard socio- demographic elements of profiling in order to establish a more concise typology of video gamers. The methodological part describes the instruments used, the main characteristics of the sample, as well as the cluster analysis method that was used in creating the video gamers typology. The results of the cluster analysis point to the existence of six different gaming types, grouped mainly around genre preferences but also pointing to differences considering the level of self-identification with gaming culture, intensity of playing, participatory practices and selected dimensions of value orientations. The additional analysis of the clusters shows differences among gamers in terms of technological, content-based and interaction-based characteristics of genres, concluding that specific genres are more compatible with those players that are more tolerant, whilst others are linked more to the insular and particular socio-cultural frameworks.

  9. 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...

  10. Socio-Economic Perspectives of Male Sexual Challenges and Inter ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Socio-Economic Perspectives of Male Sexual Challenges and Inter-Spousal Communication in a Mono-Cultural Setting. ... for all men who have sexual health challenges in order to stimulate mutual harmonious communication between husband and wife and enhance effective management of crisis at home fronts.

  11. Socio-cultural workshops with children and youth from the Social Occupational Therapy perspective

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    Giovanna Bardi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Occupational therapists, throughout the history, faced the need to offer actions pertaining to socio-cultural issues in different populations with whom they interact, being required to develop actions relevant to these contexts. In addition, interventions specifically within the scope of culture have also been understood as the scope of this work. Objective: To report the METUIA experience of the ‘Universidade Federal do Espirito Santo’, illustrating, from the perspective of social occupational therapy, cultural workshops and individual and territorial follow-ups during six months, in the cultural context of a suburb neighborhood in the city of Vitoria, ES, Brazil. Method: The activities collective development aimed at expanding the support of social networks, the empowerment of children and youth participants and the joint construction of processes of autonomy, social participation and life projects to their own cultural identities. Results: The cultural workshops provided the identification of different demands by the children, adolescents and young people, based on the articulation between different views and reflections that were placed in shock through the recognition of alterity between the groups and occupational therapists. Conclusion: It is hoped that the experiments described here can contribute to the consolidation of occupational therapists actions in culture, bringing elements that can promote reflections for a field that still needs to be systematized as a producer of professional practice and research, especially in the social area.

  12. Understanding Socio Technical Modularity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thuesen, Christian Langhoff; Kudsk, Anders; Hvam, Lars

    2011-01-01

    Modularity has gained an increasing popularity as a central concept for exploring product structure, process structure, organization structure and supply chain structure. With the offset in system theory the predominant understanding of modularity however faces difficulties in explaining the social...... dimension of modularity like irrational behaviors, cultural differences, learning processes, social organization and institutional influences on modularity. The paper addresses this gab offering a reinterpretation of the modularity concept from a socio-technical perspective in general and Actor Network...... Theory in particular. By formulating modularity from an ANT perspective covering social, material and process aspects, the modularity of a socio-technical system can be understood as an entanglement of product, process, organizational and institutional modularity. The theoretical framework is illustrated...

  13. The Effectiveness of Urban Green Spaces and Socio-Cultural Facilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mehmet Faruk Altunkasa

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper aims to develop a theoretical approach for mapping and determining the effectiveness of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities as providers of urban ecosystem services and urban services in the case of Adana, Turkey. Firstly, green spaces and socio-cultural facilities per capita have been determined and indexed for the neighbourhoods in the city. Then, a distance-based method for estimating the effectiveness of these facilities was used. The distances between the various neighbourhoods and between a given facility and the farthest threshold have been measured and these values have been used to determine the facility effectiveness change value for each neighbourhood. Then, effective values have been calculated and indexed by incorporating the green space and socio-cultural facility values and the effectiveness change values for the neighbourhoods. Finally, point-based effective green spaces and socio-cultural facilities index values have been converted to continuous surface values in a GIS (geographic information system environment in order to utilize as a base map for urban physical planning purposes. According to the outcomes of this study, the distribution of green spaces and socio-cultural facilities of the neighbourhoods are imbalanced and index values of these facilities range in between 45 and 84 out of 100.

  14. Understanding Stakeholders’ Views and the Influence of the Socio-Cultural Dimension on the Adoption of Solar Energy Technology in Lebanon

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Houda Elmustapha

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available In light of climate change and global commitments, a great amount of programs and policies have been implemented by governments targeting the diffusion of renewable energy technologies. Successful diffusion relies on the understanding, persuasion and acceptance by consumers and other stakeholders. This article investigates the views, roles and influence of stakeholders on the adoption of solar energy technology in Lebanon. The main research questions are: What are the stakeholders’ views, roles and influence on the diffusion process of solar energy technologies? And are specific socio-cultural factors therein that influenced adoption? The influence of different stakeholders (end users, public representatives, banking sector, suppliers, consultants and NGOs was assessed via qualitative data analysis, in particular semi-structured interviews. Our research perspective combines grounded and critical theoretical approaches with a case study research design allowing for a semi-inductive process to elaborate and complement new insights to the current body of literature on adoption of clean technology innovation, with a particular focus on the socio-cultural dimension. The results show that contextual factors, specifically related to the social, cultural, geographic and market dimensions, played a crucial role in shaping market development, especially in relation to the uptake of solar energy technology by different consumer groups. Based on the results of this study we argue that more scholarly attention should be awarded to the influence of the socio-cultural dimension and stakeholders’ perspectives on adoption of renewable energy technology.

  15. A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Children's Early Language: A Family Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marjanovic-Umek, Ljubica; Fekonja-Peklaj, Urška; Socan, Gregor; Tašner, Veronika

    2015-01-01

    This study examines the effect of certain socio-cultural factors of the family environment on the language of toddlers and children in early childhood. The sample included 86 families with one- to six-year-old children. The data on the social, economic, and cultural factors of the family environment, parental reading literacy, parental knowledge…

  16. Physical culture as a phenomenon of the development of socio-cultural competence of future teachers of physical education

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    I.V. Ivanii

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose : to substantiate the phenomenon of formation of physical culture of the individual in terms of theoretical and methodological approaches to the development of socio-cultural competence of future teachers. Material : 22 literary sources analyzed on the issue of formation of physical culture of the individual. Used cultural studies, axiological and competence approach. Results : define the concept of socio-cultural competence of the teacher of physical education. Competence is considered as an integrative motivational tumor - activity sphere of the individual. It determines the focus of an expert on the formation of spiritual values and is the foundation for its further self-development. Disclosed structure sociocultural competence of the teacher in the unity components: cognitive, motivational-value, behavioral. For each component defined system of spiritual values. The system covers the socio- psychological, mental and cultural values of physical culture. Conclusions : the sociocultural competence of the teacher of physical education meaningful and functionally related to the values of the physical culture of the individual. Spiritual, value the personality of the teacher - is the foundation for all of the components of socio-cultural competence. This competence provides social and cultural development of the individual.

  17. Socio-Cultural Factors and International Competitiveness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Madara Apsalone

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Socio-cultural factors – shared values, norms and attitudes are significant, but less acknowledged sources of international competitiveness. Previous studies have found socio-cultural factors positively affecting various aspects of international competitiveness – entrepreneurship, innovation, productivity and international cooperation. These factors are more sustainable and less affected by external environment changes in comparison with the traditional factors. Socio-cultural factors provide an opportunity to develop competitiveness strategies based on unique advantages. This research aims to explore the impact of socio-cultural factors on international competiveness in small, open economies. Analysing relationship between 400 socio-cultural indicators and competitiveness indicators such as productivity, economic development, business and government efficiency, innovation capacity and infrastructure in 37 countries, six socio-cultural factors have emerged: Collectivism and Hierarchy; Future, Cooperation and Performance Orientation, Self-expression, Monochronism and Rationality, Economic Orientation and Social structure. The first factor – Collectivism and Hierarchy – tends to reduce the international competitiveness; the other five affect it positively.

  18. A Socio-Cultural Model Based on Empirical Data of Cultural and Social Relationship

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lipi, Afia Akhter; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Matthias

    2010-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to integrate culture and social relationship as a computational term in an embodied conversational agent system by employing empirical and theoretical approach. We propose a parameter-based model that predicts nonverbal expressions appropriate for specific cultures...... in different social relationship. So, first, we introduce the theories of social and cultural characteristics. Then, we did corpus analysis of human interaction of two cultures in two different social situations and extracted empirical data and finally, by integrating socio-cultural characteristics...... with empirical data, we establish a parameterized network model that generates culture specific non-verbal expressions in different social relationships....

  19. Accidental naturalism: criticism of a theoretical model of socio-ecological legitimacy

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    Santiago M. Cruzada

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This article proposes the need for a theoretical review on the current epistemological assumption that establishes the dichotomy nature-society as a cornerstone of a broad worldview for western contexts. We will discuss the anthropological perspectives that assume that in these spaces, generically without nuances, social practice and ideas are not constructed in such a close relationship to the environment, falling under a belief that nature exists outside the human will. We will debate the naive ethnological essentialism that position naturalism as a central model of a socio-european worldview, characterized by dualistic patterns that have enabled monistic paradigms of socio-ecological relationships to be established at the same time, and in contrast to this, in other parts of the world.

  20. Socio-cultural animation in hospitals and the right to access culture

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    Dušana Findeisen

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Socio-cultural animation has a long tradition in French hospitals. It started in most probability with a theatre performance staged by Marquis de Sade between 1800-1810, while he was patient of a Parisian hospital. The theatrical performance was attended by ”le Tout Paris” – all notables of the city. In 1999, a convention of ”Culture and Health” was signed and culture has been moving to hospitals ever since, transforming them into open institutions, with patients and staff having acquired a different perspective on body and culture. Moreover, Slovenian Third Age University has been educating and training cultural mediators (its students for transmitting culture and knowledge gained at the U3A to patients, patients’ relatives and staff within the University Clinical Centre Ljubljana. In this article, author sets a frame of mind for examining the importance and implications of a fundamental universal right – the right to culture.

  1. The Aesthetic Value of Socio-Cultural Identities and the Cultural Dimension of the Landscape

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    Lazaros Elias Mavromatidis

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper summarizes an individual theoretical study on how the landscape could be shaped by economic globalization and political restructuring. Providing a socio-cultural approach to the landscape notion I am trying to discover through the international literature the subjective dimension on landscape definition, in order to understand its ‘cultural dimension’. In this paper, the notion of ‘virtual landscape’ is introduced in order to investigate the incoherence that exists in the nowadays megacities regarding their social reality and their iconic existence through architecture and urban planning. In addition, it is also explored in theory how an ideological turn is re-inforced through political orientation focusing on ‘virtual landscape’ images in order to obtain a favorable publicity in a contemporary context of ‘globalised cities’ consisting in the elimination of the ‘cultural landscape’. Therefore, this contribution has as main objective to define, negotiate and start the debate on radical socio-cultural approaches of landscape notion in the nowadays ‘megacities’, inside a strict capitalistic context.

  2. ADOLESCENCE IN DEBATE: THEORETICAL CONTRIBUTIONS IN THE LIGHT OF THE HISTORICAL-CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

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    Candida de Souza

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available In the studies about adolescence, it is noticeable that psychology has more and more been invited to give answers to questions pertaining this specific period of the human development. The historical-cultural perspective proposed by Lev Semenovich Vygotsky and his followers has represented an important theoretical approach to the comprehension of the human being. Thus, this study aims to offer contributions to the debate about adolescence as a social category and a particular stage of the cultural development of subjects. In this way, the main ideas of this Russian theorist are presented here, incorporating them into the discussion that is still incipient in the studies of the historical-cultural perspective: the role of the body in the constitution of subjects. With this starting point, we build arguments that reinforce the monolithic characteristic of the constitution of the human being, where the mind and the body are inseparable parts of the same gear, that develop together along the lifespan, through the social relations of the individuals with the environmental elements. As final considerations, it is pointed out that the role of the body in the process of developing a conceptual thought – a specific characteristic of adolescence – cannot be neglected when we propose the goal to understand the constitution of the totality of the human psyche.

  3. Approach to assessing local socio-cultural impacts using projections of population growth and composition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baldwin, T. E.; Poetsch, R.

    1977-08-01

    All assessment of future domestic development projects assumes that the problems to be examined have been properly identified and defined before the application of a projection technique. An attempt is made to codify socio-cultural problems mentioned in literature and clarify how existing demographic projection techniques can be applied to assessing the problems. The relationship between changes in local population size and composition induced by in-migration and the potential for socio-cultural incompatibilities is described heuristically. For simplification, the problems expected to emerge from differences in demographic composition are classified into three categories: (1) service needs, such as those for housing, recreation, and education; (2) types of social organizations related to capacities for, or constraints on, reaping the benefits of rapid economic development and social changes (e.g., employment and income); and (3) attitudes, values, and cultural perspectives. These areas of concern are very broad, and quantitative projections of population size and composition are more easily related to the first than to the third. Although demographic projection provides a valuable tool for estimating future social change, the knowledge about cause and effect is not sufficient to support the quantification of socio-cultural impact. Therefore, the projections are used only as relative indicators and the assessments of socio-cultural impact based on them are qualitative only. Therefore, identification and assessment of socio-cultural impacts are a means of developing plans to overcome the expected problems.

  4. Articulating cultures: socio-cultural experiences of black female ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Articulating cultures: socio-cultural experiences of black female immigrant students in South African schools 1. ... Gender and Behaviour ... and worrisome issue is that of the erosion of the social and cultural mores of Black3 immigrant students.

  5. Theoretical perspectives on narrative inquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Emden, C

    1998-04-01

    Narrative inquiry is gaining momentum in the field of nursing. As a research approach it does not have any single heritage of methodology and its practitioners draw upon diverse sources of influence. Central to all narrative inquiry however, is attention to the potential of stories to give meaning to people's lives, and the treatment of data as stories. This is the first of two papers on the topic and addresses the theoretical influences upon a particular narrative inquiry into nursing scholars and scholarship. The second paper, Conducting a narrative analysis, describes the actual narrative analysis as it was conducted in this same study. Together, the papers provide sufficient detail for others wishing to pursue a similar approach to do so, or to develop the ideas and procedures according to their own way of thinking. Within this first theoretical paper, perspectives from Jerome Bruner (1987) and Wade Roof (1993) are outlined. These relate especially to the notion of stories as 'imaginative constructions' and as 'cultural narratives' and as such, highlight the profound importance of stories as being individually and culturally meaningful. As well, perspectives on narrative inquiry from nursing literature are highlighted. Narrative inquiry in this instance lies within the broader context of phenomenology.

  6. Socio-cultural factors and youth entrepreneurship in rural regions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eduardo Gómez-Araujo

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – This paper aims to demonstrate the impact of two important socio-cultural factors on the level of the entrepreneurial activity of young individuals in rural regions. Design/methodology/approach – Our empirical study is based on a sample collected from an adult population survey, and analyzed using a logit model that controls for territorial and aging sources of heterogeneity. Our theoretical framework is anchored on a contingency perspective that emphasizes the unique influences of the contextual environment in driving entrepreneurial behavior. Findings – The main findings of our study is that in Spain the likelihood of being entrepreneurially active is no different for young and old individuals, and between rural and urban regions. Surprisingly, unlike shown in most studies, entrepreneurial role models do not have any effect on the entrepreneurship by young individuals in rural regions of Spain, while the negative impact of fear of failure in the entrepreneurship on young individuals in rural regions is much higher compared to the rest of the population. Originality/value – Our findings reveal that the context (regional has a more significant impact on entrepreneurship for some segments (younger individuals of the population than for others.

  7. Responsible Practices are Culturally Embedded: Theoretical Considerations on Industry-Specific Corporate Social Responsibility

    OpenAIRE

    Beschorner, Thomas; Hajduk, Thomas

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we develop our argument in three steps: Firstly, we elaborate on some theoretical perspectives for industry-specific CSR by referring to cultural business ethics, a theoretical approach which is located between purely business perspectives and purely normative perspectives on CSR. Secondly, we briefly introduce the papers of this special issue, which covers a wide range of theoretical approaches and empirical studies in the field of industry-specific CSR. Thirdly, we draw atten...

  8. Commitment in Age-Gap Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: A Test of Evolutionary and Socio-Cultural Predictions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehmiller, Justin J.; Agnew, Christopher R.

    2008-01-01

    Little research has addressed age-gap romantic relationships (romantic involvements characterized by substantial age differences between partners). Drawing on evolutionary and socio-cultural perspectives, the present study examined normative beliefs and commitment processes among heterosexual women involved in age-gap and age-concordant…

  9. Internationalization of enterprises: theoretical perspectives and research agenda

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eda Castro Lucas de Souza

    2012-07-01

    Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5007/2175-8077.2012v14n33p103 The purpose of this essay is to identifythe scientific literature on internationalization of companies, and to present a research agenda on the subject. In addition, this work intends to outline and to describe the theoretical perspectives that predominate in this production. Through the review of academic literature on internationalization, from January 2005 to September2011, 141articles were selected, exposing the lack of studies that promote a direct discussion about the relationship between internationalization and culture, in particular with regard to Brazilian initiatives. Through the analysis of the selected texts it was introduced a taxonomy of three theoretical perspectives: economic, behavioral and cultural. Supported by the discussion in the published articles, a research agenda is proposed, compiled from the shortcomings pointed out in the state of art of studies on this phenomenon.

  10. Effect of mangrove rehabilitation on socio-cultural of pulau sembilan society, North Sumatera, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Basyuni, M.; Harahap, F. K.; Wati, R.; Putri, L. A. P.

    2018-03-01

    Mangrove forests in North Sumatera, Indonesia existed in the east coast of Sumatera Island and commonly found in Serdang Bedagai, Deli Serdang, Batubara, Tanjung Balai, Asahan, Labuhanbatu until Langkat. The effect of rehabilitated mangrove on socio-cultural of Pulau Sembilan society, Langkat, North Sumatra, Indonesia was studied. The rehabilitation was carried on May 2015 using indirect planting of 2,100 Rhizophora apiculata seedlings. Two times of observations, May and August 2015 were made to monitor and evaluate 400 rehabilitated seedlings. Sixty of 600 households were surveyed using Slovin formula to obtain community perspective on the socio-cultural impact of mangrove rehabilitation. Results showed that the growth of R. apiculata seedlings were 73.3% during four months observations. The restoration affected 65, 58.3 and 35 % of economic, social, and cultural of Pulau Sembilan society, respectively. The perspective of community on the land-use change led to 66.7% was disagreed that mangroves to be converted, 60% respondents stated that mangrove condition was degraded even worse than previously existed. Therefore, to resolve the degraded mangrove, community perspective on rehabilitation was needed (85.5%) and actively involved (88.3%). The present results suggested that the high recommendation for a rehabilitation program for the degraded area was by integrating the stake holders (government, university, and non-governmental organization) and local communities count on the mangrove ecosystems.

  11. The importance of socio-cultural context for understanding students' meaning making in the study of genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Furberg, Anniken; Arnseth, Hans Christian

    2009-03-01

    In this rejoinder to Ann Kindfield and Grady Venville's comments on our article "Reconsidering conceptual change from a socio-cultural perspective: Analyzing students' meaning making in genetics in collaborative learning activities," we elaborate on some of the critical issues they raise. Their comments make apparent some of the crucial differences between a socio-cultural and a socio-cognitive approach towards conceptual change. We have selected some issues that are addressed, either implicitly or explicitly, in their comments. The main issues discussed are talk and interaction as data, the significance of context in interaction studies, the feasibility of generic claims in small-scale interaction studies, and the difference between studying students' understanding of science concepts as opposed to studying the construction of meaning.

  12. Evaluating Safety Culture Under the Socio-Technical Complex Systems Perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lemos, F. L. de

    2016-01-01

    procedures for equipment operation are ignored. However, when it comes to more subtle interactions between system components, it becomes harder to detect potentially hazardous situations that are hidden, and can lead the system to hazardous states. For example, leaders can take decisions that are in conflict with decisions taken by other colleagues at a very different department, and without knowing, be contributing to future unintended consequences to the system. Such a situation may not be easily detected by direct observation. This explains why having a good safety culture seems not to be enough to assure the safety of the system. According to STAMP principals, safety is a problem of flaws in the control of the interactions between components of the system, and not only a problem of failures of components of the system. Remember that safety culture defines a property of part of the system, which could be considered as a component of the system. We can find examples of companies that, even having well evaluated safety culture, or organizational culture, fail to keep their high safety standards. In this work we propose a methodology that integrates safety culture in the control structure of the system. It is based on STAMP: Systems Theoretic Accident Models and Processes, and the Three Lenses: Strategic, Political and Cultural Approaches. It can help evaluate either the existing safety culture of a Nuclear Power Plant or the implementation of new safety culture projects. STAMP is based on the assumption that accidents are a result of flawed control over the interactions between components of a system. Where, control structure is a model of the system in terms of control loops. To understand how the control structure of a system can be corrupted, and therefore, leading the system to hazardous conditions, the methodology of the Three Lenses is applied. By following this approach it becomes possible to keep all the safety culture traits but, instead of focus on safety culture

  13. Students’ Socio-cultural Competence Development, Using English and Russian Phraseological Units

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Umit I. Kopzhasarova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the problem of socio-cultural competence development on the basis of using English and Russian phraseological units. The authors specify the essence of the socio-cultural competence, define socio-cultural component of foreign language teaching. The authors justify their viewpoint that phraseological units, being the most valuable source of cultural information, exposing background knowledge and culture specific vocabulary, are the effective means of socio-cultural competence development. The set of exercises on socio-cultural competence development on the material of English and Russian phraseological units, developed by authors, include language and speech tasks; tasks based on project and creative research activity methods, which are the basis of development of the main socio-cultural skills that are necessary in intercultural communication

  14. Socio-cultural impacts of contemporary tourism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jovicić, Dobrica

    2011-06-01

    The topic of the paper is devoted to analysis of socio-cultural impacts of tourism, as effects on the people of host communities resulting from their direct and indirect associations with tourists. The social and cultural impacts of tourism are the ways in which tourism is contributing to changes in value systems, individual behavior, family structure and relationships, collective lifestyles, safety levels, moral conduct, traditional ceremonies and community organizations. Special attention is devoted to considering complexity of tourists/host interrelationships and discussing the techniques for appraisal of quality and quantity of socio-cultural changes which tourism provokes in local communities.

  15. Towards generalizing co-evolutionary dynamics of socio-hydrology: Theoretical frameworks of cultural evolution and robustness-fragility tradeoff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, W. S.; Yu, D. J.; Davis, T.; Hillis, V.; Waring, T. M.

    2017-12-01

    One ongoing challenge to socio-hydrology is the problem of generalization: to what extent do common human-water co-evolutions exist across distinct cases and what are underlying mechanisms of these co-evolutions. This problem stems in part from a lack of unifying theories in socio-hydrology, which hinders the explanation and generalization of results between cases in different regions. Theories help an analyst to make assumptions that are necessary to diagnose a specific phenomenon, to explain the general mechanisms of causation, and, thus, to predict future outcomes. To help address the issue, this study introduces two theories that are increasingly used in the fields of sustainability science and social-ecological systems research: robustness-fragility tradeoff (RFTO) and cultural multi-level selection (CMLS). We apply each of these theories to two distinct cases (water management issues in southwest Bangladesh and the Kissimmee River Basin, Florida) and interpret the phenomena of the levee and adaptation effects. CMLS and RFTO focus on complementary aspects of socio-hydrological phenomena. The theory of RFTO, which is mostly about inherent tradeoffs associated with infrastructure improvements, explains how efforts to increase system robustness can generate hidden endogenous risks. CMLS theory, rooted in the broader theory of cultural evolution, concerns how human cultural dynamics can act as an endogenous driver of system change across multiple levels of social organizations. Using the applied examples, we demonstrate that these two theories can provide an effective way to study social-hydrological systems and to overcome the generalization problem. Our work shows that multiple theories can be synthesized to give a richer understanding of diverse socio-hydrological patterns.

  16. Socio-economic and Socio-cultural Reversals in Sembene ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The Class Struggle and Social Truth in this novel is investigated through the ... and voiceless women who have now become 'men' who provide nurturance to their ... the mainstream socio-political, economic, cultural and judiciary affairs of their ...

  17. Education for participatory democracy: A Grade R perspective ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper proposes a form of Grade R pedagogy in South African schools that addresses both the diverse realities of South Africa's children and the principles underpinning a participatory democracy. The community of enquiry pedagogy we propose is based on a socio-cultural historical theoretical perspective and focuses ...

  18. Socio-material perspectives on interprofessional team and collaborative learning.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMurtry, Angus; Rohse, Shanta; Kilgour, Kelly N

    2016-02-01

    Interprofessional teamwork and collaboration have become important parts of health care practice and education. Most of the literature on interprofessional learning, however, assumes that learning is something acquired by individuals and readily transferred to other contexts. This assumption severely limits the ways in which interprofessional educators and researchers can conceptualise and support learning related to collaborative interprofessional health care. Socio-material theories provide an alternative to individualistic, acquisition-oriented notions by reconceiving learning in terms of collective dynamics, participation in social communities and active engagement with material contexts. Socio-material literature and theories were reviewed to identify concepts relevant to interprofessional learning. After briefly summarising the origins and key principles of socio-material approaches, the authors draw upon specific socio-material theories--including complexity theory, cultural-historical activity theory and actor-network theory--in order to reconceive how learning happens in interprofessional contexts. This reframing of interprofessional learning focuses less on individuals and more on collective dynamics and the actual social and material relations involved in practice. The paper proposes five ways in which learning may be enacted in interprofessional teamwork and collaboration from a socio-material perspective: (i) diverse contributions; (ii) social interactions and relationships; (iii) synthesis of professional ideas; (iv) integration of material elements, and (v) connections to large-scale organisations. For each of these categories, the paper provides practical illustrations to assist educators and researchers who wish to identify and assess this learning. Although more exploratory than comprehensive, this paper articulates many key aspects of socio-material learning theories and offers practical guidance for those who wish to employ and assess them in

  19. Teaching Probability: A Socio-Constructivist Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sashi

    2015-01-01

    There is a considerable and rich literature on students' misconceptions in probability. However, less attention has been paid to the development of students' probabilistic thinking in the classroom. This paper offers a sequence, grounded in socio-constructivist perspective for teaching probability.

  20. Assessment Leaders' Perspectives of Institutional Cultures of Assessment: A Delphi Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fuller, Matthew; Henderson, Susan; Bustamante, Rebecca

    2015-01-01

    Institutional cultures of assessment are praised as beneficial to student learning. Yet, extant studies have not explored the theoretical foundations and pragmatic approaches to shaping cultures of assessment. The researchers used the Delphi method to explore 10 higher education assessment leaders' attitudes and theoretical perspectives regarding…

  1. Socio-theoretic Accounts of IS

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rose, Jeremy; Jones, Matthew

    2005-01-01

    A long-standing debate in the IS literature concerns the relationship between technology and organization. Does technology cause effects in organizations, or is it humans that determine how technology is used? Many socio-theoretic accounts of a middle way between the extremes of technological...... confusion. This paper argues that neither structuration theory nor actor network theory offers a particularly convincing account of the interaction of humans and machines, and that their different accounts of agency make them hard to integrate in any meaningful way. Comparing the two theories and their use...

  2. Education for Participatory Democracy: A Grade R Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linington, Vivien; Excell, Lorayne; Murris, Karin

    2011-01-01

    This paper proposes a form of Grade R pedagogy in South African schools that addresses both the diverse realities of South Africa's children and the principles underpinning a participatory democracy. The community of enquiry pedagogy we propose is based on a socio-cultural historical theoretical perspective and focuses on the nurturing of a…

  3. Foundations of Socio-Cultural Ecology: Consequences for Media Education and Mobile Learning in Schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Klaus Rummler

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available This conceptual paper offers insights to the foundations of Socio-Cultural Ecology and relates this concept to traditional concepts of Ecology e.g. media ecology or Bronfenbrenner’s ecological model of child development. It will further discuss the term «ecology» as a relation between learners and their surrounding physical and structural world, e. g. an ecology of resources or the classroom as an ecological system. Thirdly more recent concepts in ecology will be considered e. g. Digital Media Ecology including media ecology (German: Medienökologie from a German perspective. This contribution tries to describe common principles of (media ecologies and will ask after their meaning and relation to media education and mobile learning. One of the main results is the realisation that cultural practices of school learning and cultural practices of media acquisition take place in different worlds or in different ecological spheres. The question is thus again of how to bridge these ecological spheres, and how «agency» developed outside school, can be nourished inside school. In other words: how can we bridge socio-cultural and technological structures within these cultural practices.

  4. Oral health in children and adolescents with different socio-cultural and socio-economic backgrounds

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Lisa Bøge; Twetman, Svante; Sundby, Annette

    2010-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: To describe the occurrence and severity of dental caries in children and adolescents and to relate these findings to the subject's socio-cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study in 12 706 children aged 5, 7, 12 and 15 years was conducted...... in 2006. Data on children's caries experience were collected from public oral health registers and pooled with socio-cultural and socio-economic data obtained from official statistics. The study population represented 76% of all registered inhabitants. RESULTS: Among 5- and 7-year-old children with non...... preventive strategy is proposed to meet the needs of children in risk of caries, and appropriate oral health-promotion programmes should be organized in collaboration with leaders from different ethnic minorities....

  5. Simulation-based education: understanding the socio-cultural complexity of a surgical training 'boot camp'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cleland, Jennifer; Walker, Kenneth G; Gale, Michael; Nicol, Laura G

    2016-08-01

    The focus of simulation-based education (SBE) research has been limited to outcome and effectiveness studies. The effect of social and cultural influences on SBE is unclear and empirical work is lacking. Our objective in this study was to explore and understand the complexity of context and social factors at a surgical boot camp (BC). A rapid ethnographic study, employing the theoretical lenses of complexity and activity theory and Bourdieu's concept of 'capital', to better understand the socio-cultural influences acting upon, and during, two surgical BCs, and their implications for SBE. Over two 4-day BCs held in Scotland, UK, an observer and two preceptors conducted 81 hours of observations, 14 field interviews and 11 formal interviews with faculty members (n = 10, including the lead faculty member, session leaders and junior faculty members) and participants (n = 19 core surgical trainees and early-stage residents). Data collection and inductive analysis for emergent themes proceeded iteratively. This paper focuses on three analytical themes. First, the complexity of the surgical training system and wider health care education context, and how this influenced the development of the BC. Second, participants' views of the BC as a vehicle not just for learning skills but for gaining 'insider information' on how best to progress in surgical training. Finally, the explicit aim of faculty members to use the Scottish Surgical Bootcamp to welcome trainees and residents into the world of surgery, and how this occurred. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first empirical study of a surgical BC that takes a socio-cultural approach to exploring and understanding context, complexities, uncertainties and learning associated with one example of SBE. Our findings suggest that a BC is as much about social and cultural processes as it is about individual, cognitive and acquisitive learning. Acknowledging this explicitly will help those planning similar enterprises and

  6. Cultural norm fulfillment, interpersonal belonging, or getting ahead? : A large-scale cross-cultural test of three perspectives on the function of self-esteem

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gebauer, J.E.; Sedikides, C.; Wagner, J.; Bleidorn, W.; Rentfrow, P.J.; Potter, J.; Gosling, S.D.

    2015-01-01

    What is the function of self-esteem? We classified relevant theoretical work into 3 perspectives. The cultural norm-fulfillment perspective regards self-esteem a result of adherence to cultural norms. The interpersonal-belonging perspective regards self-esteem as a sociometer of interpersonal

  7. The Subjectivity of the Translator and Socio-Cultural Norms

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pei, Denghua

    2010-01-01

    This thesis attempts to probe into the dialectical relationship between the subjectivity of the translator and socio-cultural norms. The socio-cultural norms inevitably regulate the translator's translating activity, as acceptability of the translated text is the primary concern of most translators. However, this does not mean that the…

  8. Attitudes Towards Foreign-born Settlers: Finland in a Comparative Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heikki Ervasti

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The present paper focuses on the Finnish attitudinal climate towards foreign-born settlers, i.e. immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers in a comparative perspective. Two theoretical approaches are tested: 1 the socio-economic explanation in which prejudice is seen as an outcome of the original majority population fearing a decline of their socio-economic position, and 2 a culturally oriented explanation which refers to fears concerning the possible negative cultural effects of immigration. Using survey data from the ? rst round of the European Social Survey (ESS on Finland and 18 other countries, we ? nd that at the most general level, Finns do hold comparatively negative attitudes towards increasing the number of immigrants in Finland. However, as we turn to more speci? c items on economic and especially cultural threat, we ? nd that Finns are as tolerant or even more tolerant than other Europeans. Multivariate analyses show that both socio-economic factors and values, ideologies and religiosity may generate prejudice. The two theoretical approaches should, thus, not be taken as alternatives but rather as complementary theories.

  9. Socio-psychological climate in organizations with various types of corporate culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonova Natalia Viktorovna

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyzes interrelation of socio-psychological climate and corporate culture in organization. The paper demonstrates that there is a meaningful relation between the type of corporate culture and socio-psychological climate, thus the most favorable psychological climate is observed in organization with clan-type culture, while prevalence of hierarchical and market-type cultures is associated with reduction of favorable features of socio-psychological climate. Results of this study may be applied in management, organizational consulting, coaching.

  10. Trust in technology a socio-technical perspective

    CERN Document Server

    Clarke, Karen; Rouncefield, Mark

    2006-01-01

    Encapsulates work done in the DIRC project (Interdisciplinary Research Collaboration in Dependability), bringing together a range of disciplinary approaches - computer science, sociology and software engineering - to produce a socio-technical systems perspective on the issues surrounding trust in technology in complex settings.

  11. Jakarta socio-cultural ecology: a sustainable architecture concept in urban neighbourhood

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wijaksono, Sigit; Sasmoko; Indrianti, Y.; Widhoyoko, SA

    2017-12-01

    As a metropolitan city with densely populated and fast residential development Jakarta should be able to implement a concept that is Jakarta socio-cultural ecology Architecture as the basis of settlement development. The concept of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology architecture is characterized by residential development capabilities that reflect and express the indigenous culture, the settlements built by linking the social and economic activities of the people of Jakarta and the settlements built by maintaining the building with the value of existing heritage. The objectives of this research are 1) to find a relevant construct to housing condition in Jakarta which then called Jakarta socio-cultural ecology, and 2) to see the tendency of complex condition of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology settlement. This research uses Neuroresearch method, which is one of mix-method research method as a mixture research method between qualitative research (exploration) and quantitative research method (explanatory and confirmatory). The population of research as well as unit analysis are all settlements in Jakarta. Sampling technique using probability sampling that is with multistage sampling. The results show that nowadays the Jakarta residential complex tends to lead to socio-cultural ecology and rather reflects and expresses the indigenous culture, the residential complex in Jakarta tends to form the building has been linked fully with the social and economic activities of Jakarta society but tends to occasionally maintain buildings with existing heritage values. This study also found that indigenous culture is a significant determinant of the formation of the condition of Jakarta socio-cultural ecology.

  12. FEMALE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT: AN INTERNATIONAL ANALYSIS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Urbano Pulido

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available In this article we analyse the socio-cultural factors that influence the likelihood of women becoming social entrepreneurs, using institutional economics. Binary logistic regression has been applied as the statistical method to test the hypotheses proposed, using data (40 countries and 56,875 individuals from the World Value Survey (WVS and the World Bank (WB. The main findings of the study reaffirm the relevance of socio-cultural factors to social entrepreneurship. Particularly, we have found that altruistic attitudes and being a member of a social organization are the most relevant socio-cultural factors for social female entrepreneurship.

  13. Organizational Culture and Socio-Cultural Values: Perceptions of Managers and Employees in Five Economies in Transition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cseh, Maria; Ardichvili, Alexandre; Gasparishvili, Alexander; Krisztian, Bela; Nemeskeri, Zsolt

    2004-01-01

    This survey-based study compared socio-cultural values and perceptions of organizational culture characteristics held by more than 3,300 managers and employees in twelve business organizations in Hungary, Russia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, and the Kyrgyz Republic. Significant differences were found between the five countries on all socio-cultural and…

  14. SOCIO-CULTURAL INFLUENCES ON EFFECTIVE ENGLISH ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    JONATHAN

    Consequently, challenges abound in the teaching and learning of ... English in tertiary institutions in contemporary Nigeria, the influence of socio-cultural factors ... The English Language has been a crucial issue in the Nigerian education.

  15. Psychological and socio-cultural risk factors for developing negative attitude and anti-health behaviour toward the body in young women

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Izydorczyk Bernadetta

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The main aim of the paper is to present the results of research concerning psychological and socio-cultural risk factors for development of negative anti-health (that is too restrictive and compensatory attitude toward one’s body in young Polish women. The study comprised 120 women, of 20 to 25 years of age, with similar socio-demographic status (marital status, living and having been brought up in multi-generation families who so far in the course of their lives have not disclosed mental or somatic disturbances (having accompanying manifestations of body image distortion. The theoretical theses for the research model were the contemporary cognitive concepts (multifactor models of body image dissatisfaction, as well as socio-cultural concepts.

  16. Culture, Method, and the Content of Self-Concepts: Testing Trait, Individual-Self-Primacy, and Cultural Psychology Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Prado, Alicia M; Church, A Timothy; Katigbak, Marcia S; Miramontes, Lilia G; Whitty, Monica; Curtis, Guy J; de Jesús Vargas-Flores, José; Ibáñez-Reyes, Joselina; Ortiz, Fernando A; Reyes, Jose Alberto S

    2007-12-01

    Three theoretical perspectives on cultural universals and differences in the content of self-concepts were tested in individualistic (United States, n = 178; Australia, n = 112) and collectivistic (Mexico, n = 157; Philippines, n = 138) cultures, using three methods of self-concept assessment. Support was found for both trait perspectives and the individual-self-primacy hypothesis. In contrast, support for cultural psychology hypotheses was limited because traits and other personal attributes were not more salient, or social attributes less salient, in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures. The salience of some aspects of self-concept depended on the method of assessment, calling into question conclusions based on monomethod studies.

  17. Traditional & Socio-Cultural Barriers to EFL Learning: A Case Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmad, Jameel

    2015-01-01

    This research tends to ascertain several traditional and socio-cultural barriers to English language learning in Saudi Arabia and to explore more ways than before for making teaching and learning more effective. The findings of four quantitative and qualitative surveys conducted in this regard reveal a unique traditional and socio-cultural milieu,…

  18. Introducing Computers to Kindergarten Children Based on Vygotsky's Theory about Socio-Cultural Learning: The Greek Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pange, Jenny; Kontozisis, Dimitrios

    2001-01-01

    Greek preschoolers' level of knowledge about computers was examined as they participated in a classroom project to introduce them to new technologies. The project was based on Vygotsky's theory of socio-cultural learning. Findings suggest that this approach is a successful way to introduce new technologies to young children. (JPB)

  19. Socio-cultural Impacts of Contemporary Tourism

    OpenAIRE

    Jovičić, Dobrica

    2011-01-01

    The topic of the paper is devoted to analysis of socio-cultural impacts of tourism, as effects on the people of host communities resulting from their direct and indirect associations with tourists. The social and cultural impacts of tourism are the ways in which tourism is contributing to changes in value systems, individual behavior, family structure and relationships, collective lifestyles, safety levels, moral conduct, traditional ceremonies and community organizations. Special ...

  20. Socio-Cultural Factors and Intention towards Sustainable Entrepreneurship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Loon KOE

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available In order to rectify environmental degradation, government has encouraged sustainable management among businesses. In addition, researchers have also suggested a new breed of study called “sustainable entrepreneurship”, which links sustainability management to entrepreneurial activities. However, the participation of entrepreneurial firms in sustainability management is still far from satisfactory. Past studies also have found that SMEs are less active in sustainabilty initiatives and many issues related to the intention of firms for sustainability entrepreneurship is still unanswered. Therefore, this study was carried out to examine the influence of socio-cultural factors on intention towards sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs. A total of 404 SMEs in Malaysia were surveyed by using questionnaire. Based on the statistical analyses performed, this study found that three socio-cultural factors, namely time orientation, sustainability orientation and social norm significantly influenced intention towards sustainable entrepreneurship among SMEs. Thus, in order to develop true sustainable entrepreneurs in the country, the effects of non-economic factors such as socio-cultural factors should not be underestimated. Lastly, some recommendations for future researchers have also been put forth in this paper.

  1. A monument to the player: preserving a landscape of socio-cultural capital in the transitional MMORPG

    Science.gov (United States)

    `Adrir'Scott, Michael

    2012-12-01

    Massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) produce dynamic socio-ludic worlds that nurture both culture and gameplay to shape experiences. Despite the persistent nature of these games, however, the virtual spaces that anchor these worlds may not always be able to exist in perpetuity. Encouraging a community to migrate from one space to another is a challenge now facing some game developers. This paper examines the case of Guild Wars® and its "Hall of Monuments", a feature that bridges the accomplishments of players from the current game to the forthcoming sequel. Two factor analyses describe the perspectives of 105 and 187 self-selected participants. The results reveal four factors affecting attitudes towards the feature, but they do not strongly correlate with existing motivational frameworks, and significant differences were found between different cultures within the game. This informs a discussion about the implications and facilitation of such transitions, investigating themes of capital, value perception and assumptive worlds. It is concluded that the way subcultures produce meaning needs to be considered when attempting to preserve the socio-cultural landscape.

  2. Identifying socio-ecological networks in rural-urban gradients: Diagnosis of a changing cultural landscape.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnaiz-Schmitz, C; Schmitz, M F; Herrero-Jáuregui, C; Gutiérrez-Angonese, J; Pineda, F D; Montes, C

    2018-01-15

    Socio-ecological systems maintain reciprocal interactions between biophysical and socioeconomic structures. As a result of these interactions key essential services for society emerge. Urban expansion is a direct driver of land change and cause serious shifts in socio-ecological relationships and the associated lifestyles. The framework of rural-urban gradients has proved to be a powerful tool for ecological research about urban influences on ecosystems and on sociological issues related to social welfare. However, to date there has not been an attempt to achieve a classification of municipalities in rural-urban gradients based on socio-ecological interactions. In this paper, we developed a methodological approach that allows identifying and classifying a set of socio-ecological network configurations in the Region of Madrid, a highly dynamic cultural landscape considered one of the European hotspots in urban development. According to their socio-ecological links, the integrated model detects four groups of municipalities, ordered along a rural-urban gradient, characterized by their degree of biophysical and socioeconomic coupling and different indicators of landscape structure and social welfare. We propose the developed model as a useful tool to improve environmental management schemes and land planning from a socio-ecological perspective, especially in territories subject to intense urban transformations and loss of rurality. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Socio-cultural sustainability of pig production: Citizen perceptions in the Netherlands and Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boogaard, B.K.; boekhorst, L.J.S.; Oosting, S.J.

    2011-01-01

    positive and six negative aspects on the farms for which they had to write a motivation. The qualitative analysis resulted in seven socio-cultural themes (SCT) of pig production namely: 1) meat production, 2) farm activities, 3) farm income, 4) animals, 5) housing system, 6) environment and nature, and 7......Many sustainability studies of animal production consider three pillars: the economic, environmental and socio-cultural. Farmers and animal scientists tend to put most emphasis on the economic and environmental pillar and largely ignore the socio-cultural pillar. Socio-cultural sustainability...... to gain further insights into socio-cultural sustainability of pig production. Many citizens may not know what contemporary pig production actually entails. To give people a real life experience with pig production, we conducted farm visits with citizen panels with 18 respondents in the Netherlands and 8...

  4. Kirjandusteoreetilise ühendvälja poole / Unified Theoretical Field Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arne Merilai

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Estonian cultural studies constitute a rich and promising area of research. This area is uniquely positioned to bring together the vast array of methodological approaches that increasingly have come to define our postmodern mindscape. It allows us to more productively unpack salient aspects of national and world literature and to bring into sharper focus the role of the humanities in general. Contemporary research, teaching and supervisory activities in the university environment proceed from an unprecedented openness to multiple differences, older and newer constructions and deconstructions, congruent or incongruent points of view, active merging of many paradigms, intra- or interdisciplinary, and a permanent disposition towards innovation. There are theoretical clusters that focus on the form and structure of a work, combining with linguistic and stylistic, author-centred or reader-centred approaches; intertextual relations; content-driven, i.e., socio-semantic and historical interpretations; and complex combinations of all of these. As a result, contemporary literary research has to integrate an overwhelmingly rich multitude of different productive methods to encompass both levels of mimesis and poiesis, in their respective hermeneutic circles: literary historical, textological, bio-bibliographical and reception studies; close reading, poetic, linguistic, structuralist, semiotic, narratological; intertextual, translation-theoretical; psychoanalytical, cognitivistic; socio-psychological – including gender and memory studies, post-colonialism, new historicism, ecocriticism – as well as intercultural studies; post-structuralist discursive, hermeneutical-phenomenological, mytho-theoretical; analytical philosophical, formal statistical, digital and other current and plausible approaches. Such anthological versatility en gros is necessary as different authors, types of texts, phenomena, traditions and levels can actualise separate points of

  5. Socio- cultural effects on children's initiation of joint attention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yana eGavrilov

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Exchanging gazes with a social partner in response to an event in the environment is considered an effective means to direct attention, share affective experiences and highlight a target in the environment. This behavior appears during infancy and plays an important role in children's learning and in shaping their socio-emotional development. It has been suggested that cultural values of the community affect socio-emotional development through attentional dynamics of social reference (Rogoff et al., 1993. Maturational processes of brain-circuits have been found to mediate socio-cultural learning and the behavioral manifestation of cultural norms starting at preschool age (Nelson and Guyer, 2011. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relations between cultural ecology levels and children's joint attention (JA. Initiation of JA bids was studied empirically as a function of the level of social load of the target toy (3 levels, the community level of adherence to traditional values (3 levels parental education (2 levels and gender. Sixty-two kindergarten aged children were enrolled in a structured toy-exploration task, during which they were presented with toys of various social loads, with social agents (i.e., mother and experimenter present nearby, and non-social distracters presented intermittently. Analysis of variance indicated that the child's initiation of JA towards the social partner was affected by all levels of cultural ecology (i.e., toy's social load, adherence to tradition values, parental education, gender, thus supporting the study's hypotheses. The effects were such that overall, children, particularly girls' JA initiation was augmented in social toys and moderated by the socio-cultural variables. Cultural ecology seems to be related to children's JA, thereby scaffolding initiation of social sharing cues between children and adults. JA plays a role in adjusting children's internal representations of their ecological

  6. Socio-Demographic Factors As Predictor Of Parents' Perspectives ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Correlational Research design was adopted to examine the predictive influence of some socio-demographic variables on perspectives of parents towards the inclusion of HIV and AIDS education in Lagos State schools. Four hundred parents of pupils and students of four primary and secondary schools with diverse ...

  7. Technology Change And Working Conditions – A Cultural Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Ole Henning

    2004-01-01

    When technology change improves working conditions, the success is often attributed to skilful change agents. When it is not, the blame is on “resistance to change” and “resilient cultures”. How can these failures be understood differently? A cultural perspective on technology change might be a way...... to facilitate technology change processes that lead to improved working conditions. The research based project described here has developed a special homepage that explains how this might be achieved. The homepage is targeted at working life professionals. The homepage presents theoretical explanations...... of the concept of organizational culture, a model for analysis and several practical case stories. This paper explains how the project tries to reach a broad spectrum of professionals in order to facilitate their use of a cultural perspective. It also discusses the ethical consequences of the cultural...

  8. Between honor and shame :|bmartyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6-7 within the socio-cultural arena

    OpenAIRE

    Hefer, Barend Joachim

    2012-01-01

    The study, “Between honor and shame: Martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6-7 within the socio-cultural arena”, presents a look at how the community viewed martyrdom in 2 Maccabees 6:18-7:42 from the perspective of honor and shame. The chief objective is to determine whether or not the community supported or challenged the notion of the martyrs’ death being either honorable or shameful. In order to reach a satisfactory conclusion to this objective, this study set as goals the identification of key themes...

  9. New approaches for the asessment and education of children under socio-cultural disadvantages

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alegría Majluf

    2003-06-01

    Full Text Available The present paper describes the traditional psychometric parameters thal don 't fit by workingwith children who suffer socio-cultural deprivation (or who are living under socio-cultural disadvantagesand the new assessment and education strategies for this population. Vygotsky's socio-cultural approach, that emphasizes the Zone of Proximal Development, and the Dynamic Assessment and the Mediated Learning developed by Feucrstein and complemented by Coll relatedwith the Significative Learning are stressed.

  10. Situating cognitive/socio-cognitive approaches to student learning in genetics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kindfield, Ann C. H.

    2009-03-01

    In this volume, Furberg and Arnseth report on a study of genetics learning from a socio-cultural perspective, focusing on students' meaning making as they engage in collaborative problem solving. Throughout the paper, they criticize research on student understanding and conceptual change conducted from a cognitive/socio-cognitive perspective on several reasonable grounds. However, their characterization of work undertaken from this perspective sometimes borders on caricature, failing to acknowledge the complexities of the research and the contexts within which it has been carried out. In this commentary, I expand their characterization of the cognitive/socio-cognitive perspective in general and situate my own work on genetics learning so as to provide a richer view of the enterprise. From this richer, more situated view, I conclude that research from both perspectives and collaboration between those looking at learning from different perspectives will ultimately provide a more complete picture of science learning.

  11. Features structuring image of Ukraine in socio-political and socio-cultural discourse

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. O. Pocelujko

    2015-08-01

    Layers of socio-political discourse under defined-State officially and historically historiographical discourses. These discourses present the image of the state in the context of national history as the source, where by means of targeted public policy is formed and implemented state identity as the language of institutional communication. Images states that officially created in-state and historically historiographic discourses as a set of ethnic myths, frames, stereotypes intended to create mechanisms of perception and interpretation of the past of the country, used in educational policy as a tool for national identity with the corresponding identity discourse. Socio-cultural discourse and the corresponding image of the state is characterized by a strong plurality, conceptuality, multyparadyhmality. In the socio-cultural discourse is conceptualization image of the state as part of the living world as opposed to social and political discourse, in which the image of the state appears more like dogmatic ideological construct, which tends to uniqueness. In the scientific discourse in constructing the image of the state is dominated intellectual and conceptual component, while in the state mediadyskurs-image formed on the basis of emotional and social representations stained. Latest distributed in makroteksts designed to create appropriate social attitudes, sensatsion, mobilizing different social groups on a variety of events and more

  12. Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-cultural Change and Fraud in Uganda

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ponte, Stefano

    2017-01-01

    Book review of: Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-Cultural Change & Fraud in Uganda by Jörg Wiegratz. London and New York, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, 375 pp. ISBN 9781783488537.......Book review of: Neoliberal Moral Economy: Capitalism, Socio-Cultural Change & Fraud in Uganda by Jörg Wiegratz. London and New York, Rowman & Littlefield, 2016, 375 pp. ISBN 9781783488537....

  13. Differentiation of behavioral health factors among students depending on selected socio-demographic, environmental and cultural factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Barbara Ślusarska

    2015-02-01

    Abstract Introduction. Behavioral factors of health are an important area of empirical cognition from the perspective of long-term individual as well as social investment in health. Aim. The assessment of health behaviors and their differentiation due to selected socio-demographic and environmental-cultural characteristics in a group of young adults. Materials and methods. Cross-sectional studies in the group of students of the city of Lublin were performed using the Health Behavior Inventory (HBI by Z. Juczyński. The study also included the survey questions in the field of socio-demographic and cultural- environmental indicators. Results. The analysis concerned data on 1,593 randomly selected people (63.53% women, 36.47% men, aged 20-35 years (x = 22.16, SD =2.81. In the group, at 45.07% of students, the rate of intensity of health behaviors according to HBI was low, at 39.60% - was the average, and in only 11.30% -it was high. Conclusions. In the group, low rates of health behaviors intensity predominated. Among women, the students of medical university, non-smokers and those characterized by regular physical activity a higher level of health behaviors was shown.   Key words: behavioral factors, socio-demographic indicators, health status, young adults.

  14. Socio-economic factors, cultural values, national personality and antibiotics use: A cross-cultural study among European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaygısız, Ümmügülsüm; Lajunen, Timo; Gaygısız, Esma

    There are considerable cross-national differences in public attitudes towards antibiotics use, use of prescribed antibiotics, and self-medication with antibiotics even within Europe. This study was aimed at investigating the relationships between socio-economic factors, cultural values, national personality characteristics and the antibiotic use in Europe. Data included scores from 27 European countries (14 countries for personality analysis). Correlations between socio-economic variables (Gross National Income per capita, governance quality, life expectancy, mean years of schooling, number of physicians), Hofstede's cultural value dimensions (power distance, individualism, masculinity, uncertainty avoidance, long-term orientation, indulgence), national personality characteristic (extraversion, neuroticism, social desirability) and antibiotic use were calculated and three regression models were constructed. Governance quality (r=-.51), mean years of schooling (r=-.61), power distance (r=.59), masculinity (r=.53), and neuroticism (r=.73) correlated with antibiotic use. The highest amount of variance in antibiotic use was accounted by the cultural values (65%) followed by socio-economic factors (63%) and personality factors (55%). Results show that socio-economic factors, cultural values and national personality characteristics explain cross-national differences in antibiotic use in Europe. In particular, governance quality, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and neuroticism were important factors explaining antibiotics use. The findings underline the importance of socio-economic and cultural context in health care and in planning public health interventions. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  15. Environmental factors and teenagers' personalities: The role of personal and familial Socio-Cultural Level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Menardo, Elisa; Balboni, Giulia; Cubelli, Roberto

    2017-05-15

    Environmental (e.g., socio-cultural context), individual (e.g., genetic makeup), and interpersonal (e.g., caregiver-children relationships) factors can play a crucial role in shaping the development of the teenagers' personality. In this study, we focused on the Socio-Cultural Level that designates the set of preferences, knowledge, and behaviors that characterize an individual's way of life and depend on his or her cultural, social, and economic resources. We studied the relationship between Socio-Cultural Level (personal, maternal, and paternal) and Big Five personality traits of 191 teenagers living in the same geographical area. Results showed that Socioeconomic Status (i.e., parental education level and occupational prestige), which is the only dimension generally measured in investigations on Socio-Cultural Level, was not related with personality. In contrast, Cultural Capital and Social Capital were associated with different personality traits. Personal Cultural Capital was related to Openness to experience of boys and girls and to Extraversion of girls; personal Social Capital was related to Extraversion of girls, Emotional stability of boys, and Agreeableness of both boys and girls; maternal Cultural Capital was associated with Openness to experience of daughters. Overall, the personality of teenagers was more related to their own Cultural and Social Capital than to the Cultural and Social Capital of their parents. Moreover, the relationship between Cultural Capital and Social Capital of boys/girls and of fathers/mothers was moderate in strength. It seems that parents influence the development of personality of their teenagers indirectly, their Socio-Cultural Level shaping the Socio-Cultural Level of their sons and daughters. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  16. Socio-Cultural Dynamics of Education in the Context of the Post-Non-Classical Science

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    V. A. Ignatova

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper deals with the interrelations between society, education and culture. Using the comparative analysis of classical approaches to defining the above spheres, the author comes to conclusion that the nature of socio-cultural processes can be explored and described most consistently by applying comprehensive models of the post-non-classical science and considering civilization, education and culture in the context of the unified dynamic flow of socio-cultural genesis. The research investigates the dialectics of socio-cultural processes in the light of systematic synergetic approach, the advancing role of education in socio-cultural dynamics being revealed and substantiated. The author emphasizes its inevitably rising priority due to sustained development of civilization bringing about the new environmentally-oriented meta-culture.The obtained results can be used in pedagogic research methodology, designing and modeling the educational process, its content, technology and organization. 

  17. SOCIO-CULTURAL AND MEDICAL INDICATORS OF THE SCHOOLCHILDREN'S QUALITY OF LIFE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slobodanka Bašić

    2003-01-01

    Full Text Available An estimate of life quality is based upon medical, psychological and social indicators. It increasingly engages the attention of doctors of medicine, sociologists and psychologists.The aim of this research is to headlight some more relevant socio-cultural parametres in order to determine the quality of life of schoolchildren, that is, to determine whether the crisis in which our society has found itself has produced such socio-cultural conditions that could have induced changes in the children's quality of life and, if they have, to what extent the crisis has been reflected upon their health. The research has comprised 398 schoolchildren and their parents, three elementary schools from Nish and one in Sokobanja.The research of the socio-cultural and medical indicators of their quality of life has shown that the parent's education and ther material position have had an important influence upon the children's life quality.Since there has been no significant presence of any disease recorded in the observed children's sample, it can be concluded that the socio-cultural features have affected the children's life but they have not any significant impact upon their health.

  18. Socio-cultural Issues for Sustainable Development in Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Socio-cultural Issues for Sustainable Development in Africa. ... focal areas of sustainable development – social, economic and environmental factors. ... that designed a Sustainable Integrated Rural Development in Africa (SIRDA) programme.

  19. Culture of socio-economic security of Ukraine: Challenges in XXIst Century

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olesya Ihorivna Datsko

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available It is argued, that the culture of social- economic security has impact on the socio-economic development of state. It is formed at several levels of human interaction: with oneself, other people, work, environment, community groups, state, world, God. It is proved that low level of culture of socio-economic security of Ukraine's population, especially state leaders has a destructive effect on the economic development, labour potential, and increasing level of corruption. The necessity to develop a culture of social- economic security in the state economic policy is proved.

  20. Socio-cultural factors impacting male involvement in the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Socio-cultural factors impacting male involvement in the management of infertile couples at the Kenyatta National Hospital. ... that may influence male participation in the management of the infertile couples attending the KNH Infertility Clinic.

  1. Traditional Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    ... Values, Socio-Cultural Factors and Human Resource Management Practices in ... Ghanaian worker in general and the HR manager in particular is influenced ... face -to-face interview methods were used to obtain information for the study.

  2. 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.

  3. Socio-Cultural Impacts of Educational Tourism on the Residents of Famagusta

    OpenAIRE

    Rezapouraghdam, Hamed

    2013-01-01

    Apart from palpable and potent effects of the tourism on the economy and the physical environment, it can be contributed to the socio-cultural vicissitudes in the host communities. Educational tourism as one of the most influential segments of tourism both from the economic and socio-cultural standpoints has an accelerating pace of development in the whole globe. Previous studies mostly have focused on the economic impacts of educational tourism and slightly have gone through the social an...

  4. Theoretical chemistry advances and perspectives

    CERN Document Server

    Eyring, Henry

    1980-01-01

    Theoretical Chemistry: Advances and Perspectives, Volume 5 covers articles concerning all aspects of theoretical chemistry. The book discusses the mean spherical approximation for simple electrolyte solutions; the representation of lattice sums as Mellin-transformed products of theta functions; and the evaluation of two-dimensional lattice sums by number theoretic means. The text also describes an application of contour integration; a lattice model of quantum fluid; as well as the computational aspects of chemical equilibrium in complex systems. Chemists and physicists will find the book usef

  5. Socio-Cultural and Ideological Preconditions of Gender Equality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sviytlana Storozhuk

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The article examines the factors that have led to the contradiction between a legislated principle of gender equality and, broadcast from pre-modern by a number of social institutions a social differentiation by gender and discrimination generated by it, existing in modern outlook and socio-cultural life. The article shows that the concepts of natural equality of people and social consensus together with the process of secularization and desecration, developed during the modern period, transformed a social reality, but they usually do not apply to a person who is still viewed through the prism of axiological and ideological premodern paradigm. Thus, the concept of natural equality has extrapolated only to men who were considered carriers of social activity in premodern culture. It is emphasized that despite the radical changes of socio-cultural and political life of European society that occurred as a result of implementation of social modern program, a family, remaining a decentralized nucleus, was living by premodern values that gained social significance at a time when a woman acquired her social activity.

  6. Evaluating mobile learning practice. Towards a framework for analysis of user-generated contexts with reference to the socio-cultural ecology of mobile learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Judith Seipold

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Against the conceptual and theoretical background of a socio-culturally orientated approach to mobile learning (Pachler, Bachmair and Cook, 2010, this paper examines the evaluation of user-generated contexts by referring to an example from the use of mobile phones in schools. We discuss how mobile device-related, user- generated contexts around structures, agency and cultural practices might be brought into a fruitful relationship with institution-based learning. And, we provide categories for evaluating the use of mobile devices to generate meaning from and with fragmented and discontinuous media and modes at the interface of learning in formal, institutionalised and informal, self-directed settings. The evaluation criteria build on the framework of a socio-cultural ecology of mobile learning developed by the London Mobile Learning Group.

  7. Russian Socio-Economic Geography: Status, Challenges, Perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martynov Vasilii

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available The socio-economic geography studies the processes, characteristics and patterns of spatial development. In the recent decades, however, this area of scientific investigation has failed its promise, which happened for a number of external and internal reasons. The main external reason is the development of "consumer society", which does not require the search of new space and therefore ignores the "spatial" science, geography. Internal reason is the blurring of socio-economic geography along the variety of new lines of research. The discipline was, in many ways, redundant, and unselective in the application of theoretical and methodological tools liberally borrowed from other branches of both geography and economics. The only way this discipline can return to its former glory is by going all the way back to doing proper spatial research.

  8. Teacher Beliefs and the Mediation of Curriculum Innovation in Scotland: A Socio-Cultural Perspective on Professional Development and Change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wallace, Carolyn S.; Priestley, Mark

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to investigate socio-cultural factors underpinning curriculum change by examining teacher beliefs in the context of professional development. Scottish teachers in the study were participating in policy implementation based on formative assessment. Teachers were selected who were positive about the formative assessment…

  9. Interconnection of socio-cultural adaptation and identity in the socialization process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L Y Rakhmanova

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available The article considers the influence of the socio-cultural adaptation of an individual on his personality and identity structure; analyzes the processes of primary and secondary socialization in comparison with subsequent adaptation processes, as well as the possibility of a compromise between the unchanging, rigid identity and the ability to adapt flexibly to the changing context. The author identifies positive and negative aspects of adaptation in the contemporary society while testing the hypothesis that if the adaptation is successful and proceeds within the normal range, it helps to preserve the stability of social structures, but does not contribute to their development for the maladaptive behavior of individuals and groups stimulates social transformations. In the second part of the article, the author shows the relationship of the socio-cultural identity and the individual status in various social communities and tries to answer the question whether the existence and functioning of the social community as a pure ‘form’ without individuals (its members is possible. The author describes the identity phenomenon in the context of the opposition of the universal and unique, similarities and differences. The article also introduces the concept of the involvement in the socio-cultural context as one of the indicators of the completeness and depth of individual socio-cultural adaptation to a certain environment, which is quite important for the internal hierarchy of individual identity.

  10. The socio-cultural implications of African music and dance ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper sets out to discuss the socio-cultural implications of African music and dance. To this end, the paper looks at African music, African dance and human culture, kinds of dance, dance and the human body, dance and the society, the interrelationship between African music and dance, the importance of dance to the ...

  11. Socio-Cultural Impacts in the Formation of Urban Village

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marpaung, B. O. Y.

    2017-03-01

    In Indonesia, a group of village people tends to move from one place to another and develops a living space to create a settlement. This research is conducted by taking an example of a particular ethnic group that leaves the forestry area to a new place in the city. After some time, this group of people creates a similar or adapted socio-cultural system adapted from their origin place. The purpose of this research is to examine the socio-cultural aspects that significantly influence the emergence of urban village. This influence is interpreted as social and cultural relations with the establishment of space and significance of urban village. By focusing on this issue, this research will trace the process of how a new and unplanned settlement could emerge. The process and elements are indispensable from social and cultural factors. Essentially, the shape of bulit space is a non-physical manifestation of local people, which is established from time to time. In this case, the research’s challenge lies on the circumstance in Indonesia where society and culture influence the emergence of urban village. Physical appearance can be identified as a tipology of settlement and morphology of urban village.

  12. The wetlands of Magdalena medio Antioqueno from a physical and socio-cultural perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Caballero Acosta, Humberto; Durango Lopez, Consuelo; Giraldo Castro, Carlos Augusto

    2001-01-01

    Wetlands are ecosystems with environmental and ecological importance that require of a new methodological and legal focus that allows developing conservation policies in agreement with the natural and socio-cultural conditions. In the Magdalena Medio Antioqueno, CORANTIOQUIA region, were recognized 362 wetlands, divided in two main groups; in Puerto Nare and Puerto Berrio to the south prevails herbaceous wetlands without permanent surface water, locally known as Bajos. In Yondo the wetlands have permanent surface water. The environmental dynamic depends from the geomorphologic and hydrological conditions and are affected in a differential way by the human action. The region is the result of a long occupation process that begins in prehistoric times and had changed depending on the different historical moments. This complex social configuration has given origin to diverse perceptions and types of appropriation of the wetlands what explains the identified environmental circumstances

  13. The influence of socio-cultural background and product value in usability testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sonderegger, Andreas; Sauer, Juergen

    2013-05-01

    This article examines the influence of socio-cultural background and product value on different outcomes of usability tests. A study was conducted in two different socio-cultural regions, Switzerland and East Germany, which differed in a number of aspects (e.g. economic power, price sensitivity and culture). Product value (high vs. low) was varied by manipulating the price of the product. Sixty-four test participants were asked to carry out five typical user tasks in the context of coffee machine usage, measuring performance, perceived usability, and emotion. The results showed that in Switzerland, high-value products were rated higher in usability than low-value products whereas in East Germany, high-value products were evaluated lower in usability. A similar interaction effect of socio-cultural background and product value was observed for user emotion. Implications are that the outcomes of usability tests do not allow for a simple transfer across cultures and that the mediating influence of perceived product value needs to be taken into consideration. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

  14. THEORETICAL ASPECTS OF FORMATION OF SOCIO-PROFESSIONAL SELF-DETERMINATION OF LEARNERS AT EDUCATION ESTABLISHMENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alla Ya. Zhurkina

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: the article reveals the theoretical aspects in formation of socio-professional self-determination of learners in education institutions. The emphasis is on interdisciplinary links, integration approaches in the study of problems of self-determination. Materials and Methods: the article was written using a number of methods of theoretical pedagogical study, allowing mental penetration into the essence of the phenomenon under study teacher: analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization method of investigating causal relationships. Results: the authors reveal the essence of the socio-professional self-determination and present grounds for separation of this concept out from the pyramid of the terms that characterise the description of the career choice process. The article substantiates the social orientation of the act of choosing a profession. It argues that career choice affects the future social position. Knowledge of theoretical bases of process of socioprofessional self-determination is very important for preparation of children for conscious career choices. Special attention is paid to the regularities, principles and f actors of this process. Discussion and Conclusions: giving a thorough account of internal and external factors of socio-professional self-determination, the authors propose to consider them solely in the system, with its inherent dynamics and the inextricable connection with the environment, suggest that changes in the social environment always entail changes in the system of factors. The article is concerned with the problem of contradictions of the process of formation of socio-professional self-determination. The authors highlight the leading role of pedagogical support in the process of socio-professional self-determination of a student’s personality, analyse modern approaches to the concept of pedagogical support. The authors characterize the educational support system as a professional educator focused

  15. Language Study: Language and Socio-Cultural Values: An Analysis ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Language is an important tool in the human society. Apart from the fact that it makes communication and integration possible, it is an important aspect of the socio-cultural life of a people. To this extent, language is closely knit with culture as it embodies the society's value system and patterned way of life. This paper ...

  16. Socio-cultural context of eating disorders in Poland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilecki, Maciej Wojciech; Sałapa, Kinga; Józefik, Barbara

    2016-01-01

    The goal of this study was to assess the relationship between sociocultural factors and clinical eating disorders during the intensive process of Westernisation in Poland that occurred after 1989. The study population included girls diagnosed with an eating disorder according to DSM-IV criteria (n = 47 anorexia nervosa restrictive type [ANR], n = 16 anorexia binge/purge type [ANBP], n = 34 bulimia nervosa [BN], n = 19 eating disorder not otherwise specified [EDNOS]) who received consultation for the first time between 2002 and 2004 in the Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital, Kraków, Poland. The study included an age-matched normal control group [NOR] of 85 schoolgirls from Kraków. Relationships between two given qualitative features were investigated using the chi-square test or Fisher's exact test. Correspondence analysis was applied to graphically explore the relationship. The Kruskal-Wallis test with the Bonferroni was performed to compare quantitative results across groups. Objective sociodemographic variables and responses to the 62-item Questionnaire of Socio-cultural Context were measured. The mothers of ANBP and BN patients were less professionally active than mothers of ANR patients and NOR subjects. Subjective socio-cultural factors were more relevant for the BN group than the ANR group. Questionnaire responses in the ANBP group were more similar to those in the BN group than to those in the ANR group. The most unambiguous and specific characteristic of the ANR group was a sense of belonging to the middle class. Variables that differentiated the BN group from the NOR group included the importance attached to thinness treated as an expression of power and control over one's self, as well as a multifaceted negative evaluation of one's own family, including a negative assessment of the position of women and parental lack of concern for appearance and principles of nutrition. All patients, regardless

  17. Plural economics and territorial development from the perspective of sustainable development: theoretical elements of an economic sociology and a socio-economics.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benoît Lévesque

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available This text focuses on the contribution that the concept of plural economics is able to make today toward the advancement of research on the viability of territorial dynamics for sustainable development. The first part of our line of argumentation is centered on clarifying the concept of plural economics, based on studies on economic and social solidarity and on proposals emerging from the New Economic Sociology and the socio-economics of territories. In the second part, the concept of sustainable development is characterized from the angle of the so-called societal paradigm and its interactions with territory and with a plural and social economics. Aligned with the critique of the premises of neo-classical economics, the author accepts the need to re-connect the economy to a broader social and ecological perspective and to seek more effective answers to the challenges raised by the planetary socio-environmental crisis.. Keywords: Sustainable territorial development, plural economics, New Economic Sociology, economics of solidarity, ecological economics.

  18. The influence of socio cultural dynamics on convergence communication of aquaculture agribusiness actors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oktavia, Y.

    2018-03-01

    This research aims to: (1) Analyze the level of socio-cultural dynamics of agibusiness aquaculture actors. (2) Analyze the influence of socio-cultural dynamics on convergence communication of capacity development of aquaculture agribusiness actors.Data was collected by questionnaire and interview of group members on agribusiness. Data analyze was done by descriptive and inferential statistics with using SEM method. The result of descriptive statistics on 284 agribusiness members showed that: Socio-cultural dynamics of agibusiness aquaculture actors was in low category, as shown by lack of the role of customary institutions and quality of local leadership.The communication convergence is significantly and positively influenced by the communication behavior of agribusiness actors in access information.

  19. Simulating crowd evacuation with socio-cultural, cognitive, and emotional elements

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van der Wal, C. Natalie; Formolo, Daniel; Robinson, Mark A.; Minkov, Michael; Bosse, Tibor

    2017-01-01

    In this research, the effects of culture, cognitions, and emotions on crisis management and prevention are analysed. An agent-based crowd evacuation simulation model was created, named IMPACT, to study the evacuation process from a transport hub. To extend previous research, various socio-cultural,

  20. Social History as Socio-Analysis. Building a Theoretical Viewpoint to Study the Relationship Between the Public Sphere, Women and the Popular Sectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Diana Gómez Navas

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.17227/01234870.41folios169.185 This article shows the construction of a theoretical viewpoint in the development of research that focuses on the relationship between three categories: the public sphere, women and popular sectors. To do this, it first presents an overview of the trends found in studies focused on similar relationships. Thereafter, a theoretical view is proposed based on the main routes and epistemological and methodological assumptions of social history enlightened by the tenets of socio-analytic proposal from French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Thus, the main epistemological implications of Bourdieu’s perspective in light of a theoretical reflection interested in the way in which a public urban world is set in the time is presented. The urban public world is questioned particularly based on the positions held by women in the working class.

  1. Incorporation of Socio-Cultural Values in Damage Assessment Valuations of Contaminated Lands in the Niger Delta

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victor A. Akujuru

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Damages on contaminated land have been mostly assessed for developments subsisting on the land, neglecting the goods and services derived from the land which possess only socio-cultural values. This paper aims to ascertain the importance of socio-cultural values in the total economic value of contaminated land, drawing from the experience of a coastal community oil spillage in the Niger Delta. The paper examines what constitutes a valuable interest on contaminated land and how socio-cultural factors are valued in the damage assessment process. After reviewing the literature and decided cases, a questionnaire survey was conducted and a sample valuation report was analysed. It is concluded that there exists a socio-cultural interest on contaminated land which professional valuers do not reflect in damage assessment claims. It is recommended that any comprehensive damage assessment requires the incorporation of socio-cultural values in the valuations.

  2. Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Consent For Research In Nigeria ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Socio-Cultural Factors Influencing Consent For Research In Nigeria: Lessons ... for Health Research Ethics in enforcing researchers' compliance with ethical standards in ... Genuine respect for human dignity requires deeper understanding of ...

  3. The effect of culture on perspective taking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Shali; Keysar, Boaz

    2007-07-01

    People consider the mental states of other people to understand their actions. We evaluated whether such perspective taking is culture dependent. People in collectivistic cultures (e.g., China) are said to have interdependent selves, whereas people in individualistic cultures (e.g., the United States) are said to have independent selves. To evaluate the effect of culture, we asked Chinese and American pairs to play a communication game that required perspective taking. Eye-gaze measures demonstrated that the Chinese participants were more tuned into their partner's perspective than were the American participants. Moreover, Americans often completely failed to take the perspective of their partner, whereas Chinese almost never did. We conclude that cultural patterns of interdependence focus attention on the other, causing Chinese to be better perspective takers than Americans. Although members of both cultures are able to distinguish between their perspective and another person's perspective, cultural patterns afford Chinese the effective use of this ability to interpret other people's actions.

  4. A socio-technical perspective on the electrification of the automobile: Niche and regime interaction

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Dijk, Marc

    2014-01-01

    This paper offers a socio-technical perspective on how the introduction of various alternatives to the internal combustion engine, especially the full-electric vehicle, influences the established propulsion technology (ICE). This perspective helps to move beyond the well-known incremental vs.

  5. Sustainability and deliberate transition of socio-technical systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Ole Erik; Søndergård, Bent; Stærdahl, Jens

    or developing socio-technical systems in order to integrate the concept of sustainability as a driver for the deliberate and purposeful shaping and transition. The article discusses the requirements to effective governance networks and governing of governance networks. Research within innovation systems......The article suggests that deliberate planning for sustainability demands a focus on the transition of socio-technical systems in order to establish robust and more sustainable patterns of production and consumption. This implies the necessity of a new perspective for environmental planning......, transition management and technology systems combined with planning and experimental activities provides both a theoretical and empirical body of knowledge of such governance processes. The article discusses how this perspective can be used in relation to the process of developing bio-fuel systems...

  6. Socio-Economic Factors Related to Moral Reasoning in Childhood and Adolescence: The Missing Link between Brain and Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simona Carla Silvia eCaravita

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available Neuroscientific and psychological research on moral development has until now developed independently, referring to distinct theoretical models, contents and methods. In particular, the influence of socio-economic and cultural factors on morality has been broadly investigated by psychologists but as yet has not been investigated by neuroscientists. The value of bridging these two areas both theoretically and methodologically has, however, been suggested. This study aims at providing a first connection between neuroscientific and psychological literature on morality by investigating whether socio-economic dimensions, i.e. living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and SES, affect moral reasoning as operationalized in moral domain theory (a seminal approach in psychological studies on morality and in Greene and colleagues’ (2001 perspective (one of the main approaches in neuroethics research. Participants were 81 primary school (M = 8.98 yrs.; SD = 0.39, 72 middle school (M = 12.14 yrs.; SD = 0.61 and 73 high school (M = 15.10 yrs.; SD = 0.38 students from rural and urban areas. Participants’ immigrant status (native vs. immigrant and family SES level were recorded. Moral reasoning was assessed by means of a series of personal and impersonal dilemmas based on Greene and colleagues' (2001 neuroimaging experiment and a series of moral and socio-conventional rule dilemmas based on the moral domain theory. Living socio-geographic/economic area, immigrant status and SES mainly affected evaluations of moral and, to a higher extent, socio-conventional dilemmas, but had no impact on judgment of personal and impersonal dilemmas. Results are mainly discussed from the angle of possible theoretical links and suggestions emerging for studies on moral reasoning in the frameworks of neuroscience and psychology.

  7. Socio-philosophical background (the theoretical core of classical liberalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. G. Osipova

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In the present article the theoretical core of classical liberalism are revealed through a systematic analysis of the views of social scientists as J. Locke, J. Bentham, J.S. Mill, A. Tocqueville and A. Smith about the nature of relations between the individual and society, individual freedom, an ideal socio-political order and its economic fundamentals and principles of governance. The author in details analyses the genesis and content of the aggregate set of values of classical liberalism, such as individualism, freedom, reason, justice, tolerance, and private property.

  8. Socio-Cultural Factors and Ethnic Group Relationships in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Much has been discussed and written about ethnicity. This paper is therefore intended as a contribution to the management of interethnic/intercultural conflicts in Nigeria, with a focus on new ways of handling the basic socio-cultural institutions shaping ethnic consciousness. Furthermore, this paper highlights the basic ...

  9. Socio-Cultural Animation as Inspiration for the Life of the Society- Linking of the Social and Cultural in the Heart of the New Civilization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dušana Findeisen

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Initially, the author discusses the formats of passing on culture and knowledge that were used in the past, the formats of the times of creation of national States, the formats belonging to the enlightenment initiatives. Dušana Findeisen goes on to emphasize that all national States had their »englighteners« involved in inspiring, bonding and educating people of various professions, from various social groups, thus rendering the society alive and dynamic. Socio-cultural animation is a French concept, not as new as it may seem, stemming from popular education. After the Second World War the adjective popular started being omitted and the term socio-cultural animation slowly replaced it. Socio-cultural animation can be found wherever people are, regardless of their educational or social background, striving to bring improvement to individuals and society. Next, the author presents and discusses several definitions of socio-cultural animation, occasionally illustrating them by presenting examples of good practice. In addition to that, she identifies the prevailing criteria used when classifying formats of socio cultural animation, drawing the reader's attention to the great variety of actors in this field. Dušana Findeisen presents various functions of this subsystem of the French national cultural policy. Owing to them, socio-cultural animation can be clearly differentiated from community education.

  10. Tau decays: A theoretical perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marciano, W.J.

    1992-11-01

    Theoretical predictions for various tau decay rates are reviewed. Effects of electroweak radiative corrections are described. Implications for precision tests of the standard model and ''new physics'' searches are discussed. A perspective on the tau decay puzzle and 1-prong problem is given

  11. Teaching and Learning English as a Foreign Language in Taiwan: A Socio-Cultural Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kung, Fan-Wei

    2017-01-01

    This article examines the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context in Taiwan based on Vygotsky's (1978) socio-cultural framework. The historical context is provided after some delineations of the educational system in Taiwan with regard to its foreign language instruction policy and development. Based upon the proposed socio-cultural framework,…

  12. Socio-cultural and geo-ecological dimensions of mining areas

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmad, M. [Central Mining Research Institute, Dhanbad (India)

    2006-07-01

    In mining, health hazards may be categorized as physical, chemical , biological and mental. The paper points out that socio-economic impacts relates to the changes in social structure and characteristics of a community and may also initiate secondary environmental impacts which are very difficult to predict because they are somewhat removed from the original cause. Socio-economic impacts are related to the economic, environmental and health impacts because they are necessarily connected with these effects. Before prediction of such impacts, the evaluation of existing socio-economic structure of the area, local and peripheral procurement studies to illustrate population dynamics, land use, employment, cultural characteristics, and social facilities to determine the sensitivity to charge and whether the changes would ameliorate or degrade a situation. 5 refs., 2 figs.

  13. Socio-Cultural Conception of Albinism and Sexuality Challenges ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Socio-Cultural Conception of Albinism and Sexuality Challenges among Persons with Albinism (PWA) in South-West, Nigeria. ... For the female PWA the risk of being used for money making rituals; not knowing a sincere partner; their more fragile nature and perceived fear of societal objection and hatred in seeing a ...

  14. Socio-Cultural Problems and Maladaptive Behaviours of Post ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Through survey research design, this study investigated the socio-cultural problems and maladaptive behaviours of post-adolescents in Nigeria. Out of 379 National Youth Service Corps (N. Y. S. C.) members drawn from various parts of Nigeria for the 2010/2011 service year, deployed to Abakaliki, Ebonyi and Izzi Local ...

  15. Economic and socio-cultural impacts of Mainland Chinese tourists on Hong Kong residents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manisa Piuchan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this study was to investigate the economic and socio-cultural impacts from the burgeoning mainland Chinese tourists on Hong Kong residents. Ten individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted to collect Hong Kong residents' views. Content analysis was employed to analyze the data. The results showed that the socio-cultural aspects were reported negatively with regard to culture, shopping and dining, and transportation but conversely, it had a positive impact on education and infrastructure. The economic aspect showed that residents accepted and appreciated the economic benefits brought by the inflow of mainland Chinese tourists. The Hong Kong government should consider these impacts, and then provide better solutions for residents' lives and plans to cope with the upcoming scenario which might arise regarding Hong Kong's economic boom and more tourists traveling to Hong Kong. Recommendations are also suggested in this study for further development. Keywords: Chinese tourists, economic impacts, socio-cultural impacts, tourism impacts

  16. Examining Massification Policies and Their Consequences for Equality in Chinese Higher Education: A Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jian

    2012-01-01

    This study extends the theoretical perspectives in policy studies on the issue of educational equality by analyzing the influence of cultural values on policies and policy processes. The present paper first teases out the key cultural values regarding education and equality, and then explores how these values shape the institution and policy…

  17. An overview of cardiovascular risk factor burden in sub-Saharan African countries: a socio-cultural perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Degboe Arnold N

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sub-Saharan African (SSA countries are currently experiencing one of the most rapid epidemiological transitions characterized by increasing urbanization and changing lifestyle factors. This has resulted in an increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular disease (CVD. This double burden of communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases has long-term public health impact as it undermines healthcare systems. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the socio-cultural context of CVD risk prevention and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss risk factors specific to the SSA context, including poverty, urbanization, developing healthcare systems, traditional healing, lifestyle and socio-cultural factors. Methodology We conducted a search on African Journals On-Line, Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases using combinations of the key country/geographic terms, disease and risk factor specific terms such as "diabetes and Congo" and "hypertension and Nigeria". Research articles on clinical trials were excluded from this overview. Contrarily, articles that reported prevalence and incidence data on CVD risk and/or articles that report on CVD risk-related beliefs and behaviors were included. Both qualitative and quantitative articles were included. Results The epidemic of CVD in SSA is driven by multiple factors working collectively. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking contribute to the increasing rates of CVD in SSA. Some lifestyle factors are considered gendered in that some are salient for women and others for men. For instance, obesity is a predominant risk factor for women compared to men, but smoking still remains mostly a risk factor for men. Additionally, structural and system level issues such as lack of infrastructure for healthcare, urbanization, poverty and lack of government programs also drive this epidemic and hampers proper prevention, surveillance and

  18. An overview of cardiovascular risk factor burden in sub-Saharan African countries: a socio-cultural perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    BeLue, Rhonda; Okoror, Titilayo A; Iwelunmor, Juliet; Taylor, Kelly D; Degboe, Arnold N; Agyemang, Charles; Ogedegbe, Gbenga

    2009-09-22

    Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries are currently experiencing one of the most rapid epidemiological transitions characterized by increasing urbanization and changing lifestyle factors. This has resulted in an increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases, especially cardiovascular disease (CVD). This double burden of communicable and chronic non-communicable diseases has long-term public health impact as it undermines healthcare systems. The purpose of this paper is to explore the socio-cultural context of CVD risk prevention and treatment in sub-Saharan Africa. We discuss risk factors specific to the SSA context, including poverty, urbanization, developing healthcare systems, traditional healing, lifestyle and socio-cultural factors. We conducted a search on African Journals On-Line, Medline, PubMed, and PsycINFO databases using combinations of the key country/geographic terms, disease and risk factor specific terms such as "diabetes and Congo" and "hypertension and Nigeria". Research articles on clinical trials were excluded from this overview. Contrarily, articles that reported prevalence and incidence data on CVD risk and/or articles that report on CVD risk-related beliefs and behaviors were included. Both qualitative and quantitative articles were included. The epidemic of CVD in SSA is driven by multiple factors working collectively. Lifestyle factors such as diet, exercise and smoking contribute to the increasing rates of CVD in SSA. Some lifestyle factors are considered gendered in that some are salient for women and others for men. For instance, obesity is a predominant risk factor for women compared to men, but smoking still remains mostly a risk factor for men. Additionally, structural and system level issues such as lack of infrastructure for healthcare, urbanization, poverty and lack of government programs also drive this epidemic and hampers proper prevention, surveillance and treatment efforts. Using an African-centered cultural framework

  19. The role of peer interaction in cognitive development: Piagetian and Vygotskyan perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stepanović Ivana

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper deals with the role of peer interaction in cognitive development from the perspective of Piaget's and socio-cultural approach. The description of original Piagetian and Vygotskian ideas regarding the mentioned phenomenon and their comparison is given in the first part of the paper. Research studies of Piaget's and Vygotsky's followers brought theoretical and methodological innovations in the examination of peer interaction influence on cognitive development. At the beginning they were devoted to different aspects of social interaction. Piaget's followers recognized the importance of peer interaction for cognitive development and created a rich corpus of empirical data. The authors from socio-cultural perspective, following Vygotskian ideas, thoroughly investigated adult-child interaction and the consequences of difference in partners' competences on cognitive development in the process of adult's assistance within the child's ZPD. In the meantime, those two perspectives got closer and made the understanding of the phenomenon of peer interaction and its role in thinking development broader and more profound. Namely, Piagetians diverted attention to the importance of peer interaction for cognitive development and Vygotskians emphasized the relevance of asymmetry in peers' cognitive competences. The last part of the paper deals with studies of peer interaction which combine Piagetian and Vygotskian perspectives. The advantages of integrative approach and new discoveries are discussed. In addition to this, potential problems for future research are considered. .

  20. Modernization of Management: Social and Socio-Cultural Aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vinogradova, Marina V.; Babakaev, Sergy V.; Larionova, Anna A.; Kobyak, Marina V.; Layko, Mikhail Y.

    2016-01-01

    The relevance of the topic is determined by the new challenges faced by the Russian state in modern conditions that have a significant impact on public administration, which entails the need for its comprehensive modernization. In this regard, this article is aimed at the disclosure of social and socio-cultural aspects of the modernization of…

  1. The concept of learning in cultural-historical perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chaiklin, Seth

    2015-01-01

    their implications for understanding learning. Brief comments are made about the notions of internalization and zone of proximal development. Subsequent theoretical developments are mentioned, with a special focus on the idea of learning activity and developmental teaching. The chapter concludes with three issues......A cultural-historical perspective on learning is presented. The key idea is to conceptualise learning as self-mastery of action, using existing psychological functions. The main part of the chapter provides an overview of Vygotsky’s theory of higher psychological functions, and discusses...

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  3. A THEORETICAL MODEL OF SOCIO-PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT WORK PROCESSES FOR MANAGEMENT OF PRODUCTION TEAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tatyana Gennadevna Pronyushkina

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the management of production team, in particular the developed theoretical model of socio-psychological support work processes for management of production team. The author of the research are formulated the purpose and objectives of social-psychological work on management of the production team. Developed in the study a theoretical model aimed at determining the conditions and the identification of features of effective management of the enterprise taking into account the socio-psychological characteristics of its staff. Tasks include: definition of the main characteristics of the production team and their severity, the analysis of these characteristics and identifying opportunities for their transformation, development of recommendations for management of social-psychological work on effects on the characteristics of the collective enterprise.Practical study of the activities of a number of businesses have shown the need to improve socio-psychological support of management processes production team: introducing a social and psychological planning team and develop the practice of sociological research on the state of the team, to ensure the smoothing of relations between workers and management through periodic meetings, creations of conditions for feedback, maintaining healthy competition among team members.

  4. APRENDIZAJE, DESARROLLO Y EVALUACIÓN EN CONTEXTOS ESCOLARES: CONSIDERACIONES TEÓRICAS Y PRÁCTICAS DESDE EL ENFOQUE HISTÓRICOCULTURAL (LEARNING, DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT IN EDUCATIONAL CONTEXTS: THEORETICAL, METHODOLOGICAL ANDA PRACTICAL CONSIDERATIONS FROM A CULTURAL-HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rodríguez Arocho Wanda

    2011-04-01

    Full Text Available Resumen:En este ensayo se analiza la relación entre aprendizaje, desarrollo y evaluación en contextos educativos desde el enfoque históricocultural. Como método de trabajo se ha utilizado el análisis de discurso de las formulaciones teóricas originales del enfoque y una revisión de sus desarrollos actuales en investigaciones e intervenciones psicoeducativas. En el análisis, se identifican y se examinan conceptos centrales de este enfoque, paradójicamente poco discutidos, como es el caso del concepto unidad de análisis. Nuestro estudio revela una estrecha relación entre los procesos de aprendizaje (apropiación y dominio de artefactos y signos culturales, desarrollo (transformaciones en la conciencia y la subjetividad enraizadas en dinámicas históricoculturales y socioinstitucionales, y evaluación (herramienta que puede incidir sobre ambos procesos. Se presentan y discuten algunos ejemplos concretos de prácticas de evaluación que pueden promover el aprendizaje y el desarrollo. Se concluye que, desde el enfoque históricocultural, aprendizaje, desarrollo y evaluación, constituyen una unidad indivisible con serias implicaciones para las prácticas docentes y las investigaciones psicoeducativas. Estas implicaciones obligan a realizar una mirada crítica de las formas tradicionales de pensar y hacer evaluación en contextos educativos.Abstract: This essay analyzes the relationship between learning, development and assessment in educational contexts from a cultural-historical perspective. The methodological approach to analysis includes discourse analysis of the original theoretical formulations and a review of current developments in psychoeducational research and intervention. The analysis identifies and examines central concepts in the cultural-historical perspective, paradoxically not frequently discussed, as is the case with the concept of unit of analysis. Our analysis reveals a close relationship of interdependency between

  5. Socio-Demographic Factors Affecting Levels of Cultural and Non-Cultural Prejudice: Comparing Korean, Chinese, and Japanese College Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Hyun Sook; Jung, Sun Young; Lee, Jeeyon

    2017-01-01

    This study examined how socio-demographic factors related to the levels of cultural and non-cultural prejudice among college students from Korea, China, and Japan. We used data collected from the Asian Value Survey. The main findings are as follows. First, Chinese students showed the lowest levels of cultural and non-cultural prejudice. Second,…

  6. The socio-cultural significance of the diagnostic label "neurasthenia" in Japan's mental health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Munakata, T

    1989-06-01

    This paper is an attempt to explore the socio-cultural significance of deliberately disguising schizophrenia as neurasthenia, neurosis or malfunction of autonomic nervous system. To understand its significance, the socio-cultural background of Japanese attitudes toward mental illness and Japan's mental health care system is also examined from a non-Western standpoint.

  7. Socio- cultural importance of sacred forests conservation in south ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Sacred forests have been an important part of many African traditional societies for decades. This is an example of in-situ biodiversity conservation, which has supported various ecosystem functions. This study highlighted various approaches used by communities to enhance the socio- cultural importance of sacred forest ...

  8. The Natural Hospital Environment: a Socio-Technical-Material perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernando, Juanita; Dawson, Linda

    2014-02-01

    This paper introduces two concepts into analyses of information security and hospital-based information systems-- a Socio-Technical-Material theoretical framework and the Natural Hospital Environment. The research is grounded in a review of pertinent literature with previously published Australian (Victoria) case study data to analyse the way clinicians work with privacy and security in their work. The analysis was sorted into thematic categories, providing the basis for the Natural Hospital Environment and Socio-Technical-Material framework theories discussed here. Natural Hospital Environments feature inadequate yet pervasive computer use, aural privacy shortcomings, shared workspace, meagre budgets, complex regulation that hinders training outcomes and out-dated infrastructure and are highly interruptive. Working collaboratively in many cases, participants found ways to avoid or misuse security tools, such as passwords or screensavers for patient care. Workgroup infrastructure was old, architecturally limited, haphazard in some instances, and was less useful than paper handover sheets to ensure the quality of patient care outcomes. Despite valiant efforts by some participants, they were unable to control factors influencing the privacy of patient health information in public hospital settings. Future improvements to hospital-based organisational frameworks for e-health can only be made when there is an improved understanding of the Socio-Technical-Material theoretical framework and Natural Hospital Environment contexts. Aspects within control of clinicians and administrators can be addressed directly although some others are beyond their control. An understanding and acknowledgement of these issues will benefit the management and planning of improved and secure hospital settings. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. Socio-cultural attitudes of Igbomina tribe toward marriage and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The article namely: "Socio-cultural attitudes of Igbomina tribe toward marriage and abortion in Osun and Kwara states of Nigeria" by Adeleke Gbadebo Fatai has been updated with a new version bearing the author's current affiliation with significant editorial intervention. Abortion has been a social menace and its ...

  10. Learning of science concepts within a traditional socio-cultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The learning of science concepts within a traditional socio-cultural environment were investigated by looking at: 1) the nature of \\"cognitive border crossing\\" exhibited by the students from the traditional to the scientific worldview, and 2) whether or not three learning theories / hypotheses: border crossing, collaterality, and ...

  11. Socio-cultural determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine in Western Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sundaram, N; Schaetti, C; Chaignat, C-L; Hutubessy, R; Nyambedha, E O; Mbonga, L A; Weiss, M G

    2013-03-01

    Determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) were studied in urban and rural communities of Western Kenya. An explanatory model interview administered to 379 community residents assessed anticipated vaccine acceptance at various prices from no cost to full-cost recovery, socio-cultural features of cholera and social characteristics. Nearly all (99%) residents indicated willingness to accept a no-cost OCV, 95% at a price of US$ 0·8, 73% at US$ 4·2 and 59% at US$ 8·4. Logistic regression models analysed socio-cultural determinants of anticipated OCV acceptance. Prominence of non-specific symptoms for cholera was negatively associated with acceptance. A cholera-specific symptom (thirst), self-help referring to prayer, income and education were positively associated. In the high-cost model, education was no longer significant and reliance on herbal treatment was a significant determinant of vaccine non-acceptance. Findings suggest high motivation for OCVs, if affordable. Socio-cultural determinants are better predictors of anticipated acceptance than socio-demographic factors alone.

  12. Cultural norm fulfillment, interpersonal belonging, or getting ahead? A large-scale cross-cultural test of three perspectives on the function of self-esteem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gebauer, Jochen E; Sedikides, Constantine; Wagner, Jenny; Bleidorn, Wiebke; Rentfrow, Peter J; Potter, Jeff; Gosling, Samuel D

    2015-09-01

    What is the function of self-esteem? We classified relevant theoretical work into 3 perspectives. The cultural norm-fulfillment perspective regards self-esteem a result of adherence to cultural norms. The interpersonal-belonging perspective regards self-esteem as a sociometer of interpersonal belonging. The getting-ahead perspective regards self-esteem as a sociometer of getting ahead in the social world, while regarding low anxiety/neuroticism as a sociometer of getting along with others. The 3 perspectives make contrasting predictions on the relation between the Big Five personality traits and self-esteem across cultures. We tested these predictions in a self-report study (2,718,838 participants from 106 countries) and an informant-report study (837,655 informants from 64 countries). We obtained some evidence for cultural norm fulfillment, but the effect size was small. Hence, this perspective does not satisfactorily account for self-esteem's function. We found a strong relation between Extraversion and higher self-esteem, but no such relation between Agreeableness and self-esteem. These 2 traits are pillars of interpersonal belonging. Hence, the results do not fit the interpersonal-belonging perspective either. However, the results closely fit the getting-ahead perspective. The relation between Extraversion and higher self-esteem is consistent with this perspective, because Extraversion is the Big Five driver for getting ahead in the social world. The relation between Agreeableness and lower neuroticism is also consistent with this perspective, because Agreeableness is the Big Five driver for getting along with others. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  13. Knowledge Management from Organizational Culture Perspectives

    OpenAIRE

    Nguyen, Nhu T.B.

    2007-01-01

    This paper examines organizational culture perspectives to demonstrate their importance on knowledge management. Also, it is aimed to link three perspectives of organizational culture (Integration, Differentiation, and Fragmentation) to knowledge management. The conclusion suggests several implications of this paper and future research.

  14. Perspectives on Child Abuse and Labour: Global Ethical Ideals Versus African Cultural Realities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ajayi, A. O.; Torimiro, D. O.

    2004-01-01

    This article focuses on the global and African postures on the issues of child abuse and child labour. The global ethical ideals of the issues are characterized within their various theoretical perspectives while the African cultural realities are explored through the use of focus group discussion sessions, which were organized in six rural…

  15. Health behavior change models and their socio-cultural relevance for breast cancer screening in African American women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashing-Giwa, K

    1999-01-01

    Models of health behavior provide the conceptual bases for most of the breast cancer screening intervention studies. These models were not designed for and have not been adequately tested with African American women. The models discussed in this paper are: The Health Belief Model, the Theory of Reasoned Action/Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Transtheoretical Model. This paper will examine the socio-cultural relevance of these health behavior models, and discuss specific socio-cultural dimensions that are not accounted for by these paradigms. It is critical that researchers include socio-cultural dimensions, such as interconnectedness, health socialization, ecological factors and health care system factors into their intervention models with African American women. Comprehensive and socio-culturally based investigations are necessary to guide the scientific and policy challenge for reducing breast cancer mortality in African American women.

  16. Transformation of rural-urban cultural landscapes in Europe: Integrating approaches from ecological, socio-economic and planning perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Pauleit

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a review of the presentations and synthesis of the discussion during a Symposium on ‘Transformation of rural-urban cultural landscapes in Europe: Integrating approaches from ecological, socio-economic and planning perspectives’ held at the European IALE conference 2009 in Salzburg, Austria. The symposium addressed an extended and much debated subject of the landscape dynamics in Europe. The papers presented during the symposium showcased a broad spectrum of cutting edge research questions and challenges faced by the cultural landscapes of Europe. During six sessions, 18 presentations (besides 20 posters were made by 36 scientists (including co-authors from 14 countries, representing 25 institutions of Europe. A glance at the presentations revealed that the state-of-the-art focuses on driving forces and selected aspects of transformation processes, methods of its analysis and planning support as dimensions of research in this field. However, inter- and transdisciplinary research and integrative approaches to the development of rural-urban cultural landscapes are needed. The extended discussion session at the latter part of the symposium highlighted some critical and unaddressed research questions which remained a pending agenda for future research.

  17. Symbolic interactionism as a theoretical perspective for multiple method research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benzies, K M; Allen, M N

    2001-02-01

    Qualitative and quantitative research rely on different epistemological assumptions about the nature of knowledge. However, the majority of nurse researchers who use multiple method designs do not address the problem of differing theoretical perspectives. Traditionally, symbolic interactionism has been viewed as one perspective underpinning qualitative research, but it is also the basis for quantitative studies. Rooted in social psychology, symbolic interactionism has a rich intellectual heritage that spans more than a century. Underlying symbolic interactionism is the major assumption that individuals act on the basis of the meaning that things have for them. The purpose of this paper is to present symbolic interactionism as a theoretical perspective for multiple method designs with the aim of expanding the dialogue about new methodologies. Symbolic interactionism can serve as a theoretical perspective for conceptually clear and soundly implemented multiple method research that will expand the understanding of human health behaviour.

  18. Seeing GMOs from a Systems Perspective: The Need for Comparative Cartographies of Agri/Cultures for Sustainability Assessment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amaranta Herrero

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Over the past twenty years, agricultural biotechnologies have generated chronically unresolved political controversies. The standard tool of risk assessment has proven to be highly limited in its ability to address the panoply of concerns that exist about these hybrid techno/organisms. It has also failed to account for both the conceptual and material networks of relations agricultural biotechnologies require, create and/or perform. This paper takes as a starting point that agricultural biotechnologies cannot be usefully assessed as isolated technological entities but need to be evaluated within the context of the broader socio-ecological system that they embody and engender. The paper then explores, compares and contrasts some of the methodological tools available for advancing this systems-based perspective. The article concludes by outlining a new synthesis approach of comparative cartographies of agri/cultures generated through multi-sited ethnographic case-studies, which is proposed as a way to generate system maps and enable the comparison of genetically modified (GM food with both conventional and alternative agri-food networks for sustainability assessment. The paper aims to make a unique theoretical and methodological contribution by advancing a systems-based approach to conceptualising and assessing genetically modified organisms (GMOs and proposing a synthesised methodology for mapping networks of relations across different agri/cultures.

  19. Digital Divide among Youth: Socio-Cultural Factors and Implications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parycek, Peter; Sachs, Michael; Schossbock, Judith

    2011-01-01

    Purpose: This paper aims to examine socio-cultural differences in internet use (Digital Divide) among 14-year-old Austrian pupils, in particular usage scenarios and research competences. It is based on a paper presented at the International Association for the Development of the Information Society e-Society conference, 10-13 March 2011, Spain…

  20. Perspectives in geography of culture and civilizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grčić Мirko

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a comparative analysis of relevant methodological essence of "traditional" and "new" cultural geography. In the introduction is given an explanation of philosophic concepts of space, environment, place and the region in cultural geography. In second section is analyzed the meaning of civilization and the genesis of geography of civilization (géographie de civilisation. Special attention is on features of geographical posibilism as methodological paradigm, and the concept of cultural landscape as the essence of classical geography of culture and civilization. After this part are researched specific characteristics of certain academic schools and methodological perspectives in cultural geography. Postmodern paradigm and essence of "new" cultural geography are in the main focus. Postmodernism is changing the meaning of the basic concepts in cultural geography, which are analyzed in the introduction, such as space, culture, cultural region, cultural landscape and others. "New" cultural geography reassessed social and moral issues associated with the characteristics of the postmodern era. In this regard, methodological paradigm must be changed. This ascertainment is based on the interpretation of humanistic geography, where the emphasis is on the interpretation of cultural symbols, causal link and the "spirit of place" (Spiritus Loci. In accordance with modern conceptions of human in psychological notion, there are at least three theoretical directions, which find resonance in the appropriate cultural geography: behaviorism, psychoanalytic concept and cognitive concept - gestaltism and geography of perception. In conclusion is emphasized the need of finding a dialectical unity in "classical" and "new" cultural geography. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 176017

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

    Science.gov (United States)

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

    2008-09-01

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

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

    OpenAIRE

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

    2008-01-01

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

  3. Socio-cultural influences on the behaviour of South Asian women with diabetes in pregnancy: qualitative study using a multi-level theoretical approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Greenhalgh, Trisha; Clinch, Megan; Afsar, Nur; Choudhury, Yasmin; Sudra, Rita; Campbell-Richards, Desirée; Claydon, Anne; Hitman, Graham A; Hanson, Philippa; Finer, Sarah

    2015-05-21

    insecurity. While peer advice was familiar, meaningful, and morally resonant, health education advice from clinicians was usually unfamiliar and devoid of cultural meaning. 'Behaviour change' interventions aimed at preventing and managing diabetes in South Asian women before and during pregnancy are likely to be ineffective if delivered in a socio-cultural vacuum. Individual education should be supplemented with community-level interventions to address the socio-material constraints and cultural frames within which behavioural 'choices' are made.

  4. The socio-cultural implications of climate change in Cameroon ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Climate change impact has remained a serious threat to man and more particularly in the water-stressed environment of north Cameroon where in most cases, man struggles for bare survival by eking out a living from a harsh or hostile climatic environment. In this region, the socio-cultural impacts can be devastating as has ...

  5. A Case Study on Socio-cultural Impacts of Tourism in the city of Jaipur, Rajasthan: India

    OpenAIRE

    Singla, Dr. Manika

    2014-01-01

    This paper focuses on the community perceptions of the socio-cultural impacts of culture and heritage tourism in particular and examines the extent to which they coincide with the tourism impact literature. This study not only deals with socio-cultural impacts perceived by residents as the impacts of tourism development but also identify the effects of demographic variation on the residents' attitudes towards tourism. Considering the relationship between residents and tourism, the present stu...

  6. Katimavik Participant's Manual, Book VII, Socio-Cultural Activities = Katimavik manuel du participant, cahier VII, activites socio-culturelles.

    Science.gov (United States)

    OPCAN, Montreal (Quebec).

    The bilingual student manual, devoted to the socio-cultural learning activity portion of Katimavik (a nine-month volunteer community service and experiential learning program for 17 to 21 year old Canadians), contains sections on learning program objectives and trimester guidelines, optional activities, resume recordkeeping, general topic…

  7. Theoretical and Applied Foundations of the Subject of Ethnic Culture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gulnaz K. Tleuzhanova

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This article deals with the problem of the relevance of forming the subject of ethnic culture in the educational system on the basis of socio-cultural situation both in Kazakhstan and in the global community, presents views of leading scholars in the field of personality theory, theory of knowledge, gives author's definition of "the subject of ethnic culture"

  8. Plea bargaining and the religious cum socio-cultural concept of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Plea bargaining and the religious cum socio-cultural concept of Yoruba ọmọlúàbí in the Nigerian political landscape. ... Ilorin Journal of Religious Studies ... It therefore, attempts to define what is meant by plea bargaining, introduction as to its ...

  9. Discovering Socio-cultural Aspects of Science Through Artworks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Güney, Burcu Gülay; Şeker, Hayati

    2017-11-01

    Scientific literacy is one of the primary purposes of science education which briefly focuses on using and interpreting scientific explanations, understanding science within its culture. However, science curricula emphasize science with its cognitive aspects and underestimate affective and aesthetic aspects of science. Science education needs to cover beauty of science for students to cross borders between their own culture and culture of science and to achieve the aim of scientific literacy. Relating aesthetic aspects of science with content of science and paving the way for aesthetic experiences through artworks may enrich science education. The purposes of this study are to discuss the need of integrating aesthetic aspects of science in science instruction and to propose examples and pedagogical suggestions to promote aesthetic experiences into the science education. Artworks are selected to present socio-cultural aspects of science to demonstrate the culture of science, their stories are explained, and pedagogical suggestions are proposed. Advantages and difficulties of using artworks in science instruction are discussed as a result of the study.

  10. Safety culture and accident analysis-A socio-management approach based on organizational safety social capital

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rao, Suman

    2007-01-01

    One of the biggest challenges for organizations in today's competitive business environment is to create and preserve a self-sustaining safety culture. Typically, Key drivers of safety culture in many organizations are regulation, audits, safety training, various types of employee exhortations to comply with safety norms, etc. However, less evident factors like networking relationships and social trust amongst employees, as also extended networking relationships and social trust of organizations with external stakeholders like government, suppliers, regulators, etc., which constitute the safety social capital in the Organization-seem to also influence the sustenance of organizational safety culture. Can erosion in safety social capital cause deterioration in safety culture and contribute to accidents? If so, how does it contribute? As existing accident analysis models do not provide answers to these questions, CAMSoC (Curtailing Accidents by Managing Social Capital), an accident analysis model, is proposed. As an illustration, five accidents: Bhopal (India), Hyatt Regency (USA), Tenerife (Canary Islands), Westray (Canada) and Exxon Valdez (USA) have been analyzed using CAMSoC. This limited cross-industry analysis provides two key socio-management insights: the biggest source of motivation that causes deviant behavior leading to accidents is 'Faulty Value Systems'. The second biggest source is 'Enforceable Trust'. From a management control perspective, deterioration in safety culture and resultant accidents is more due to the 'action controls' rather than explicit 'cultural controls'. Future research directions to enhance the model's utility through layering are addressed briefly

  11. Role of socio-cultural and economic factors in cyprinid fish distribution networks and consumption in Lawa Lake region, Northeast Thailand: Novel perspectives on Opisthorchis viverrini transmission dynamics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Christina Sunyoung; Smith, John F; Suwannatrai, Apiporn; Echaubard, Pierre; Wilcox, Bruce; Kaewkes, Sasithorn; Sithithaworn, Paiboon; Sripa, Banchob

    2017-06-01

    Opisthorchis viverrini (Ov) is a fish-borne parasite endemic in parts of Lao PDR, Cambodia, southern Vietnam and Northeast Thailand (Isaan) where an estimated 10 million people are infected. Human Ov infection, associated with hepatobiliary complications, including cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), occurs when infected fish are consumed raw or undercooked, a longstanding cultural tradition in the region. This mixed- methods descriptive study was carried out in Isaan villages around Lawa Lake, Khon Kaen Province, known for their Ov endemicity. Focus group discussions (FGDs) and in depth interviews (IDIs) were used to explore socio-cultural determinants underlying raw fish consumption practices, and global positioning system (GPS) devices to map local fish distribution networks. Qualitative data affirmed major socio-cultural and dietary lifestyle transitions occurring consequent on recent decades of modernization policies and practices, but also the persistence of Isaan traditional raw-fish eating practices and incorrect beliefs about infection risk avoidance. Fish traders/middlemen purchase most of the catch at the lakeshore and play the dominant role in district market fish distribution networks, at least for the larger and less likely infected, fish species. The lower economic value of the small potentially-infected cyprinid fish means local fishermen typically distribute them free, or sell cheaply, to family and friends, effectively concentrating infection risk in already highly Ov infected villages. Our study confirmed the persistence of traditional Isaan raw-fish meal practices, despite major ongoing socio-cultural lifestyle transitions and decades of Ov infection health education programs. We contend that diffuse socio-cultural drivers underpin this practice, including its role as a valued cultural identity marker. A "fish economics" factor was also evident in the concentration of more likely infected fish back into local villages due to their low economic value at

  12. Socio-ecological perspective of older age life expectancy: income, gender inequality, and financial crisis in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jong In; Kim, Gukbin

    2017-08-18

    Population is aging rapidly in Europe. Older age life expectancy (OLE) can be influenced by country-level depth of credit information (DCI) as an indicator of financial crisis, gross national income (GNI) per capita, and gender inequality index (GII). These factors are key indicators of socio-ecological inequality. They can be used to develop strategies to reduce country-level health disparity. The objective of this study was to confirm the relationship between socio-ecological factors and OLE in Europe. Data were obtained from World Bank, WHO, and UN database for 34 Europe countries. Associations between socio-ecological factors and OLE were assessed with Pearson correlation coefficients and three regression models. These models assumed that appropriate changes in country-level strategies of healthy aging would produce changes in GNI per capital as personal perspective, GII in social environment perspective, and DCI in public policy perspective to implement socio-ecological changes. Hierarchal linear regression was used for final analysis. Although OLE (women and men) had significant negative correlation with GII (gender inequality index, r = - 0.798, p = 0.001), it had positive correlations with GNI (gross national income per capita, r = 0.834, p = 0.001) and DCI (depth of credit information index, r = 0.704, p = 0.001) levels caused by financial crisis. Higher levels GNI and DCI but lower GII were found to be predictors of OLE (women and men) (R 2  = 0.804, p effect on OLE levels. Thus, country-level strategies of successful aging in Europe should target socio-ecological factors such as GII, GNI, and DCI value.

  13. Spatial analysis of digital technologies and impact on socio - cultural ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The objective of this study was to determine the spatial distribution of digital technologies and ascertain whether digital technologies have significant impact on socio - cultural values or not. Moran's index and Getis and Ord's statistic were used for cluster and hotspots analysis. The unique locations of digital technologies ...

  14. Managing Socio-Cultural Impacts of Tourism on the Rural Tourism ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Rural destinations within and around the World Heritage Sites have been required to implement planning procedures which would attract tourists that bring economic benefits while at the same time ensuring that the socio-cultural and environmental fabric of the community is not compromised. KwaZulu-Natal province has ...

  15. SOCIO-CULTURAL COMPETENCE FORMATION BY MEANS OF TRANSLATION IN THE CONDITIONS OF INCLUSIVE EDUCATION

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kateryna Shapochka

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is devoted to the problem of socio-cultural competence formation by means of translation / interpretation and the necessity of foreign language communicative competence formation in the process of inclusive education. The question of training of young generation for life in a multi-ethnic and multicultural society, forming skills of communication and cooperation with people of different nationalities, the foreign language learning, the formation of the communicative and socio-cultural competence is one of the main tasks of modern school to meet educational needs persons with disabilities. Today’s realities require that students with special educational needs should study a foreign language and use it in the process of learning. In turn, the use of translation in the process of learning a foreign language helps students to get new skills, to form general and specific competences, including socio-cultural competence, which promotes socialization of children with special needs, and integrating them into a comprehensive system of Ukraine. The article raises the problem of modernization of the educational system. It was established that the formation of socio-cultural competence by means of written translation is done by means of a system of exercises. Based on this system, subsystems, groups and types of exercises their systems can be developed in accordance with human activity, objectives and learning environment. It shows that the development of an inclusive approach to learning demands new solutions towards learning a foreign language at different levels of education.

  16. Initial Writing Learning from a Socio-Cultural Perspective: A Learning Experience on the Research Field

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Ivoneth Lozano Rodríguez

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available In this article, the fundamentals of the training process of researchers on the Master in Pedagogy of the Mother Tongue context are explained. The reflection is oriented from projects that are developed in the first writing cycle. It presents the accompaniment process in the disciplinary, pedagogical, didactic and investigative field, starting from the teaching of writing problem in the first education. It starts from recognizing prescriptive and normative practices of language teaching in which writing is unknown as a social activity and the evolutionary process is not taken into account, nor a scaffolding that enhances what children already know favors their appropriation from social interaction and the granting of differentiated aid. In the same way, the article shows how, from the action research, transformative didactic proposals are being constructed, within the pedagogy by projects framework. That seek to correspond with the fundamentals of an interaction and sociocultural theory of learning and with a socio-discursive perspective of the acquisition of writing in which it is recognized as a fundamentally social, intentional, situated activity and its learning is constructed in interaction processes.

  17. USES OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO PROMOTE ASEAN SOCIO-CULTURAL COMMUNITY IN VIETNAM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ulas Basar Gezgin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available The global openness of Vietnam brought out very fast major social changes. The country is a party to a number of international economic agreements and frameworks including World Trade Organization, Trans Pacific Partnership as well as ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations. External economic factors such as those associated with South East Asian integration are coupled with ASEAN’s ambition to set up a socio-cultural community in addition to the economic community. In the meantime, the popularity of social media is rapidly growing in Vietnam with more than 30 million Vietnamese Facebook accounts. Considering these 2 major influences, ie social media and regional integration efforts, this article proposes a number of recommendations to use social media to promote ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community.

  18. Hosts' perception of economic and socio-cultural tourism impacts

    OpenAIRE

    Kamšek, David; Milfelner, Borut; Ogorelc, Anton

    2015-01-01

    Analyzing tourism perceptions of host communities and residents' attitudes toward tourism development has been gaining increasing attention in the tourism research. This paper examines how residents perceive positive and negative economic and socio-cultural impacts of tourism. The authors identify several differences between two groups of respondents: residents employed in tourism and other residents. The study provides tourism planners with useful information concerning specific elements ass...

  19. Socio-Psycho-Pedagogical Support of Migrant Children Adjustment in Educational Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konkina, Evgeniya Vladimirovna; Lutovina, Ekaterina Emeljanovna; Anatolievna, Nikolaev? Natalia; Egorova, Yulia Nikolaevna; Thyssen, Petr Pavlovich

    2015-01-01

    The article deals with the problem of migration, the formation of cultural identity and the establishment of intercultural dialogue at various levels of adjustive interaction from the perspective of the need to implement the socio-psycho-pedagogical support to migrant children when adjusting in educational institutions. Analysis of foreign and…

  20. Socio-political, cultural and economic preferences and behaviour of the social and cultural specialists and the technocrats. Social class or education?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Güveli, A.; Need, A.; Graaf, N.D. de

    2007-01-01

    Do the social and cultural specialists differ from the technocrats and other social classes with respect to their socio-political, cultural and economic preferences and behaviour? If they do, is this attributable to their level and field of education? The social and cultural specialists are assumed

  1. Safety culture and accident analysis-A socio-management approach based on organizational safety social capital

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rao, Suman [Risk Analyst (India)]. E-mail: sumanashokrao@yahoo.co.in

    2007-04-11

    One of the biggest challenges for organizations in today's competitive business environment is to create and preserve a self-sustaining safety culture. Typically, Key drivers of safety culture in many organizations are regulation, audits, safety training, various types of employee exhortations to comply with safety norms, etc. However, less evident factors like networking relationships and social trust amongst employees, as also extended networking relationships and social trust of organizations with external stakeholders like government, suppliers, regulators, etc., which constitute the safety social capital in the Organization-seem to also influence the sustenance of organizational safety culture. Can erosion in safety social capital cause deterioration in safety culture and contribute to accidents? If so, how does it contribute? As existing accident analysis models do not provide answers to these questions, CAMSoC (Curtailing Accidents by Managing Social Capital), an accident analysis model, is proposed. As an illustration, five accidents: Bhopal (India), Hyatt Regency (USA), Tenerife (Canary Islands), Westray (Canada) and Exxon Valdez (USA) have been analyzed using CAMSoC. This limited cross-industry analysis provides two key socio-management insights: the biggest source of motivation that causes deviant behavior leading to accidents is 'Faulty Value Systems'. The second biggest source is 'Enforceable Trust'. From a management control perspective, deterioration in safety culture and resultant accidents is more due to the 'action controls' rather than explicit 'cultural controls'. Future research directions to enhance the model's utility through layering are addressed briefly.

  2. Organizational Culture In Perspective Anthropology

    OpenAIRE

    Safriadi, Supriadi Hamdat, Munsi Lampe, Musran Munizu

    2016-01-01

    - This article describes the anthropological perspective in the study of the organization, particularly related to the culture of the organization. Organizational culture is a reflection of the organization itself. Anthropology as a science that covers the study of culture takes an important role in the development of cultural studies organization. An ethnographic approach that looks at the phenomenon based on what the owner or the perpetrator of culture will provide a positive contributio...

  3. Socio-cultural barriers to the development of a sustainable energy system - the case of hydrogen

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kjerulf Petersen, L.; Holst Andersen, A.

    2009-02-15

    Any transition to a more sustainable energy system, radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is bound to run in to a host of different barriers - technological and economic, but also socio-cultural. This will also be the case for any large-scale application of hydrogen as energy carrier, especially if the system is going to be based on renewable energy sources. The aim of these research notes is to review and discuss major socio-cultural barriers to new forms of energy supply in general and to hydrogen specifically. Reaching sufficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may require more than large-scale dissemination of renewable energy sources. Also reductions or moderations in energy demand may be necessary. Hence, a central point in the research note is to consider not only socio-cultural obstacles for changing technologies in energy production, distribution and consumption but also obstacles for changing the scale of energy consumption, i.e. moderating the growth in how much energy is consumed or even reducing consumption volumes. (au)

  4. A socio-interpersonal perspective on PTSD: the case for environments and interpersonal processes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maercker, Andreas; Horn, Andrea B

    2013-01-01

    Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a common reaction to traumatic experiences. We propose a socio-interpersonal model of PTSD that complements existing models of post-traumatic memory processes or neurobiological changes. The model adds an interpersonal perspective to explain responses to traumatic stress. The framework draws from lifespan psychology, cultural psychology and research into close relationships and groups. Additionally, clinical knowledge about PTSD is incorporated. This involves knowledge about shame, guilt, estrangement feelings and protective factors, such as social support and forgiveness. Three levels are proposed at which relevant interpersonal processes can be situated and should be adequately researched. First, the individual level comprises social affective states, such as shame, guilt, anger and feelings of revenge. Second, at the close relationship level, social support, negative exchange (ostracism and blaming the victim), disclosure and empathy are proposed as dyadic processes relevant to PTSD research and treatment. Third, the distant social level represents culture and society, in which the collectivistic nature of trauma, perceived injustice, and social acknowledgement are concepts that predict the response trajectories to traumatic stress. Research by the current authors and others is cited in an effort to promote future investigation based on the current model. Methodological implications, such as multi-level data analyses, and clinical implications, such as the need for couple, community or larger-level societal interventions, are both outlined. The socio-interpersonal model proposes an interpersonal view of the processes that occur in the aftermath of a traumatic experience. At the individual level, the model integrates the social affective phenomena that clinical research identifies in PTSD patients, including shame, guilt, anger, revenge and the urges or reluctance to disclose. At the level of close relationships, there is

  5. Theoretical Perspectives on the Internationalization of Firms

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rask, Morten; Håkonsson, Dorthe Døjbak; Strandskov, Jesper

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to build a coherent framework of the four main theories relating to the internationalization of firms, in order to facilitate better business teaching and research. Yet, theories of the internationalization of firms are broad and rest on different underlying...... assumptions. With the purpose of clarifying the potential for integration of partial theories and fragments in a more logically connected theoretical area, this article offers a meta-theoretical overview of four perspectives within international business economics: Research and its related background, basic...

  6. Latin Loans In French Contemporary Advertising: Socio-Cultural, Linguistic and Psychological Aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olga Kudinova

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available The article deals with the Latin language borrowings in the modern French language. The functioning of Latin borrowings in French advertising is analyzed. The attention is drown to the socio-cultural, linguistic and psychological aspects of this functioning. General trends concerning latinisms in French language are the clear proof of the importance and vitality of Latin into French society. It was shown that the Latin language has greatly influenced the French cultural memory and common European culture.

  7. HORIZONTAL OBJECTIVES OF EU PROGRAMMES AND THE SOCIO-CULTURAL CONTEXT FOR EAP MEMBERS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina Teodora MANOLESCU

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available As the Eastern Partnership (EaP was founded in 2009, between European Union (EU and six countries from Eastern Europe, its main goal was to create adequate conditions for economic integration, social and regional development of the EaP country members. Based on the same principles as the EU was built, international law and fundamental values (e.g. human rights, freedom, democracy, rule of law, sustainable development and also good governance, the EaP was regularly analysed and renewed (once every two years in order to better respond to the needs of Eastern European countries. Even so, while the economic context was especially considered, there are still some actions to be undertaken with regards to socio-cultural factors. Therefore the aim of the paper is to analyse the socio-cultural context of the six Eastern European EaP members (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in order to make recommendations regarding their absorption capacity when integrating the horizontal EU objectives into the funding neighbourhood instruments. Our main research question is: what is the right approach for developing operational funding programmes (individual/bilateral or partnership/multilateral participations for EaP members: is it by maintaining the EU horizontal objective or by adapting these objectives from the beginning considering the socio-cultural context?

  8. REPAiR: REsource Management in Peri-urban AReas: Going Beyond Urban Metabolism : D3.2 Socio-cultural/socio-economic and company-related investigations for pilot cases

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Grünhut, Z; Bodor, Akos; Lovász, Virág; Moticska, Zsombor; Varju, Viktor

    2017-01-01

    Task 3.3 of the REPAiR project is dealing with the linkages between socio-cultural and socio-moral features and social sensitiveness and awareness about general environmental issues, and particularly about waste and resource management. The basic assumption is that the different agents’

  9. New Perspectives of Social and Cultural History

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sevelsted, Anders

    2017-01-01

    Report from the conference "New Perspectives of Social and Cultural History" (06.10.2016 - 07.10.2016) in Berlin. Organized by: Free University Berlin; Malmö University......Report from the conference "New Perspectives of Social and Cultural History" (06.10.2016 - 07.10.2016) in Berlin. Organized by: Free University Berlin; Malmö University...

  10. Broadening the examination of socio-cultural constructs relevant to African American colorectal cancer screening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanders Thompson, V. L.; Harris, J.; Clark, E.M.; Purnell, J.; Deshpande, A.D.

    2014-01-01

    The importance of socio-cultural constructs as influences on cancer attitudes and screening has been established in the literature. This paper reports on efforts to explore alternatives to constructs previously associated with African American cancer screening, but with low acceptance among community members or incomplete measurement (empowerment and collectivism) and develop a measure for a recently identified construct of interest (privacy). We report preliminary psychometric data on these socio-cultural scales and their associations with cancer attitudes. African Americans (N=1021), 50 to 75 years of age participated in this study. Participants were identified via a listed sample and completed a telephone survey administered via call center. Socio-cultural attitudes were assessed using items identified through computerized database searches, reviewed by advisory panels, edited and tested using cognitive response strategies. Cancer screening pros and cons, cancer worry, perceived cancer risk, colorectal cancer screening subjective norms, and perceived self-efficacy for colorectal cancer screening were also assessed. Confirmatory factor analyses and multivariate analyses were conducted to provide support for the validity of the constructs and to understand the associations among the selected socio-cultural constructs (empowerment, collectivism and empowerment) and cancer beliefs and attitudes (CRC perceived benefits and barriers, perceived risks, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control/self-efficacy). Consistent with the literature, the factor analytic model (RMSEA for the model was 0.062; 90% CI: 0.060-0.065) provided support for the empowerment, collectivism and privacy constructs. The modified collectivism and privacy scales had acceptable reliability. The privacy scale demonstrated the strongest associations with measures of cancer beliefs and attitudes. The implication of the findings and need for further scale development activities is discussed

  11. Ligwomi Cult: A Facilitator of the Socio-Cultural Development of Igbo ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Ligwomi cult practiced among Igbo Imabana people of Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State is unlike other cults whose activities are regarded as nefarious. This cult has great socio-cultural significance and has brought some remarkable development in Igbo Imabana. We are poised to investigate such ...

  12. Socio-economic and cultural determinants of human african trypanosomiasis at the Kenya - Uganda transboundary.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jane Jemeli Rutto

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Kenya and Uganda have reported different Human African Trypanosomiasis incidences in the past more than three decades, with the latter recording more cases. This cross-sectional study assessed the demographic characteristics, tsetse and trypanosomiasis control practices, socio-economic and cultural risk factors influencing Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (T.b.r. infection in Teso and Busia Districts, Western Kenya and Tororo and Busia Districts, Southeast Uganda. A conceptual framework was postulated to explain interactions of various socio-economic, cultural and tsetse control factors that predispose individuals and populations to HAT. METHODS: A cross-sectional household survey was conducted between April and October 2008. Four administrative districts reporting T.b.r and lying adjacent to each other at the international boundary of Kenya and Uganda were purposely selected. Household data collection was carried out in two villages that had experienced HAT and one other village that had no reported HAT case from 1977 to 2008 in each district. A structured questionnaire was administered to 384 randomly selected household heads or their representatives in each country. The percent of respondents giving a specific answer was reported. Secondary data was also obtained on socio-economic and political issues in both countries. RESULTS: Inadequate knowledge on the disease cycle and intervention measures contributed considerable barriers to HAT, and more so in Uganda than in Kenya. Gender-associated socio-cultural practices greatly predisposed individuals to HAT. Pesticides-based crop husbandry in the 1970's reportedly reduced vector population while vegetation of coffee and banana's and livestock husbandry directly increased occurrence of HAT. Livestock husbandry practices in the villages were strong predictors of HAT incidence. The residents in Kenya (6.7% applied chemoprophylaxis and chemotherapeutic controls against trypanosomiasis to a

  13. [Music in health promotion and therapeutic practice. Cultural, theoretical and clinical perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mastnak, Wolfgang

    2016-12-01

    Music can serve as a shelter and music therapy can provide spaces for symbolic experience and the modification of behavioural and cognitive patterns. Explaining the power of music, ancient theories speak of an analogy between music and man. Similar views are also found in modern music therapy such as Sound Work, a voice-body-based model. Complementary to the aspect of analogy, the principle of transformation is of vital importance, such as the transitions between the five elements, the solid organs and the pentatonic scale in Chinese music therapy, for instance. Distinct modes of matter-mind-transitions define the theoretical framework of neuro-psychologically based music therapy. A triadic model encompassing neuro-endocrine, psychological and aesthetic facets explains the preventive and therapeutic effect of music in stress-associated disorders and burnout. Finally, a new voice-based model (Arion Psychovocal Therapy) is presented. Integrating anthropological theories, anatomical perspectives of movement, and artistic features it focuses on psychiatry, psycho-prevention, and public health and highlights the interdisciplinary nature of music in medicine. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  14. 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.

  15. Transculturality as a Perspective: Researching Media Cultures Comparatively

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Hepp

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Most of the research on media cultures operates in a "national-territorial" frame. Media cultures are considered as national cultures and other forms of media culture (for example professional journalism cultures, diasporas, celebrity cultures etc. are not investigated in their "deterritorial" character. But it is exactly such deterritorial forms of media culture that are gaining relevance with the ongoing pace of media globalization: they therefore have to be placed in the focus of comparative media and communication research. Starting with this consideration, the article develops a transcultural perspective on researching media cultures. Within this perspective it becomes possible to conduct comparative research on (territorial national media cultures as well as on other (deterritorial forms of present media cultures, as this approach moves the processes of cultural construction and articulation into the focus of analysis. To arrive at a better understanding of this approach, "media cultures" are defined as translocal phenomena in their territorial as well as their deterritorial relations. Based on this, the "semantics" of a transcultural research perspective are outlined, which then makes it possible to formulate practical principles for carrying out comparative qualitative research within this framework. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs0901267

  16. Review: Helga Kotthoff (Ed.) (2002). Kultur(en) im Gespräch [Culture(s) in Conversation

    OpenAIRE

    Matthias Otten

    2003-01-01

    Much of the theoretical and empirical research on intercultural communication in Germany emerges at the disciplinary edges of Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology or Educational Studies. The book "Kultur(en) im Gespräch"—translated roughly as Culture(s) in Conversation—edited by Helga KOTTHOFF, covers a wide range of theoretical and methodical approaches to the analysis of intercultural conversation and discourse. Most of the contributions refer to concepts of Socio-Linguistics an...

  17. Extending the Purposes of Science Education: Addressing Violence within Socio-Economic Disadvantaged Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castano, Carolina

    2012-01-01

    Current discourses about science education show a wide concern towards humanisation and a more socio-cultural perspective of school science. They suggest that science education can serve diverse purposes and be responsive to social and environmental situations we currently face. However, these discourses and social approaches to science education…

  18. Teachers' Knowledge and Views on the Use of Learners' Socio-Cultural Background in Teaching Natural Sciences in Grade 9 Township Classes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mavuru, Lydia; Ramnarain, Umesh

    2017-01-01

    This article explores teachers' knowledge and views on the role of learners' socio-cultural background when teaching Natural Sciences to Grade 9 learners at three South African township schools. Within a socio-cultural framework, the research investigated how teachers accommodate learners' cultural norms and values, religion and beliefs,…

  19. Theoretical Perspectives of How Digital Natives Learn

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kivunja, Charles

    2014-01-01

    Marck Prensky, an authority on teaching and learning especially with the aid of Information and Communication Technologies, has referred to 21st century children born after 1980 as "Digital Natives". This paper reviews literature of leaders in the field to shed some light on theoretical perspectives of how Digital Natives learn and how…

  20. Socio-cultural variation in reading comprehension development among fifth graders in Peru

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morales Silva, S.L.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Leeuwe, J.F.J. van

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the socio-cultural variation in reading comprehension development was examined in 331 fifth graders from schools in Lima, Peru. Reading comprehension was measured using an adaptation of the PIRLS Reading Literacy test. The fifth graders' reading comprehension results, measured over

  1. Socio-cultural predictors of reading literacy in fourth graders in Lima, Peru

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Morales Silva, S.L.; Verhoeven, L.T.W.; Leeuwe, J.F.J. van

    2008-01-01

    This study investigates socio-cultural cognitive literacy predictors for reading literacy (RL), tested in 314 fourth graders from two different levels of social economic status in Lima, Peru. The following variables were tested as predictors: word decoding, vocabulary, motivation to read, reading

  2. Socio-cultural barriers to the development of a sustainable energy system - the case of hydrogen

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Petersen, Lars Kjerulf; Andersen, Anne Holst

    Any transition to a more sustainable energy system, radically reducing greenhouse gas emissions, is bound to run in to a host of different barriers - technological and economic, but also socio-cultural. This will also be the case for any large-scale application of hydrogen as energy carrier......, especially if the system is going to be based on renewable energy sources. The aim of these research notes is to review and discuss major socio-cultural barriers to new forms of energy supply in general and to hydrogen specifically. Reaching sufficient reductions in greenhouse gas emissions may require more...

  3. Critical Socio-Cultural Elements of the Intercultural Endeavour of English Teaching in Colombian Rural Areas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sandra Ximena Bonilla

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available This article reports a study done with five English language teachers in Colombian rural areas. Questionnaires and interviews were used to see how these teachers understand their professional practice considering the contextual features of their regional workplaces. Amongst the findings, we noticed that these teachers have to mediate between local and global tensions and also deal with socio-cultural matches and mismatches in their labours. It is hoped this work raises awareness of critical socio-cultural factors involved in the teaching of English in rural settings and of the complexity of its intercultural dimension.

  4. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling of socio-cultural constructs among chamorro and non-chamorro micronesian betel nut chewers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Kelle L; Liu, Min; Herzog, Thaddeus A

    2017-07-05

    Betel nut chewing is embedded within the cultures of South Asia, and Southeast Asia, and the Western Pacific. The determinants of betel nut consumption are complex. Ongoing consumption of betel nut is affected by cultural, social, and drug-specific effects (i.e. dependence). This study's first objective was to assess the psychometric properties (i.e. reliability and validity) of the socio-cultural constructs in a survey developed for betel nut chewers. The study's second objective was to investigate the influence of socio-cultural variables on betel nut chewing behaviors among Chamorro and non-Chamorro Micronesians in Guam. The current study was a secondary analysis of a larger study (N = 600; n = 375 chewers and n = 225 former chewers) that examined socio-cultural factors that influence why chewers chew betel nut, along with assessing chewing behaviors, perceptions of risks, probability of changing behaviors, and methods that could be used to reduce use or quit. The socio-cultural constructs of the survey were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The socio-cultural factors were a sufficient fit with data and the instrument is reliable and valid, as indicated by various model fit indices (χ 2 (13) = 18.49 with p = .14, TLI = .99, CFI = 1.00, SRMR = .02, RMSEA = .03 with 90% CIs [.00,.07]). Cronbach's alpha, the sign and magnitude of the factor loadings, the inter-factor correlations, and the large proportion of variance extracted for each factor, all indicate that the instrument is reliable and valid. Additionally, multivariate analyses showed that socio-cultural reasons were important contributing or chewing betel nut. Participants cited chewing because their friends and family members chewed, the behavior is embedded within their culture, and it would be considered rude and disrespectful to not chew. Based on the findings, this study provides important implications pertaining to

  5. Text and Image of Advertising in Nigeria: An Enterprise of Socio-Cultural Reproduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taofeek Dalamu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The role of language in the construction of socio-cultural reality is inevitable. That is why text is used as a pillar that supports the explication of the intended purpose of images applied in multifaceted ad plates. It is a phenomenal tradition that has remained strong in ad campaigns. Advertisers make images and text as discrete components that are inseparable. Images and texts are sedimentary devices in ads, which we can consider as the social position that motivates this enquiry. After the selection of ten ads from various social strata, semiotics viewed from the stances of Saussure and Peirce has been applied along with social semiotics to analyze the ads. The study reveals that ads and advertisers are keen to the promotion of culture with the use of images with textual collaboration. Reference to antiquity has been exposed as a very useful material in ads because it fascinates the public by reproducing their about-to-be-forgotten cultural heritage. Social exercises in the ads create side attractions that lead to assorted photographic entertainment. Besides boosting the audience social knowledge, socio-cultural reproduction experienced in ads can propel the concerned agencies to repackage our cultural beauties as a means of economic growth and emancipation. Keywords: Advertising, Consumer, Language Function, Social System, Semiotics

  6. The Cultural Boundaries of Perspective-Taking: When and Why Perspective-Taking Reduces Stereotyping.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Cynthia S; Lee, Margaret; Ku, Gillian; Leung, Angela K-Y

    2018-06-01

    Research conducted in Western cultures indicates that perspective-taking is an effective social strategy for reducing stereotyping. The current article explores whether and why the effects of perspective-taking on stereotyping differ across cultures. Studies 1 and 2 established that perspective-taking reduces stereotyping in Western but not in East Asian cultures. Using a socioecological framework, Studies 2 and 3 found that relational mobility, that is, the extent to which individuals' social environments provide them opportunities to choose new relationships and terminate old ones, explained our effect: Perspective-taking was negatively associated with stereotyping in relationally mobile (Western) but not in relationally stable (East Asian) environments. Finally, Study 4 examined the proximal psychological mechanism underlying the socioecological effect: Individuals in relationally mobile environments are more motivated to develop new relationships than those in relationally stable environments. Subsequently, when this motivation is high, perspective-taking increases self-target group overlap, which then decreases stereotyping.

  7. The Impact of Tourism on the Socio-Cultural Environment in the Gorce National Park and its Vicinity

    OpenAIRE

    Luberda, Małgorzata

    2014-01-01

    The paper presents the problems of tourism in terms of its relationship with the social as well as cultural environment. The purpose of the article was to examine how tourism affects the socio-cultural environment in the Gorce National Park and its vicinity. I examined whether tourist traffic in the Park brings about more benefits or problems, and whether changes taking place in communities visited by tourists are positive or negative? The impact of tourism on the socio-cult...

  8. Think globally, act locally: understanding sexual harassment from a cross-cultural perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ulusoy, Hatice; Swigart, Valerie; Erdemir, Firdevs

    2011-06-01

    Sexual harassment in medical education has been studied in the Americas, Europe and Asia; however, little is known about sexual harassment in Middle Eastern cultures. Our initial aim was to describe the sexual harassment of female doctors-in-training by male patients and their relatives in Turkey. During our analysis of data, we expanded our objectives to include the formulation of a framework that can provide a theoretical background to enhance medical educators' understanding of sexual harassment across cultures. Questionnaires were provided to female resident doctors. Respondents were asked about their experiences of sexual harassment, about their reactions and about any precautionary measures they had used. Descriptive statistics were generated using SPSS software. Qualitative data were analysed using content analysis. Forty-nine (51.0%) of 96 distributed questionnaires were completed. Thirty-three (67.3%) participants stated that they had been sexually harassed by a patient or patient's relative at some point in their career. 'Gazing at the doctor in a lewd manner', selected by 25 (51.0%) participants, was the most common form of harassment. The methods of coping selected by the highest numbers of respondents involved seeking the discharge of the patient (24.2%), avoiding contact with the patient or relatives (24.2%) and showing rejection (21.2%). Participants' comments about the prevention of sexual harassment revealed a deep sense of need for protection. The interface between quantitative and qualitative findings and a review of the literature supported the development of a value-based, cross-cultural conceptual framework linking the valuing of hierarchy and conservatism with the occurrence of sexual harassment. We relate our findings to issues of patriarchy, power and socio-cultural influences that impact both the perpetrator and the target of sexual harassment. Medical educators are responsible for the control and prevention of sexual harassment of

  9. Socio-economic and cultural aspecrs of changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moshøj, Charlotte Margaret

    2009-01-01

    ! is chapter evaluates the possibility for projecting socio-economic and cultural impacts on Greenland’s society caused directly or indirectly by changes in the Greenland Ice Sheet. ! ere are, as yet, no well-documented direct causative links between the conditions for a society dictated by nature...

  10. Social Pedagogy and Social Work: An analysis of their Relationship from a Socio-pedagogical Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Marynowicz-Hetka

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available A proposal for the relationship between social pedagogy and social work will be made in this manuscript. It is assumed that social work is a certain type of practice cultivated by representatives of the social professions. Social pedagogy can provide an analysis of the field of social work, helping to orient activities within the field and to determine the proper selection of ways of conduct, a kind of a meta-theory. Such an approach enables interaction and cooperation between representatives of multiple disciplines within the humanities and social sciences who are engaged in social work. It also has consequences for the acceptance of multi-faceted and multi-dimensional approaches to activities in the field of social work, which is recognized as an important field for social pedagogues, allowing them to carry out social actions from various perspectives, socio-pedagogical among them. The socio-pedagogical perspective on social work will be analyzed in this article.

  11. Socio-psychological technology of building entrepreneurial culture of the geographical region representatives in Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tahir Yu. Bazarov

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the concept of an interdisciplinary project on the development and implementation of socio-psychological technologies of building enterpriseculture of the geographical region representatives in Russia. The purpose of this technology is to encourage entrepreneurial activity of the working-age population of a certain Russian geographical region with its cultural, historical, economic and socio-psychological features of the project launches by Professor Takhir Yu. Bazarov «Stolypin reform: version 2.0» and is being implemented in the Saratov region which is historically associated with the name of the prominent Russian reformer Pyotr Stolypin. The project started in the Chernyshevsky Saratov National Research State University in the course of the 7th Scientific Practical Conference «Organizational psychology: people and risks» (October 19-20, 2016 devoted to the interdisciplinary analysis of the reforming practice of the Russian economy within «past – present – future» transspective, leadership in terms of reforms and capacity assessment (socio psychological, cultural, economic of the Saratov region in the context of more active development of entrepreneurship by establishing the entrepreneurial culture. The paper describes innovative communication technology organization and promotion of value and target-oriented discussions of scientists, managers and students (among the authors T. Yu. Bazarov and T. A. Nestik are among the authors. The results of socio-psychological research are presented and discussed: a the image of Saratov city and the image of Saratov entrepreneurs, b Saratov citizens’ idea about the (ideal and actual image of Saratov entrepreneurs and Saratov respect of the business selfassessment by entrepreneurs of their image in the eyes of citizens, c the analysis of the reformer personality and successful leadership in terms of reforms, d the results of the comparative analysis of the early twentieth and

  12. Body dissatisfaction and socio-cultural factors in women with and without BED: their relation with eating psychopathology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bautista-Díaz, M L; Franco-Paredes, K; Mancilla-Díaz, J M; Alvarez-Rayón, G; López-Aguilar, X; Ocampo Téllez-Girón, T; Soto-González, Y

    2012-06-01

    The goal of the present study was to assess the role of body dissatisfaction and socio-cultural factors on eating psychopathology in women with Binge Eating Disorder (BED) and women without BED. Seventy obese women consecutively evaluated participated: 35 with BED and 35 without BED who attended for the first time in a weight loss program. All participants completed a battery of questionnaires, including: Body Shape Questionnaire, Questionnaire of Influences on the Aesthetic Body Shape Model, Questionnaire on Eating and Weight Patterns, Three Factor Eating Questionnaire, and they were interviewed with the Interview for the Diagnosis of Eating Disorder-IV. The Body Mass Index, Waist-to-Hip Ratio and Body Fat were calculated. The results showed that 21% of obese women who participated in a weight reduction program met BED criteria. The scores of body dissatisfaction, influences of socio-cultural factors and eating psychopathology were higher in women with BED compared with women without BED. In the same way, significantly stronger correlations were found among influences of socio-cultural factors, specifically, influence of advertisement, social relations and eating psychopathology in women with BED than women without BED. It is concluded that the high body dissatisfaction as well as stronger associations among influence of socio-cultural factors and eating psychopathology could play an important role in women with BED.

  13. Risk analysis-based food safety policy: scientific factors versus socio-cultural factors

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rosa, P.; Knapen, van F.; Brom, F.W.A.

    2008-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to illustrate the importance of socio-cultural factors in risk management and the need to incorporate these factors in a standard, internationally recognized (wto) framework. This was achieved by analysing the relevance of these factors in 3 cases
    The purpose of

  14. Problem Based Learning as a Cultural Tool for Health and Safety Learning in a Multi-national Company

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Adam, Henrik; Petersson, Eva

    2013-01-01

    The general background of this study is an interest in how cultural tools contribute to structuring learning activities. The specific interest is to explore how such tools co-determine employees’ problem solving actions in health, safety and environment (HSE) training activities in a multi...... learn to organise HSE actions in the context of using Problem Based Learning (PBL) applied as a cultural tool. More specifically, our interest is in how PBL promotes adult learning by drawing on learners’ experience and involving them in reflective and social processes in the given context......-national company context. Theoretically, the research takes its point of departure in a socio-cultural perspective on the role of cultural tools in learning, and in a complementary interest in the role of communicative framing of learning activities. In the research reported here, the focus is on how employees...

  15. Forming Future Teachers' Aesthetic Culture in Foreign Educational Practice

    Science.gov (United States)

    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…

  16. The paradoxes of gerotranscendence: The theory of gerotranscendence in a cultural gerontological and post-modernist perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kirsten Thorsen

    2009-10-01

    Full Text Available  ABSTRACTThis article presents a theoretical analysis and discussion of the theory of gerotranscendence, formulatedby Lars Tornstam (University of Uppsala, Sweden. The theory is presented as a meta-theory ofageing, as a theory of universal and general ageing processes. Ageing is seen as an urge (a drivetowards a less engaged posititon in the wordly life, moving towards a higher degree of transcendence,with a more cosmic outlook and another definition of reality. In this article the theory is discussed fromanother theoretical position; Ageing seen in a cultural gerontological perspective, as a varied culturallyand historically situated phenomenon – differing in different times and different cultures. The theoreticalperspective underlines that ageing is complex dialectical processes, an intertwined interplay betweenindividual development and cultural change. The varied individual ageing processes are not seenas the result of «drives». In Western post-modern cultures the ageing processes are becoming manifold,often contradictory. Elderly present versions of the selves that are becoming complex, multiplied (multipleselves, acting at different scenes, stamped by varied cultural values, presenting mixed versions ofactivity and passivity, engagement and retractment, wordliness and transcendence.Key words:  Ageing theories; gerotranscendence; cultural gerontology; postmodernism

  17. Socio-cultural factors, gender roles and religious ideologies contributing to Caesarian-section refusal in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ugwu, Nnanna U; de Kok, Bregje

    2015-08-12

    The death of women from pregnancy-related causes is a serious challenge that international development initiatives, including the Millennium Development Goals, have been trying to redress for decades. The majority of these pregnancy-related deaths occur in developing countries especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. The provision of Emergency Obstetric Care (EmOC), including Caesarean section (CS) has been identified as one of the key ingredients necessary for the reduction of high maternal mortality ratios. However, it appears that creating access to EmOC facilities is not all that is required to reduce maternal mortality: socio-cultural issues in Sub-Saharan countries including Nigeria seem to deter women from accepting CS. This study seeks to explore some of the socio-cultural concerns that reinforce delays and non-acceptance of CS in a Nigerian community. This is a mixed method study that combined both qualitative and quantitative strategies of enquiry. The hospital's delivery records from 2006-2010 provided data for quantitative analysis. This quantitative data was supplemented with prospective data collected during one month. Semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions (FGD) and informal observations served as the sources of data on the qualitative end. In total, 22% of maternity clients refused CS and more than 90% of the CSs in the focal hospital were emergencies which may indicate late arrival at the hospital after seeking assistance elsewhere. The qualitative analysis reveals that socio-cultural meanings informed by gender and religious ideologies, the relational consequences of having a C-section, and the role of alternative providers are some key factors which influence when, where and whether women will accept C-section or not. There is need to find means of facilitating necessary CS by addressing the prevailing socio-cultural norms and expectations that hinder its acceptance. Engaging and guiding alternative providers (traditional birth attendants

  18. Cultural values and diversity management perspectives : Testing the impact of cultural values on the diversity management perspectives in Sierra Leone, Germany and Finland

    OpenAIRE

    Mattila, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Cultural values impact the attitudes towards diversity management perspectives. Therefore they convey critical opportunities and challenges that a country encounters, and which need to be identified for the successful implementation of diversity management initiatives. This thesis discusses the different diversity management perspectives and their motivations and rationales to diversify and the process in which the national culture influences the organizational culture practices. The ...

  19. Theoretical Discussion on Forms of Cultural Capital in Singapore

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Cheng Yong

    2013-01-01

    This article is a theoretical discussion on five forms of cultural resources that constitute cultural capital for children in the meritocratic yet stratified society of Singapore. These five forms of cultural capital are namely "academic" tastes and leisure preferences, use of Standard English, access to and dispositions toward…

  20. Family Perspectives: Using a Cultural Prism to Understand Families from Asian Cultural Backgrounds

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Suk-Hyang; Turnbull, Ann P.; Zan, Fei

    2009-01-01

    Educators can better serve students who come from diverse cultural backgrounds by understanding the differing cultural values of these students and their families. This article explores different cultural perspectives using a cultural prism approach, focused most specifically on the Korean and Chinese cultures. (Contains 2 tables.)

  1. New perspectives on understanding cultural diversity in nurse–patient communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crawford, Tonia; Candlin, Sally; Roger, Peter

    Effective communication is essential in developing rapport with patients, and many nursing roles such as patient assessment, education, and counselling consist only of dialogue. With increasing cultural diversity among nurses and patients in Australia, there are growing concerns relating to the potential for miscommunication, as differences in language and culture can cause misunderstandings which can have serious impacts on health outcomes and patient safety (Hamilton & Woodward-Kron, 2010). According to Grant and Luxford (2011)) there is little research into the way health professionals approach working with cultural difference or how this impacts on their everyday practice. Furthermore, there has been minimal examination of intercultural nurse–patient communication from a linguistic perspective. Applying linguistic frameworks to nursing practice can help nurses understand what is happening in their communication with patients, particularly where people from different cultures are interacting. This paper discusses intercultural nurse–patient communication and refers to theoretical frameworks from applied linguistics to explain how miscommunication may occur. It illustrates how such approaches will help to raise awareness of underlying causes and potentially lead to more effective communication skills, therapeutic relationships and therefore patient satisfaction and safety.

  2. Socio-Cultural Variation in Reading Comprehension Development among Fifth Graders in Peru

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Silvia Morales; Verhoeven, Ludo; van Leeuwe, Jan

    2011-01-01

    In this study, the socio-cultural variation in reading comprehension development was examined in 331 fifth graders from schools in Lima, Peru. Reading comprehension was measured using an adaptation of the PIRLS Reading Literacy test. The fifth graders' reading comprehension results, measured over the course of fifth grade, were related to the…

  3. Students' socio-scientific reasoning on controversies from the viewpoint of education for sustainable development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simonneaux, Laurence; Simonneaux, Jean

    2009-09-01

    In this article, we study third-year university students' reasoning about three controversial socio-scientific issues from the viewpoint of education for sustainable development: local issues (the reintroduction of bears in the Pyrenees in France, wolves in the Mercantour) and a global one (global warming). We used the theoretical frameworks of social representations and of socio-scientific reasoning. Students' reasoning varies according to the issues, in particular because of their emotional proximity with the issues and their socio-cultural origin. About this kind of issues, it seems pertinent to integrate into the operations of socio-scientific reasoning not only the consideration of values, but also the analysis of the modes of governance and the place given to politics.

  4. East meets West: cross-cultural perspective in end-of-life decision making from Indian and German viewpoints.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chattopadhyay, Subrata; Simon, Alfred

    2008-06-01

    Culture creates the context within which individuals experience life and comprehend moral meaning of illness, suffering and death. The ways the patient, family and the physician communicate and make decisions in the end-of-life care are profoundly influenced by culture. What is considered as right or wrong in the healthcare setting may depend on the socio-cultural context. The present article is intended to delve into the cross-cultural perspectives in ethical decision making in the end-of-life scenario. We attempt to address the dynamics of the roles of patient, family and physician therein across two countries from East and West, namely, India and Germany. In India, where illness is more a shared family affair than an individual incident, a physician is likely to respect the family's wishes and may withhold the [Symbol: see text]naked truth' about the diagnosis of a fatal disease to the patient. In Germany, a physician is legally required to inform the patient about the disease. In India, advance directive being virtually non-existent, the family acts as the locus of the decision-making process, taking into account the economic cost of available medical care. In Germany, advance directive is regarded as mandatory and healthcare is covered by insurance. Family and the physician appear to play larger roles in ethical decision making for patients in India than for those in Germany, who place greater emphasis on autonomy of the individual patient. Our study explicates how culture matters in ethical decision-making and why the bioethical discourse is necessary in the concrete realities of the socio-cultural context. To explore the possibility of finding a common ground of morality across different cultures while acknowledging and respecting cultural diversity, thus remains a formidable challenge for the bioethicists.

  5. Biological and socio-cultural factors during the school years predicting women’s lifetime educational attainment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hendrick, C. Emily; Cohen, Alison K.; Deardorff, Julianna

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND Lifetime educational attainment is an important predictor of health and well-being for women in the United States. In the current study, we examine the roles of socio-cultural factors in youth and an understudied biological life event, pubertal timing, in predicting women’s lifetime educational attainment. METHODS Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 cohort (N = 3889), we conducted sequential multivariate linear regression analyses to investigate the influences of macro-level and family-level socio-cultural contextual factors in youth (region of country, urbanicity, race/ethnicity, year of birth, household composition, mother’s education, mother’s age at first birth) and early menarche, a marker of early pubertal development, on women’s educational attainment after age 24. RESULTS Pubertal timing and all socio-cultural factors in youth, other than year of birth, predicted women’s lifetime educational attainment in bivariate models. Family factors had the strongest associations. When family factors were added to multivariate models, geographic region in youth and pubertal timing were no longer significant. CONCLUSION Our findings provide additional evidence that family factors should be considered when developing comprehensive and inclusive interventions in childhood and adolescence to promote lifetime educational attainment among girls. PMID:26830508

  6. socio-cultural dynamics and education for development in zimbabwe

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mugumbate

    However, The Ministry of Education Sport and. Culture module of 2002 concedes that women have made inroads in the past 20 years in parliament ..... women are a contested area, as there is lack of cohesion because of the fragmentation of ideologies, perspectives and attitudes. Contradictions naturally remain between ...

  7. Visual Perspectives on Majority-World Adolescent Thriving

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cameron, Catherine Ann; Theron, Linda; Tapanya, Sombat; Li, Chun; Lau, Cindy; Liebenberg, Linda; Ungar, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This paper offers socio-ecological, situated perspectives on adolescent resilience derived from an application of interpretive visual methodologies to deepen understanding of adaptive youth development in diverse majority-world cultural contexts (South Africa, Thailand, China, Mexican migration to Canada). The research is not…

  8. Ancient Approaches to the Age-old Problem of Water - How Archaeology Can Contribute to the Water Management Discourse of Socio-Hydrology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egerer, Kyle

    2017-04-01

    As "the study of old things", archaeology is concerned with material remnants of the human past. At first glance, archaeology may not appear to align well with the purpose of socio-hydrology. Archaeologists attempt to understand past society by analyzing the materials and architecture that provide them with evidence of how people lived and organized their lives. One aspiration of doing so is to gain a contextualized perspective of how contemporary society became the way it is. Human interaction with water is recorded - among other forms of material evidence - in forms of infrastructure and architecture that people construct to control water's flow and preserve this life-supporting resource in times of human need. Building structures, such as water canals or reservoirs, represent society's endeavor to reconcile nature's incalculable influence on society while subtly revealing humanity's penetration into the natural hydrological cycle. Thus, a bi-directional - or reciprocal - relationship between society and nature exists. Socio-hydrological approaches to water management also attempt to understand this relationship. This contribution introduces an archaeological example of how to conceptualize the human-nature dynamic that can be used to understand the socio-political aspects that envelope water management. To evaluate how the Hittite civilization of Late Bronze Age Anatolia (ca. 1600-1200 B.C.) controlled water resources, the author adopts a socio-ecological approach informed by theories of socio-cultural memory and geomorphological analysis. Critical assessment of Hittite written and cultural evidence are compared with hydraulic infrastructure installations to determine how the Hittites used knowledge of their physical landscape to their advantage. In doing so, a framework for interpreting water management practices is formulated that indicates that solutions to water collection and storage were case-based and highly contextualized. Furthermore, legitimate

  9. Towards understanding international migration determinants today: Theoretical perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Predojević-Despić Jelena

    2010-01-01

    significantly different from those which lead to their stabilization in time and space. Although differences in the income height, risks, employment possibilities, market expansion can all influence the continuation of spatial movement of population, new conditions which arise during migration begin to act as independent factors: development of migratory networks, institutionalized support to the development of trans-national activities, as well as changing the social context of work in countries of destination. Therefore, in the analysis of contemporary international migrations the necessity arises for a systematic approach, namely dynamic perspective of research - from recognition to a detailed insight in changeable trends and forms of contemporary migratory movements in the world. In addition, at the same time with the development of new markets, regional economies and technology centers, there has been a 'trans-national turnabout' in the last fifteen years or so in researching migrations, namely a significant development in the approach which stresses the relations which migrants maintain with their families, communities and cultures which are out of the country in which they migrated in. The final part of the paper calls for the requirement of the following: coordination of theoretical concepts with new social conditions, post-industrial world and global processes of transformations in which migrations have an important role; overcoming inadequate coordination and isolation in studying migrations within special scientific disciplines, as well as poor connections of certain aspects of migration study; research of the causes and consequences of migrations as an inseparable part of the general process of social development. .

  10. An exploratory study of the socio-cultural risk influences for cigarette smoking among Southern Nigerian youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Egbe, Catherine O; Petersen, Inge; Meyer-Weitz, Anna; Oppong Asante, Kwaku

    2014-11-22

    The increase in smoking prevalence in developing countries including Nigeria has been mainly blamed on the aggressive marketing strategies of big tobacco companies. There is a paucity of research on other socio-cultural risk factors for smoking among the youth. The main objective of this study is to explore and describe socio-cultural risk factors influencing cigarette smoking among the youth in Southern Nigeria. A total of 27 respondents (5 community leaders, 4 political analysts and 18 young cigarette smokers) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) was used to analyse the data. Social-cultural practices fuelling early usage and exposure of children to cigarettes and the promotional activities of tobacco companies were identified as possible factors influencing youth's smoking behaviour in Southern Nigeria. Tobacco control policies should include cultural interventions to modify current traditional practices and social norms which fuel the use of tobacco in the society. Such interventions must target specific groups, subpopulations and subcultures more exposed to the cultural risk influences for smoking.

  11. Coalitions in Primary Triads: Reexamining the Theoretical Constructs From A Feminist Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Milstein, Kaylene; Baldwin, Cynthia

    1997-01-01

    Examines the theoretical constructs about the effects of coalitions in the father-mother-child triad from a family systems perspective. How this triadic view interacts with the historical patriarchal structure and with issues of power is addressed from a feminist perspective. (Author/MKA)

  12. Socio-cultural impacts of large-scale cruise tourism in Souq Mutrah, Sultanate of Oman

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Manuela Gutberlet

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The following paper explores socio-cultural impacts of large-scale cruise liner tourism on the traditional bazaar (souq in the district of Mutrah. The souq is located opposite the port in the Omani capital Muscat. Large-scale cruise tourism in Muscat started only in 2004 and has increased in scale and numbers in the past years. 24 cruise vessels with around 7600 passengers arrived in Muscat in 2005. Seven years later 135 cruise liners carrying 257,000 tourists docked in Muscat. Due to this dramatic rise of international cruise ships, the socio-cultural impacts have increased for local residents, shop vendors/owners and tourists alike. To capture those socio-cultural impacts on Souq Mutrah, a survey of cruise tourists was conducted by a questionnaire. In addition, the researcher used participatory observation, counting, and in-depth interviews with different stakeholders of the local community and different types of tourists during the cruise seasons 2012/13 and 2013/14. Moreover, content analysis of statistics and local media publications were used. Results indicate that the souq has become “the core of a tourist bubble”, where crowding is a major problem and local residents avoid the place. The social carrying capacity of the souq has been reached. Omani vendors are leaving their businesses and renting their shops out to expatriates. Since contemporary cruise tourists are low spenders, expatriate shop sellers have become more aggressive.

  13. A Parameter-based Model for Generating Culturally Adaptive Nonverbal Behaviors in Embodied Conversational Agents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lipi, Afia Akhter; Nakano, Yukiko; Rehm, Matthias

    2009-01-01

    The goal of this paper is to integrate culture as a computational term in embodied conversational agents by employing an empirical data-driven approach as well as a theoretical model-driven approach. We propose a parameter-based model that predicts nonverbal expressions appropriate for specific...... cultures. First, we introduce the Hofstede theory to describe socio-cultural characteristics of each country. Then, based on the previous studies in cultural differences of nonverbal behaviors, we propose expressive parameters to characterize nonverbal behaviors. Finally, by integrating socio-cultural...

  14. Expanding beyond individualism: Engaging critical perspectives on occupation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerlach, Alison J; Teachman, Gail; Laliberte-Rudman, Debbie; Aldrich, Rebecca M; Huot, Suzanne

    2018-01-01

    Perspectives that individualize occupation are poorly aligned with socially responsive and transformative occupation-focused research, education, and practice. Their predominant use in occupational therapy risks the perpetuation, rather than resolution, of occupational inequities. In this paper, we problematize taken-for-granted individualistic analyses of occupation and illustrate how critical theoretical perspectives can reveal the ways in which structural factors beyond an individual's immediate control and environment shape occupational possibilities and occupational engagement. Using a critically reflexive approach, we draw on three distinct qualitative research studies to examine the potential of critical theorizing for expanding beyond a reliance on individualistic analyses and practices. Our studies highlight the importance of addressing the socio-historical and political contexts of occupation and demonstrate the contribution of critical perspectives to socially responsive occupational therapy. In expanding beyond individualistic analyses of occupation, critical perspectives advance research and practices towards addressing socio-political mediators of occupational engagement and equity.

  15. Entrepreneurial Skills and Socio-Cultural Factors: An Empirical Analysis in Secondary Education Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosique-Blasco, Mario; Madrid-Guijarro, Antonia; García-Pérez-de-Lema, Domingo

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how entrepreneurial skills (such as creativity, proactivity and risk tolerance) and socio-cultural factors (such as role model and businessman image) affect secondary education students' propensity towards entrepreneurial options in their future careers. Design/methodology/approach: A sample of…

  16. Disability Policy Implementation From a Cross-Cultural Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdugo, Miguel A; Jenaro, Cristina; Calvo, Isabel; Navas, Patricia

    2017-07-01

    Implementation of disability policy is influenced by social, political, and cultural factors. Based on published work, this article discusses four guidelines considered critical for successful policy implementation from a cross-cultural perspective. These guidelines are to: (a) base policy implementation on a contextual analysis, (b) employ a value-based approach, (c) align the service delivery system both vertically and horizontally, and (d) engage in a partnership in policy implementation. Public policy should be understood from a systems perspective that includes cross-cultural issues, such as how different stakeholders are acting and the way they plan and implement policy.

  17. Cultural Emergence: Theorizing Culture in and from the Margins of Science Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, Nathan Brent; Erichsen, Elizabeth Anne; Anicha, Cali L.

    2013-01-01

    This special issue of the Journal of Research in Science Teaching seeks to explore conceptualizations of culture that address contemporary challenges in science education. Toward this end, we unite two theoretical perspectives to advance a conceptualization of culture as a complex system, emerging from iterative processes of cultural bricolage,…

  18. Historical, Socio-Cultural, and Conceptual Issues to Consider When Researching Mexican American Children and Families, and other Latino Subgroups

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Raymond Buriel

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In order for the field of psychology in the United States to maintain its relevance and validity, it must become more inclusive in its theory and research of Latinos, who are now the largest "minority" group in the nation. In particular, due to immigration and birth rates, Mexican Americans are the largest and fastest growing segment of the Latino population. This paper addresses some of the most significant historical and socio-cultural factors contributing to the psychological nature and wellbeing of Mexican Americans. These factors should be understood and used to guide research and theory in order to make the discipline of psychology relevant for Mexican Americans. The concept of mestizaje is used to explain the biological and cultural mixing constituting the diverse origins of the Mexican people. Immigration to the U.S. is described in terms of selective socio-cultural variables giving rise to a diverse Mexican American culture that is resistant to complete assimilation. Within a U.S. context, the constructs of generational status, acculturation, and biculturalism are used to explain the socio-cultural adaptation of Mexican Americans. The special role of children in immigrant families as language and cultural brokers are also discussed, and used to explain the adjustment of Mexican American families.

  19. Overall socio-economic perspective of the world economy to the year 2000

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1990-01-01

    The document contains the following 10 chapters: Introduction, Long-term trends in world economic development, Quantitative scenarios for the world economy to the year 2000, Structural changes in world production and trade, Long-term sectoral issues, New technologies, Environmental issues, Population and human settlements, Human resource development and social policy, Concluding observations. The chapter devoted to long-term sectoral issues includes an analysis of the trends in the field of energy consumption and production in the overall socio-economic perspective of the world economy to the year 2000. Figs and tabs

  20. School Socio-Cultural Identity and Perceived Parental Involvement about Mathematics Learning in Greece

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moutsios-Rentzos, Andreas; Chaviaris, Petros; Kafoussi, Sonia

    2015-01-01

    In this quantitative study we investigated the primary school students' perceived parental involvement in mathematics with respect to different school socio-cultural identity as identified by the students' ethnicity. 493 students attending the two last grades of three primary schools participated in the study. The role of the students' grade and…

  1. The Position of a Teacher as a Factor of Forming Students' Socio-Cultural Identities (On the Example of the Russian Civil Identity)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shakurova, Marina V.

    2015-01-01

    The article presents experience of structuring and description of teachers' position in the process of forming socio-cultural identity of the person, detailed in regard to the process of formation of one of the subtypes of socio-cultural identity--Russian civil identity. We identified and described real subjective, nominally subjective and…

  2. Russian Imperial Principles and Technologies of the Management ofEthno-Confessional Diversity and of the Integration of Traditional Socio-Cultural Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Igor I. Verniaev

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available This article discusses the new monograph by Boris Mironov, “The Russian Empire: From Tradition to Modernity,” which is devoted to the social history of Russia in the imperial period. One of its main characteristics is its fundamental interdisciplinarity and the use of various research methods and strategies. Mironov synthesizes the approaches of social, economic, political and visual history, social anthropology, historical demography, sociology, political science and psychology. I.I. Verniaev, an ethnographer by profession, views this book through the eyes of an ethnographer and analyzes it from the perspective of social anthropology. In his opinion, Mironov succeeded in deeply analyzing the principles and technologies of management of ethnic and confessional diversity and the transformation of traditional socio-cultural institutions. The article discusses how Mironov identifies and analyzes such imperial principles and technologies of management of ethno-confessional diversity, modernization, and integration of socio-cultural systems as maintaining the status quo, the relative autonomy of ethnic groups in the early stages of incorporation of the national borderlands, ethnic and religious tolerance, the use of intermediate symbiotic (neo-traditional, in terms of ethnography institutions, confessionalization, the predominance of social rather than ethnic assimilation, legitimation and the ennoblement of national elites, their inclusion in the system of governance of the empire, the extension and adaptation of the estate system to include new groups of the population from the national borderlands, the confessionalization of religions, and the empowerment of the clergy through rights and responsibilities in the administrative system. These processes are interpreted in terms of models of traditional societies and cultures developed in modern ethnography, and the manner of their modernization and incorporation into modern society.

  3. A globalization-oriented perspective on health, inequality and socio-economic development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tausch, Arno

    2012-01-01

    There has been an attention to inequality as a causal factor for deficient health in the medical journals over the last decades (Richard G. Wilkinson et al. and Schnell et al.); however, the reasons for inequality and the interactions of the underlying causes of inequality at the level of the world economy have not yet been properly explored in this kind of literature. The aim of this article is to provide a new, globalization-oriented, multi-disciplinary perspective on life expectancy, under-five mortality, inequality and socio-economic development in the world system, compatible with the advances in international sociological research on the subject over the last three decades. Taking up the traditions of quantitative sociology to study the effects of multinational corporation (MNC) penetration as a key determining variable for development outcomes such as socio-economic inequality and infant mortality, this article analyzes from the perspective of quantitative political science and economics this particular role of MNC penetration as the key variable for the determination of health, inequality and socio-economic development in 183 countries of the world system, using international social science standard data. As correctly predicted by quantitative sociology, but largely overlooked by the medical profession, the development style, implied by a high MNC penetration of their host countries, reflects the oligopolistic power, which transnational corporations wield over local economies. We took up an idea from Austro-American economist Joseph Alois Schumpeter (1883-1950), which states that the long-term effects of oligopolistic power are negative and lead toward economic and social stagnation. Our data show that although MNC penetration indeed led to certain short-term growth effects after 1990, today, social polarization and stagnation increase as a consequence of the development model, based on high MNC penetration. There is a negative trade-off between MNC

  4. Mundane science use in a practice theoretical perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Halkier, Bente

    2017-01-01

    understanding and public engagement with science. Many of the public communication initiatives, however, address lay people as consumers rather than citizens. This creates specific challenges for understanding public engagement with science and scientific citizenship. The article compares five different...... understandings of the relations between citizen-consumers and public issue communication involving science, where the first four types are widely represented in the Public Understanding of Science discussions. The fifth understanding is a practice theoretical perspective. The article suggests how the public...... understanding of and engagement in science literature can benefit from including a practice theoretical approach to research about mundane science use and public engagement....

  5. Auditing the socio-environmental determinants of motivation towards physical activity or sedentariness in work-aged adults: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keegan, Richard; Middleton, Geoff; Henderson, Hannah; Girling, Mica

    2016-05-26

    There is a lack of understanding of work aged adults' (30-60 years old) perspectives on the motivation of physical activity versus sedentariness. This study aims to: (1) identify which socio-environmental factors motivate physical activity and/or sedentary behavior, in adults aged 30-60 years; and (2) explore how these motivators interact and combine. Fifteen work-aged adults who, were able to engage in physical activity (Mean age = 43.9 years; SD 9.6, range 31-59), participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to generate an inventory of socio-environmental factors and their specific influences on motivation towards physical activity or sedentariness. Key socio-environmental agents found to influence motivation included: Spouse/partner, parents, children, siblings, whole family, grandchildren, friends, work-mates, neighbors, strangers, team-mates and class-mates, instructors, health care professionals, employers, gyms and health companies, governments, media and social media, cultural norms, and the physical environment. Mechanisms fell into five broad themes of socio-environmental motivation for both physical activity and sedentariness: (1) competence and progress; (2) informational influences, (3) emotional influences, (4) pragmatics and logistics, and (5) relationships. Similar socio-environmental factors were frequently reported as able to motivate both activity and sedentariness. Likewise, individual categories of influence could also motivate both behaviors, depending on context. The findings of this paper 'unpack' theoretical concepts into specific and targeted behavioral recommendations. The data suggested no simple solutions for promoting physical activity or reducing sedentariness, but rather complex and interacting systems surrounding work-aged adults. Findings also suggest that health professionals should be encouraged to support adults' health by examining the socio-environmental motivational influences, or

  6. A socio-internactive framework for the fuzzy front end

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Smulders, Frido E.; van den Broek, Egon; van der Voort, Mascha C.; Fernandes, A.; Teixeira, A.; Natal Jorge, R.

    2007-01-01

    This paper aims to illustrate that the dominating rational-analytic perspective on the Fuzzy Front End (FFE) of innovation could benefit by a complementary socio-interactive perspective that addresses the social processes during the FFE. We have developed a still fledgling socio-interactive

  7. Propuesta metodológica para la gestión formativa socio-cultural profesional en las universidades africanas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MsC. Moussa Moustapha

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available En la actualidad, para un desarrollo económico, social, cultural, político y profesional sustentable en los países subdesarrollados, es imprescindible que sus instituciones de la educación superior, como entidades sociales, tengan sus propios modelos pedagógicos y metodológicos, conforme a las realidades de sus contextos. Ello le permite no solamente jugar su rol social, involucrándose más en el desarrollo y transformación de su contexto, sino encausar una formación de profesionales que trascienden su tiempo, comprometidos, auténticos, flexibles, competitivos y orgullosos de sus tradiciones y costumbres.En el presente trabajo, proponemos una metodología de gestión formativa socio-cultural profesional para las universidades africanas, cuyo objetivo es contextualizar los procesos universitarios africanos. Ella es premisa de una valoración científica de los realidades socio-culturales contextuales, que desde sus raíces humanistas, ancestrales, milenarias y sus riquezas como potencialidades socio-culturales asienten el desarrollo de una identidad y autenticidad formativa profesional y un desarrollo cultural universitaria para el empoderamiento del proceso.

  8. Cyberbullying: A Cross-Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baek, Jieun; Bullock, Lyndal M.

    2014-01-01

    Numerous studies conducted in different countries have focused on empirical research and literature reviews on prevalence, consequences, and strategies relative to cyberbullying; however, there is a lack of research regarding cyberbullying from a cross-cultural perspective. This article reviews recent research on cyberbullying and presents…

  9. Toward an integrative social identity model of collective action : A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Zomeren, M.; Postmes, T.; Spears, R.

    An integrative social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) is developed that incorporates 3 socio-psychological perspectives on collective action. Three meta-analyses synthesized a total of 182 effects of perceived injustice, efficacy, and identity on collective action (corresponding to these

  10. Toward an integrative Social Identity model of Collective Action: A quantitative research synthesis of three socio-psychological perspectives.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van Zomeren, M.; Postmes, T.; Spears, R.

    2008-01-01

    An integrative social identity model of collective action (SIMCA) is developed that incorporates 3 socio-psychological perspectives on collective action. Three meta-analyses synthesized a total of 182 effects of perceived injustice, efficacy, and identity on collective action (corresponding to these

  11. A socio-cultural reframing of science and dis/ability in education: past problems, current concerns, and future possibilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connor, David J.; Valle, Jan W.

    2015-12-01

    In this article we assert the value of a socio-cultural reframing of science and dis/ability in education. We begin by problematizing current issues in education pertaining to the often-unquestioned concept of dis/ability and the impact that has upon research, theory, practice, and policy. As our topic is broad, we have chosen to focus upon four interconnected areas: (1) the historical mistrust of science and pseudo-science by people with dis/abilities; (2) the pervasive use of pseudo-science within the contemporary field of special education; (3) the use of dis/ability studies in education (DSE) to provide a contrast between a traditional positivist framing and a socio-cultural framing of dis/ability, and; (4) a brief exploration of what a DSE/socio-cultural grounding looks like for both schools and classroom teachers. In sum, our intention is to engage science educators to reject deficit-notions of dis/ability in favor of understanding it as part of human variation, and consider the personal and professional benefits of this shift.

  12. UNCERTAINTY IN NEOCLASSICAL AND KEYNESIAN THEORETICAL APPROACHES: A BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sinziana BALTATESCU

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The ”mainstream” neoclassical assumptions about human economic behavior are currently challenged by both behavioural researches on human behaviour and other theoretical approaches which, in the context of the recent economic and financial crisis find arguments to reinforce their theoretical statements. The neoclassical “perfect rationality” assumption is most criticized and provokes the mainstream theoretical approach to efforts of revisiting the theoretical framework in order to re-state the economic models validity. Uncertainty seems, in this context, to be the concept that allows other theoretical approaches to take into consideration a more realistic individual from the psychological perspective. This paper is trying to present a comparison between the neoclassical and Keynesian approach of the uncertainty, considering the behavioural arguments and challenges addressed to the mainstream theory.

  13. Demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors affecting fertility differentials in Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adhikari Ramesh

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Traditionally Nepalese society favors high fertility. Children are a symbol of well-being both socially and economically. Although fertility has been decreasing in Nepal since 1981, it is still high compared to many other developing countries. This paper is an attempt to examine the demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors for fertility differentials in Nepal. Methods This paper has used data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2006. The analysis is confined to ever married women of reproductive age (8,644. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been performed to describe the fertility differentials. The bivariate analysis (one-way ANOVA was applied to examine the association between children ever born and women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics. Besides bivariate analysis, the net effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable after controlling for the effect of other predictors has also been measured through multivariate analysis (multiple linear regressions. Results The mean numbers of children ever born (CEB among married Nepali women of reproductive age and among women aged 40-49 were three and five children, respectively. There are considerable differentials in the average number of children ever born according to women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural settings. Regression analysis revealed that age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, place of residence, literacy status, religion, mass media exposure, use of family planning methods, household headship, and experience of child death were the most important variables that explained the variance in fertility. Women who considered a higher number of children as ideal (β = 0.03; p Conclusion The average number of children ever born is high among women in Nepal. There are many contributing factors for the high fertility, among which are age at first marriage, perceived ideal

  14. Demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors affecting fertility differentials in Nepal.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Adhikari, Ramesh

    2010-04-28

    Traditionally Nepalese society favors high fertility. Children are a symbol of well-being both socially and economically. Although fertility has been decreasing in Nepal since 1981, it is still high compared to many other developing countries. This paper is an attempt to examine the demographic, socio-economic, and cultural factors for fertility differentials in Nepal. This paper has used data from the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS 2006). The analysis is confined to ever married women of reproductive age (8,644). Both bivariate and multivariate analyses have been performed to describe the fertility differentials. The bivariate analysis (one-way ANOVA) was applied to examine the association between children ever born and women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural characteristics. Besides bivariate analysis, the net effect of each independent variable on the dependent variable after controlling for the effect of other predictors has also been measured through multivariate analysis (multiple linear regressions). The mean numbers of children ever born (CEB) among married Nepali women of reproductive age and among women aged 40-49 were three and five children, respectively. There are considerable differentials in the average number of children ever born according to women's demographic, socio-economic, and cultural settings. Regression analysis revealed that age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, place of residence, literacy status, religion, mass media exposure, use of family planning methods, household headship, and experience of child death were the most important variables that explained the variance in fertility. Women who considered a higher number of children as ideal (beta = 0.03; p Muslim women (beta = 0.07; p media (beta = -0.05; p women in Nepal. There are many contributing factors for the high fertility, among which are age at first marriage, perceived ideal number of children, literacy status, mass media exposure

  15. Theoretical Perspectives on Sibling Relationships

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whiteman, Shawn D.; McHale, Susan M.; Soli, Anna

    2011-01-01

    Although siblings are a fixture of family life, research on sibling relationships lags behind that on other family relationships. To stimulate interest in sibling research and to serve as a guide for future investigations by family scholars, we review four theoretical psychologically oriented perspectives—(a) psychoanalytic-evolutionary, (b) social psychological, (c) social learning, and (d) family-ecological systems—that can inform research on sibling relationships, including perspectives on the nature and influences on developmental, individual, and group differences in sibling relationships. Given that most research on siblings has focused on childhood and adolescence, our review highlights these developmental periods, but we also incorporate the limited research on adult sibling relationships, including in formulating suggestions for future research on this fundamental family relationship. PMID:21731581

  16. Prediction and Cross-Situational Consistency of Daily Behavior across Cultures: Testing Trait and Cultural Psychology Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Church, A. Timothy; Katigbak, Marcia S.; Reyes, Jose Alberto S.; Salanga, Maria Guadalupe C.; Miramontes, Lilia A.; Adams, Nerissa B.

    2008-01-01

    Trait and cultural psychology perspectives on the cross-situational consistency of behavior, and the predictive validity of traits, were tested in a daily process study in the United States (N = 68), an individualistic culture, and the Philippines (N = 80), a collectivistic culture. Participants completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992) and a measure of self-monitoring, then reported their daily behaviors and associated situational contexts for approximately 30 days. Consistent with trait perspectives, the Big Five traits predicted daily behaviors in both cultures, and relative (interindividual) consistency was observed across many, although not all, situational contexts. The frequency of various Big Five behaviors varied across relevant situational contexts in both cultures and, consistent with cultural psychology perspectives, there was a tendency for Filipinos to exhibit greater situational variability than Americans. Self-monitoring showed some ability to account for individual differences in situational variability in the American sample, but not the Filipino sample. PMID:22146866

  17. Socio-cultural proximity, daily life and shopping tourism in the Dutch–German border region

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Szytniewski, Bianca B.; Spierings, Bas; van der Velde, Martin

    2017-01-01

    This paper analyses feelings of socio-cultural proximity and distance with a specific focus on the tourist experience in cross-border shopping and everyday life practices in border regions. We examined shopping practices of Dutch border crossers who visit the German town Kleve in the Dutch–German

  18. Organisational culture: A contemporary management perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Weeks

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyse the concept "organisational culture from a traditional and a more contemporary management perspective. Problem investigated: The concept organizational culture has assumed a very prominent place within the management literature and has been analysed from diverse multidisciplinary perspectives. Central to the importance attributed to the concept is the fact that it acts as a perceptual and behavioural determinant, which implies that it will have a significant impact on all human related institutional activities and thus the interest in the concept and its management. Researchers and management practitioners have come to assume that while the concept is difficult to manage in practice, it is possible to determine the prevailing culture of an institution, identify what is termed to be a desired culture for an institution and then analyse the cultural gap that exists. Based on the analysis conducted, it is further frequently assumed that the transition from the prevailing to a desired culture can be managed. A more contemporary management perspective, based on complexity theory, would appear to challenge the assumption of being able to actively manage the organisation's culture transformation process to ensure that a desired culture is manifest within the institution. The traditional and more contemporary approaches for dealing with the concept "organisational culture" are the focus of discussion and analysis in this paper. Methodology: A multidisciplinary literature review and analysis is undertaken to gain an insight of traditional and contemporary management theory and practice, as it relates to the concept "organisational culture" and its management. Findings: An important conclusion drawn from the study is that traditional paradigms of organisational culture management, that evolved within a more mechanistic manufacturing economy, is no longer effective for dealing with the unpredictable and

  19. Individualism and the field viewpoint: cultural influences on memory perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Maryanne; Jones, Gregory V

    2012-09-01

    Two perspectives from which memories can be retrieved have been distinguished: field resembles the view from the first-person vantage point of original experience, whereas observer resembles the view from the third-person vantage point of a spectator. There is evidence that the incidences of the two types of perspective differ between at least two different cultural groups. It is hypothesised here that this is a special case of a more general relation between memory perspective and cultural individualism, such that field and observer perspectives are more prevalent among people from, respectively, relatively individualist and relatively collectivist societies. Memory perspectives adopted by participants from a range of different countries were recorded, and were found to vary in the predicted manner. Regression analysis showed that the potential effects of three other cultural variables - uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and, to a lesser extent, power distance - were eclipsed by the influence of individualism, and the implications are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Institutional, Individual, and Socio-Cultural Domains of Partnerships: A Typology of USDA Forest Service Recreation Partners

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seekamp, Erin; Cerveny, Lee K.; McCreary, Allie

    2011-09-01

    Federal land management agencies, such as the USDA Forest Service, have expanded the role of recreation partners reflecting constrained growth in appropriations and broader societal trends towards civic environmental governance. Partnerships with individual volunteers, service groups, commercial outfitters, and other government agencies provide the USDA Forest Service with the resources necessary to complete projects and meet goals under fiscal constraints. Existing partnership typologies typically focus on collaborative or strategic alliances and highlight organizational dimensions (e.g., structure and process) defined by researchers. This paper presents a partner typology constructed from USDA Forest Service partnership practitioners' conceptualizations of 35 common partner types. Multidimensional scaling of data from unconstrained pile sorts identified 3 distinct cultural dimensions of recreation partners—specifically, partnership character, partner impact, and partner motivations—that represent institutional, individual, and socio-cultural cognitive domains. A hierarchical agglomerative cluster analysis provides further insight into the various domains of agency personnel's conceptualizations. While three dimensions with high reliability (RSQ = 0.83) and corresponding hierarchical clusters illustrate commonality between agency personnel's partnership suppositions, this study also reveals variance in personnel's familiarity and affinity for specific partnership types. This real-world perspective on partner types highlights that agency practitioners not only make strategic choices when selecting and cultivating partnerships to accomplish critical task, but also elect to work with partners for the primary purpose of providing public service and fostering land stewardship.

  1. How Does a Newcomer Construct Identity? A Socio-Cultural Approach to Workplace Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blaka, Gunnhild; Filstad, Cathrine

    2007-01-01

    The aim of this article is to develop the foundations of a socio-cultural approach and to determine how this shapes our perception of a newcomer's construction of identity in two different workplaces: a high-technology delivery ward with newly employed midwives and a real estate agency with newly employed real estate agents. We explore how…

  2. Text and Image of Advertising in Nigeria: An Enterprise of Socio-Cultural Reproduction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalamu, Taofeek

    2016-01-01

    The role of language in the construction of socio-cultural reality is inevitable. That is why text is used as a pillar that supports the explication of the intended purpose of images applied in multifaceted ad plates. It is a phenomenal tradition that has remained strong in ad campaigns. Advertisers make images and text as discrete components that…

  3. Influence of socio-cultural modernization on development of human capital assets in Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents major points of research into socio-cultural conditions of human capital assets accumulation in Russia. Notion of social justice, social responsibility of business, realization of their role as “vehicle of capital” by employees, national mentality – all this essentially influences on efficiency of human capital assets accumulation in Russia.

  4. Socio-Cultural Factors Associated with the Initiation of Opium Use in Darab, Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jafari, Siavash; Movaghar, Afarin Rahimi; Craib, Kevin; Baharlou, Souzan; Mathias, Richard

    2009-01-01

    This study aimed to identify socio-cultural factors facilitating initiation of opium use among drug users in Darab, Iran. A qualitative study using in-depth interviews was conducted. The study began in June 2006 and included 76 drug users, aged 20-43, of whom 95% (72) were male, and 5% (4) were female. The five most common factors facilitating…

  5. Social-cognitive and socio-cultural predictors of hepatitis B virus-screening in Turkish migrants, the Netherlands.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Veen, Y J J; van Empelen, P; Looman, C W N; Richardus, J H

    2014-10-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important health problem in the Turkish Dutch. Screening is necessary for detection and prevention of HBV. We aimed to identify social-cognitive and socio-cultural determinants of HBV-screening intention among Turkish Dutch. A cross-sectional survey was carried out amongst 335 Turkish Dutch, aged 16-40 years. Respondents showed favorable scores for the potential determinants of HBV-screening. Attitude, perceived behaviour control, social support and social norm, and the level of satisfaction with Dutch health care proved to be directly associated with screening intention. Relevant socio-cultural beliefs were shame, stigma, the association of screening with sexuality and family values. Persons with lower screening intentions had lower scores for attitude, perceived behaviour control, social support and subjective norms, but scored higher for feelings of shame and stigma regarding hepatitis B. This study shows how cultural values and social-cognitive factors are related to HBV-screening intention.

  6. Promoting community socio-ecological sustainability through technology: A case study from Chile

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aguayo, Claudio; Eames, Chris

    2017-12-01

    The importance of community learning in effecting social change towards ecological sustainability has been recognised for some time. More recently, the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) tools to promote socio-ecological sustainability has been shown to have potential in community education for sustainable development (ESD). The effective design and use of technology for community learning implies an understanding of a range of cross-dimensional factors including: socio-cultural characteristics and needs of the target audience; considerations of available and culturally responsive types of technology; and non-formal pedagogical ESD strategies for community empowerment. In addition, both technology itself and social communities are dynamically evolving and complex entities. This article presents a case study which evaluated the potential of ICT for promoting ecological literacy and action competence amongst community members in southern Chile. The case study addressed the ecological deterioration of a lake, which is having deep social, economic, recreational and cultural implications locally. The authors' research involved developing a theoretical framework for the design, implementation and use of ICT for community learning for sustainability. The framework was based on key ideas from ESD, ICT and community education, and was underpinned by a systems thinking approach to account for the dynamism and complexity of such settings. Activity theory provided a frame to address overarching socio-cultural elements when using technology as a mediating tool for community learning. The authors' findings suggest that the use of an ICT tool, such as a website, can enhance ecological literacy in relation to a local socio-ecological issue.

  7. Examination of Chinese Gambling Problems through a Socio-Historical-Cultural Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samson Tse

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this review is to highlight emerging trends about Chinese people and gambling addiction over the last 15 years, and to provide a discourse on the potential link between gambling and Chinese culture and history. The authors reported on the phenomenon of gambling among Chinese people using relevant research studies and reports and traditional Chinese literature. Chinese people have elevated levels of gambling addiction compared to their Western counterparts. These elevated rates are coupled with the rapid expansion of gambling venues within the Pan-Pacific region. While there is an accumulated body of research on Chinese and gambling, a systematic cultural analysis of Chinese gambling is still under development. We undertook a brief comparison between two ancient civilizations, China and Rome, in order to gain better understanding about gambling among Chinese people. To effectively deal with gambling addictions among Chinese people, it is imperative to develop culturally responsive interventions.

  8. Spatial Culture

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Reeh, Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Spatial Culture – A Humanities Perspective Abstract of introductory essay by Henrik Reeh Secured by alliances between socio-political development and cultural practices, a new field of humanistic studies in spatial culture has developed since the 1990s. To focus on links between urban culture...... and modern society is, however, an intellectual practice which has a much longer history. Already in the 1980s, the debate on the modern and the postmodern cited Paris and Los Angeles as spatio-cultural illustrations of these major philosophical concepts. Earlier, in the history of critical studies, the work...... Foucault considered a constitutive feature of 20th-century thinking and one that continues to occupy intellectual and cultural debates in the third millennium. A conceptual framework is, nevertheless, necessary, if the humanities are to adequa-tely address city and space – themes that have long been...

  9. Socio-Cultural Theories of Cognitive Development: Implications for Teaching Theory in the Visual Arts.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fielding, Rob

    1989-01-01

    Explicates the socio-cultural developmental theories of Vygotsky and Feuerstein which advocate teacher mediated learning in order to stimulate and accelerate development. Implications for art education include the need for the teacher to become involved in the enculturation of the child into the thinking processes and conceptual organization of…

  10. SOCIO-LABOR-PROFESSIONAL DYNAMICS OF BLENDED LEARNING IN HIGHER EDUCATION / DINÁMICA SOCIO-LABORAL-PROFESIONAL DE LA SEMIPRESENCIALIDAD EN LA UNIVERSIDAD

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pura de la Caridad Rey Rivas

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Due to the importance of autonomy and professional self-management as key factors in Blended Process of Formation, an integrative perspective of socio-labor-professional formation which permits to reinforce the leading role of students starting from emergent contents from the labor context and from the correct application of personal and professional resources, is needed. This will allow the students a critical contextualized interpretation of their formation process. From this perspective, the need to propose a Model of socio-labor-professional dynamics of blended process as well as a Didactic Strategy of socio-labor blended formation in Higher Education, is recognized. This permits to reveal didactic aspects that, in an integrative process, condition the logic formation of blended process from its socio-professional character as a dynamic point of the professional praxis in contexts of labor performance. This view allows students to develop a socio-labor-professional performance culture during their labor practice as well as a successful acting as a graduate. RESUMEN Por la importancia de la autonomía en el aprendizaje y de la autogestión profesional, como elementos esenciales del proceso de formación semipresencial, se precisa de una perspectiva integradora de la formación socio-laboral-profesional que permita potenciar el rol protagónico del estudiante partiendo de contenidos emergentes del contexto laboral desde la aplicación adecuada de recursos personales y profesionales que le posibilitarán una interpretación crítica contextualizada de su proceso formativo. Desde esta visión, se reconoce la necesidad de proponer un modelo de la dinámica socio-laboral-profesional de la semipresencialidad en la Educación Superior, así como una estrategia didáctica de formación socio-laboral de la semipresencialidad en la Educación Superior. Lo anterior permite la revelación de las particularidades didácticas que, en un proceso integrador

  11. Russkie v Latvii: osobennosti sociokul'turnoj adaptacii i identichnosti [Russians in Latvia: Peculiarities of Socio-cultural Adaptation and Identity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Voronov Viktor

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The author identifies trends and variations of the socio-cultural identity and integration of Russians in Latvia. According to the author, since the middle 1990s, two trends have been recognized - first, the “ingrowing” of ethnic Russians into the life of independent Latvia, and second, forming their new identity. The article presents a number of factors hampering the integration of ethnic Russians into Latvian society. Variations and options of socio-cultural identity and integration (or assimilation of the Russian population of Latvia are shown.

  12. Research on Lahu’s traditional sports culture from the perspective of cultural ecology

    OpenAIRE

    Wang Youfeng

    2016-01-01

    This paper mainly researches Lahu’s traditional sports culture from the perspective of cultural ecology and analyzes the characteristics of Lahu’s traditional sports culture, and analyzes the characteristics of Lahu’s traditional sports culture from three aspects: natural ecological environment, social ecological environment and spiritual ecology. What’ more, Lahu’ traditional sports culture is not only a concrete expression of Lahu’s production form and life style or a symbol of Lahu’s relig...

  13. Sustaining ecosystem services in cultural landscapes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tobias Plieninger

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Classical conservation approaches focus on the man-made degradation of ecosystems and tend to neglect the social-ecological values that human land uses have imprinted on many environments. Throughout the world, ingenious land-use practices have generated unique cultural landscapes, but these are under pressure from agricultural intensification, land abandonment, and urbanization. In recent years, the cultural landscapes concept has been broadly adopted in science, policy, and management. The interest in both outstanding and vernacular landscapes finds expression in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, the European Landscape Convention, and the IUCN Protected Landscape Approach. These policies promote the protection, management, planning, and governance of cultural landscapes. The ecosystem services approach is a powerful framework to guide such efforts, but has rarely been applied in landscape research and management. With this paper, we introduce a special feature that aims to enhance the theoretical, empirical and practical knowledge of how to safeguard the resilience of ecosystem services in cultural landscapes. It concludes (1 that the usefulness of the ecosystem services approach to the analysis and management of cultural landscapes should be reviewed more critically; (2 that conventional ecosystem services assessment needs to be complemented by socio-cultural valuation; (3 that cultural landscapes are inherently changing, so that a dynamic view on ecosystem services and a focus on drivers of landscape change are needed; and (4 that managing landscapes for ecosystem services provision may benefit from a social-ecological resilience perspective.

  14. Religion as dialogical resource: a socio-cultural approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baucal, Aleksandar; Zittoun, Tania

    2013-06-01

    William James proposed a psychological study of religion examining people's religious experiences, and to see in what sense these were good for them. The recent developments of psychology of religion moved far from that initial proposition. In this paper, we propose a sociocultural perspective to religion that renews with that initial stance. After recalling Vygtotsky's core ideas, we suggest that religion, as cultural and symbolic system, participates to the orchestration of human activities and sense-making. Such orchestration works both from within the person, through internalized values and ideas, and from without, through the person's interactions with others, discourses, cultural objects etc. This leads us to consider religions as supporting various forms of dialogical dynamics-intra-psychological dialogues, interpersonal with present, absent or imaginary others, as well as inter-group dialogues-which we illustrate with empirical vignettes. The example of religious tensions in the Balkans in the 90's highlights how much the historical-cultural embeddedness of these dynamics can also lead to the end of dialogicality, and therefore, sense-making.

  15. Socioemotional Development in Cultural Context

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xinyin, Ed.; Rubin, Kenneth H., Ed.

    2011-01-01

    Filling a significant gap in the literature, this book examines the impact of culture on the social behaviors, emotions, and relationships of children around the world. It also explores cultural differences in what is seen as adaptive or maladaptive development. Eminent scholars discuss major theoretical perspectives on culture and development and…

  16. Application of Cognitive and Socio-Cultural Theories in CALL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mustafa Akın Güngör

    2011-06-01

    Full Text Available Since it is quite difficult in traditional learning atmospheres for the learners to be exposed to the target language adequately in foreign language acquisition, CALL in which virtual environment is designed in more appropriate way has given rise. Two main paradigms, cognitive model and socio-cultural theory, have also been adopted in CALL. Moreover, rather than applying one theory, combination of these paradigms is unavoidable. However, application of this combination is challenging in practice, as these two theories have different principles. Furthermore, when it comes to online education, it turns into more challenging process. In this poster this combination is presented with the help of sample applications from Gazi University.

  17. Linguistic Culture and Essentialism in South Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Stephanie Rudwick

    2008-01-01

    This paper explores how language and culture are intertwined and often regarded as “invariable fixed properties” in contemporary South Africa by focusing on one particular indigenous African language group, i.e. isiZulu-speakers. Drawing from general theoretical sociolinguistic approaches to language and culture and considering South Africa’s socio-political history, the paper demonstrates the significance and saliency of Zulu linguistic culture to Zulu people in the post-apartheid state. It ...

  18. Culture and Career Psychology: A Social Constructionist Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stead, Graham B.

    2004-01-01

    This paper reflects on the need to re-examine cultural and cross-cultural psychology with a view to re-invigorating them and placing them at the center of discourse in career psychology. One perspective that can be employed to achieve these goals is social constructionism in that it questions the centrality of post-positivism in cultural and…

  19. Auditing the socio-environmental determinants of motivation towards physical activity or sedentariness in work-aged adults: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard Keegan

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background There is a lack of understanding of work aged adults’ (30–60 years old perspectives on the motivation of physical activity versus sedentariness. This study aims to: (1 identify which socio-environmental factors motivate physical activity and/or sedentary behavior, in adults aged 30–60 years; and (2 explore how these motivators interact and combine. Method Fifteen work-aged adults who, were able to engage in physical activity (Mean age = 43.9 years; SD 9.6, range 31–59, participated in semi-structured interviews. Inductive content analysis was used to generate an inventory of socio-environmental factors and their specific influences on motivation towards physical activity or sedentariness. Results Key socio-environmental agents found to influence motivation included: Spouse/partner, parents, children, siblings, whole family, grandchildren, friends, work-mates, neighbors, strangers, team-mates and class-mates, instructors, health care professionals, employers, gyms and health companies, governments, media and social media, cultural norms, and the physical environment. Mechanisms fell into five broad themes of socio-environmental motivation for both physical activity and sedentariness: (1 competence and progress; (2 informational influences, (3 emotional influences, (4 pragmatics and logistics, and (5 relationships. Similar socio-environmental factors were frequently reported as able to motivate both activity and sedentariness. Likewise, individual categories of influence could also motivate both behaviors, depending on context. Conclusion The findings of this paper ‘unpack’ theoretical concepts into specific and targeted behavioral recommendations. The data suggested no simple solutions for promoting physical activity or reducing sedentariness, but rather complex and interacting systems surrounding work-aged adults. Findings also suggest that health professionals should be encouraged to support adults’ health

  20. The Management Dimension of FDIs in a Culture and Learning Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sørensen, Olav Jull

    in spite of large differences in the macro cultures of their home countries. The culture in action perspective give rise to adopting a learning perspective as managers learn from the interaction and often the interaction gives rise to the developing a new culture. The working paper outlines the conceptual......The paper aims at integrating the theory of management with the theory of culture and learning. The concept of culture is discussed at three levels, macro, organisation and individual and it is advocated that culture in action at the individual level is useful in understanding how companies succeed...

  1. Drivers of Change in Socio-Ecological Production Landscapes: Implications for Better Management

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongyan Gu

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available The term socio-ecological production landscapes (SEPLs has recently gained currency in conservation circles because of a recognized need to look beyond protected areas to the management of human-influenced landscapes and ecosystems. We have drawn on a variety of case studies from Asia and other parts of the world to understand the underlying driving forces that have led to the need for greater awareness and sustainable management of SEPLs. We have analyzed the drivers of these changes from socio-political, legal, economic, and socio-cultural perspectives. The analysis shows that SEPLs contribute to local, national, and global economies, and their production and harvesting processes are subject to external demands and pressures. Policy makers should recognize the wide range and diverse values of SEPLs and incorporate these values into broader policy considerations. We have also provided some suggestions for future studies.

  2. Cultural and lifestyle journalism in online and print newspapers from a reader/userperspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    From, Unni

    newspapers often engage people to participate in producing content creating new ways of being an active audience. Departing from quantitative and qualitative audience studies of the use and reception of culture and lifestyle journalism in the Danish press (completed in Autumn 2008 and Spring 2009......), this paper empirically demonstrates, on the one hand, how audiences, in a Danish context, use their daily print and online newspapers in a range of ways and, on the other hand, how they negotiate the mix of modes of address across sections and within articles. Theoretically the analyses draw on socio...... and information - may interrelate. Precisely this mix, it will be argued, represents a more general change as to the role and identity of journalism - from both a content and reception perspective....

  3. Socio-cultural adaptation and standardization of Dubois' five words testing in a population of normal subject in Mali, West Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guinto, Cheick O; Coulibaly, Toumany; Koné, Zeinab; Coulibaly, Souleymane; Maiga, Boubacar; Dembélé, Kekouta; Cissé, Lassana; Konaté, Mamadou; Coulibaly, Thomas; Sissoko, Adama S; Karambé, Mamadou; Burnett, Barrington; Landouré, Guida; Traoré, Moussa

    2016-06-01

    Dubois' five words testing (5WT) is a verbal memory test that depends on many parameters. The aim of this study is to adapt Dubois' 5WT to the Malian socio-cultural conditions to (i) determine performances of normal subjects to the 5WT and (ii) provide reference scores of the 5WT. A sample of 276 normal subjects aged ≥ 50 years (154 males and 122 females; 144 literates and 132 illiterates) were enrolled from February 2008 to January 2009. Subjects with a history of symptoms likely to modify cognitive functions and those who were found disabled under Lawton's four simplified item test were excluded. The learning score in illiterates was 1.51 in Dubois' 5WT and 4.90 in the modified 5WT. The mean value of the modified 5WT total score was 9.71. Majority (90.22%) of the subjects scored the maximum (10). The modified 5WT reduced with both the age (p culture and the socio-educative level in French. Its adaptation to the socio-cultural context could prove useful and efficient in countries with a low literacy rate and a diverse cultural background.

  4. LIVING WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA IN INDIA: GENDER PERSPECTIVES

    OpenAIRE

    Loganathan, Santosh; Murthy, Srinivasa

    2011-01-01

    There are a number of factors that influence stigma in schizophrenia and it is important to understand them to successfully treat the illness. Gender-based stigma and how it is affected by culture is yet to be studied. This study explores gender issues from a socio-cultural perspective related to stigma among people in India suffering from schizophrenia. Stigma experiences were assessed by conducting individual interviews and the narratives were used as a qualitative measure. Men with schizop...

  5. Prise en compte des répercussions socioéconomiques de la culture ...

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

    Prise en compte des répercussions socioéconomiques de la culture du coton génétiquement modifié sur les petits agriculteurs du Mercosur. L'Argentine, le Brésil et le Paraguay, membres du Marché commun du cône sud (Mercosur), sont les cinquièmes producteurs de coton au monde, devancés uniquement par la Chine, ...

  6. Theoretical Perspectives on Issues and Interventions Related to Migrant Resettlement in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toosi, Amy; Richter, Solina; Woytowich, Boris

    2017-05-01

    International migration has increased at a significant rate over the past several decades as many migrants relocate in the hope of finding better living conditions. Unfortunately, not all migrants realize their dreams but instead find themselves in poor living conditions and are less satisfied with their health and well-being. The purpose of this article is to explore the factors that influence the integration of migrants into a new culture through two theoretical lenses: transitions theory and acculturation theory. The authors propose that acculturation and transition are influenced by factors at both the societal and individual level and therefore interventions aimed at promoting successful integration should be focused at both those levels. This article adds a new perspective to the migrant health framework and offers a new approach for researchers, clinicians, and program developers. The overall health and well-being of migrants may improve by focusing on individual factors that contribute to successful settlement through predeparture or early arrival preparation programs.

  7. Film Cross-culture Research under the Perspective of Language and Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    罗淞译

    2015-01-01

    Language as an important tool of cultural transmission, it can achieve the cross-culture development of film. With the strength of globalization, film cross-culture communication are increasing, and how to enhance the communication of film through language and culture and let more people enjoy the thought expressed in film is one of the most important content for cross-culture development of mant films. Different cultural backgrounds will produce large diversities in watching a same film, so it is helpful for the cross-culture development of film when making good use of culture and language, on the contrary, it will become a hindrance. This article do research on cross-culture development of film under the perspective of language and culture to find out the existing problems in present cross-culture development of film and put forward effective resolution strategy in order to promote certain reference for the internationalization of China’s film industry.

  8. Indigenous perspectives on active living in remote Australia: a qualitative exploration of the socio-cultural link between health, the environment and economics.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thompson, Sharon L; Chenhall, Richard D; Brimblecombe, Julie K

    2013-05-15

    The burden of chronic disease in Indigenous Australia is more than double that of non-Indigenous populations and even higher in remote Northern Territory (NT) communities. Sufficient levels of physical activity are known to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve the health of those already suffering from chronic disease. It has been identified that effective promotion of physical activity in Indigenous settings requires the diverse cultural perspectives and participation of Indigenous people. However, Indigenous concepts of physical activity are not represented in the public health literature and examples of Indigenous involvement in physical activity promotion are scarce. This study aimed to explore and describe local perspectives, experiences and meanings of physical activity in two remote NT Indigenous communities. Qualitative research methods guided by ethnographic and participatory action research principles were used. Semi-structured interviews conducted with 23 purposively selected community members were the main source of data, augmented by five commissioned paintings by community-based artists and observations recorded in a journal by the first author. The findings reveal that in this cultural context the meaning of physical activity is embedded in socially significant and economically necessary physical engagement with the environment. Participants described physical activities associated with Indigenous natural and cultural resource management, customary spaces, seasonal timing and traditional education as creating and protecting health. These activities were viewed not only as culturally appropriate physical activities that contribute to health but as legitimate, physically active forms of social organisation, education and employment that help to build and maintain relationships, wealth, resources and the environment. This different construction of physical activity in remote Indigenous communities highlights the importance of involving

  9. The Evaluation of Public Policies from the Perspective of the Agenda 21 of Culture: a Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    María Aracely Mendívil-Portillo

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available . This research shows the results of the implementation of a public cultural policy at the municipal level and has as a main objective to evaluate, from the perspective of the agenda 21 of culture, the program "Art for social development" by the Municipal Institute of Art and Culture developed in a secondary-level boarding school located at the Topolobampo community, in the municipality of Ahome, Mexico. A QUAN-QUAL methodology was used with instruments like questionnaires applied to the young participants and interviews with the workshop facilitators and administrative staff. Guitar, painting and theatre workshops were given, through which the development of new artistic expression skills was achieved, as well as contributing to the strengthening of social behaviors such as tolerance, patience and interpersonal communication, among others. It was found the constant need of having permanent programs of integral training, both in the field of artistic training and socio-emotional, giving priority to groups at risk, such as students of the boarding school that mostly come from families of scarce resources, some of the low performance academic and aggressive behavior. The conclusion is that public policies are required to promote greater articulation of education and culture in order to have a stronger impact on the social and cultural inclusion of young people.

  10. Socio-cultural impacts of construction and regulation of the waterway of Oulujoki river

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ruotsala, H.

    1992-01-01

    The purpose of study was to clarify the socio-cultural impacts of the regulation and construction of Oulujoki river on the everyday life of people. Changes in work and livelihood, living and living satisfaction, and leisure time and recreation are considered as variables. Quantitative and qualitative methods were combined in the study. The principal study material is composed of answers to a questionnaire and of 109 thematic interviews on the topic. The hold of the study is phenomenological-hermeneutical, with the intention to interpret the matter from the viewpoint of the attitudes and requirements of the waterway users. The theoretical frame of reference was culture-ecological point of view and adaptive process. The emphasis of the study is on sociocultural adaptation. The attitude towards waterway construction and regulation was dependent on the background of the person interviewed. The attitude was considered e.g. by various interest groups and professional groups, such as farmers, inhabitants on the shore, recreation users, fishermen, municipal elected officials. Other important variables were age, family stage and sex. Big local differences in the attitudes could also be found. While prevailing values in society and peoples' modes of living are changing, also the attitude towards waterway and changes caused by waterway construction has changed in the region studied. The impacts on the sources of livelihood are minor for the moment, the impacts on living satisfaction and recreations are significant. While leisure time is increasing the recreation value of waterway increases, too. At the construction stage of the river, the economical and productional advantages took priority, and then no attention was paid to recreational use

  11. Lifelong Adaptability: A Cultural Literacy Perspective (Revised Edition)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyer, John Thayer

    2011-01-01

    This revised 1997 ex post facto study attempted to identify a lifelong adaptability curriculum from a cultural literacy perspective. It investigated students' lifelong adaptability ratings of 15 general school subjects as predicted by family structure, parental age, parental educational level, student cultural literacy, and student gender;…

  12. Disability Policy Implementation from a Cross-Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Verdugo, Miguel A.; Jenaro, Cristina; Calvo, Isabel; Navas, Patricia

    2017-01-01

    Implementation of disability policy is influenced by social, political, and cultural factors. Based on published work, this article discusses four guidelines considered critical for successful policy implementation from a cross-cultural perspective. These guidelines are to: (a) base policy implementation on a contextual analysis, (b) employ a…

  13. A theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elvik, Rune

    2016-12-01

    This paper proposes a theoretical perspective on road safety communication campaigns, which may help in identifying the conditions under which such campaigns can be effective. The paper proposes that, from a theoretical point of view, it is reasonable to assume that road user behaviour is, by and large, subjectively rational. This means that road users are assumed to behave the way they think is best. If this assumption is accepted, the best theoretical prediction is that road safety campaigns consisting of persuasive messages only will have no effect on road user behaviour and accordingly no effect on accidents. This theoretical prediction is not supported by meta-analyses of studies that have evaluated the effects of road safety communication campaigns. These analyses conclude that, on the average, such campaigns are associated with an accident reduction. The paper discusses whether this finding can be explained theoretically. The discussion relies on the distinction made by many modern theorists between bounded and perfect rationality. Road user behaviour is characterised by bounded rationality. Hence, if road users can gain insight into the bounds of their rationality, so that they see advantages to themselves of changing behaviour, they are likely to do so. It is, however, largely unknown whether such a mechanism explains why some road safety communication campaigns have been found to be more effective than others. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The Construction of a Solidarity Sustainability Concept Theoretical Contributions to the Reach of Socio-Environmentalism

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heloise Siqueira Garcia

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article has as general objective to draw up considerations about the concept of sustainability having as its apparatus its intimate connection with solidarity, so that the studies traced are presented as theoretical contributions to socio-environmentalism. In this context, the following specific objectives were listed: analyze the main aspects of Sustainability, focusing on the social dimension; to study Solidarity in its historical and conceptual aspects; and to understand the close correlation between both categories. In the methodology was adopted the inductive method, having been applied the techniques of the referent, category, operational concepts, bibliographical research and file.

  15. Evolution of public relations in the activity of organizations of ukrainian socio-cultural sphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Євгенія Олегівна Кияниця

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The article traces the evolution of public relations in various fields of life including socio-cultural and found creative and social potential of this activity. Analysis of historical experience of using the PR-technologies in the field of sociocultural institutions promotes understanding of importance of this activity for the efficient work of organizations of this sphere

  16. Occupation, well-being, and culture: Theory and cultural humility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammell, Karen R Whalley

    2013-10-01

    The Canadian Model of Occupational Performance and Engagement depicts individuals embedded within cultural environments that afford occupational possibilities. Culture pertains not solely to ethnicity or race but to any dimension of diversity, including class, gender, sexual orientation, and ability. This paper highlights specific dimensions of cultural diversity and their relationships to occupational engagement and well-being. Cultural variations constitute the basis for a socially constructed hierarchy of traits that significantly determine occupational opportunities and impact mental health and well-being. Cultural humility is an approach to redressing power imbalances in client-therapist relationships by incorporating critical self-evaluation and recognizing that cultural differences lie not within clients but within client-therapist relationships. It is proposed that theoretical relevance would be enhanced if culturally diverse perspectives were incorporated into theories of occupation. Cultural humility is advocated as an approach to theoretical development and in efforts to counter professional Eurocentrism, ethnocentrism, and intellectual colonialism.

  17. Cultured Meat in Islamic Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamdan, Mohammad Naqib; Post, Mark J; Ramli, Mohd Anuar; Mustafa, Amin Rukaini

    2017-04-29

    Cultured meat is a promising product that is derived through biotechnology that partially circumvents animal physiology, thereby being potentially more sustainable, environmentally friendly and animal friendly than traditional livestock meat. Such a novel technology that can impact many consumers evokes ethical, philosophical and religious discussions. For the Islamic community, the crucial question is whether cultured meat is halal, meaning compliant with Islamic laws. Since the culturing of meat is a new discovery, invention and innovation by scientists that has never been discussed by classical jurists (fuqaha'), an ijtihad by contemporary jurists must look for and provide answers for every technology introduced, whether it comply the requirements of Islamic law or not. So, this article will discuss an Islamic perspective on cultured meat based on the original scripture in the Qur'an and interpretations by authoritative Islamic jurists. The halal status of cultured meat can be resolve through identifying the source cell and culture medium used in culturing the meat. The halal cultured meat can be obtained if the stem cell is extracted from a (Halal) slaughtered animal, and no blood or serum is used in the process. The impact of this innovation will give positive results in the environmental and sustain the livestock industry.

  18. The Reading of Cultural and Lifestyle Journalism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    From, Unni

    2010-01-01

    Based on analyses of 25 qualitative individual interviews with readers from different demographic backgrounds, this article investigates how readers experience and use journalism on culture in both online and print press. I argue that the use of journalism on culture is constituted within different...... etc.). Thus, the article explores whether and how the use of journalism on culture is interrelated with more universal processes of meaning production, and therefore it draws on a socio-cognitive perspective, especially in regard to schemes of expectation and experience (e.g. Bruun 2004; Waldahl 1998...

  19. 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...

  20. 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...

  1. Gender-based Restrictions in Tourism: An Example of the Phenomenon of Avaton in the Modern Socio-cultural Expanse

    OpenAIRE

    Kapilevich, L.V.; Karvounis, Y.A.

    2015-01-01

    The article deals with the problems of the impact of tourism, including pilgrimage, on the socio-cultural environment of modern society, changes and reformatting of the gender restrictions of religious content. Investigated the access restrictions based on gender to objects of tourist interest as an example of socio-religious phenomenon “avaton” monastic republic of Athos in Northern Greece. Avaton regarded as a characteristic example of the alignment and sustained physical boundaries of the ...

  2. Cross-cultural and socio-demographic correlates of homophobic attitude among university students in three European countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciocca, G; Niolu, C; Déttore, D; Antonelli, P; Conte, S; Tuziak, B; Limoncin, E; Mollaioli, D; Carosa, E; Gravina, G L; Di Sante, S; Di Lorenzo, G; Fisher, A D; Maggi, M; Lenzi, A; Siracusano, A; Jannini, E A

    2017-02-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate homophobic attitudes in three European countries: Italy, Albania, and Ukraine. One thousand and forty-eight students were recruited in Italian (n = 766), Albanian (n = 180), and Ukrainian (n = 102) university centers. A socio-demographic questionnaire and Homophobia Scale (HS) were administered by our staff. Cross-cultural and significant differences among Italian, Albanian, and Ukrainian students were found on the Homophobia Scale (HS; Italy: mean = 22.26 ± 16.73; Albania: mean = 38.15 ± 17.28; Ukraine: mean = 59.18 ± 16.23). The analysis of socio-demographic characteristics revealed that the male gender emerged as main predictor of homophobic attitude in all the three countries, although also a conservative political orientation and the religious belief predict higher homophobia levels in Italy and Albania, particularly. This study revealed that in these European countries assessed, attitudes toward homosexuality are different. Ukrainians display higher levels of homophobia than Albanians and Italians, confirming the central role of cultural differences in homophobic attitudes. Nevertheless, some socio-demographic aspects such as identification as male have a similar influence on homophobic attitudes in all assessed populations.

  3. Socio-scientific issues with CTS focus on training of science teachers: complementary perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosa Oliveira Marins Azevedo

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Theoretical work that seeks to highlight the possible reasons why the STS approach has not effectively be inserted in the educational process and point out alternative to its insertion. It thus explores the origin of the STS movement and discusses its focus on education, science teaching and teacher education. It is a study in a critical perspective, from a documentary research focused on scientific production published in books, theses, papers presented in conference proceedings and journals in the field of education. The readings allowed direct the discussions, assuming the interpretative analysis for the organization of the text. The study shows that teacher education, the problems presented in its theoretical and epistemological aspects and ethical, is the main obstacle to the insertion of the STS approach in the educational process. Alternatively, points to issues of social-scientific approach to STS approach in a complementary perspective, as the possibility of improvements in the aspects highlighted

  4. Outdoor education in New Zealand: a comparative and cultural perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andkjær, Søren

    2009-01-01

    relationships linked to identity. Masculine values are dominant and outdoor education in New Zealand can generally be understood as a reproduction of political ideas and values in society. Friluftsliv in Denmark is traditionally closely linked to similar traditions in Sweden and Norway (Tordsson, 1993). However......  This presentation takes general view of understanding outdoor education in New Zealand.  This is seen from an outsider's perspective and is compared with "friluftsliv" in Denmark and the Nordic countries. Analysing and understanding one's culture is never easy, and the main challenge is to focus...... on and question everyday phenomena which seem natural and that reproduce one's own perspective. Cultural analysis and the analysis of social configurations together with a comparative cultural perspective form the research approach.  . The presentation is based on a comparative and qualitative case study (Ragin...

  5. Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: a cross-sectional study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bürgi, Flavia; Meyer, Ursina; Niederer, Iris; Ebenegger, Vincent; Marques-Vidal, Pedro; Granacher, Urs; Kriemler, Susi; Puder, Jardena J

    2010-11-26

    Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload) as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA). The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. Forty preschools (N = 542 children) of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland) participated in the study (Ballabeina Study). Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness), objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers) and agility performance (obstacle course). Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload) were assessed by questionnaire. Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04). Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02). While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008), but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS). Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01). The regional environment, especially the broader social environment, plays a prominent role in determining adiposity, PA and

  6. Socio-cultural determinants of adiposity and physical activity in preschool children: A cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kriemler Susi

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Both individual socio-cultural determinants such as selected parental characteristics (migrant background, low educational level and workload as well as the regional environment are related to childhood overweight and physical activity (PA. The purpose of the study was to compare the impact of distinct socio-cultural determinants such as the regional environment and selected parental characteristics on adiposity, PA and motor skills in preschool children. Methods Forty preschools (N = 542 children of two culturally different urban regions (German and French speaking part of Switzerland participated in the study (Ballabeina Study. Outcome measures included adiposity (BMI and skinfold thickness, objectively measured sedentary activities and PA (accelerometers and agility performance (obstacle course. Parental characteristics (migrant status, educational level and workload were assessed by questionnaire. Results Children from the French speaking areas had higher adiposity, lower levels of total and of more intense PA, were more sedentary and less agile than children from the German speaking regions (percent differences for all outcome parameters except for BMI ≥10%; all p ≤ 0.04. Differences in skinfold thickness, sedentary activities and agility, but not in PA, were also found between children of Swiss and migrant parents, though they were ≤8% (p ≤ 0.02. While paternal workload had no effect, maternal workload and parental education resulted in differences in some PA measures and/or agility performance (percent differences in both: ≤9%, p ≤ 0.008, but not in adiposity or sedentary activities (p = NS. Regional differences in skinfold thickness, PA, sedentary activities and agility performance persisted after adjustment for parental socio-cultural characteristics, parental BMI and, where applicable, children's skinfolds (all p ≤ 0.01. Conclusions The regional environment, especially the broader social environment

  7. Postnatal depression and socio-cultural practices among postnatal mothers in Kota Bahru, Kelantan, Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azidah, A K; Shaiful, B I; Rusli, N; Jamil, M Y

    2006-03-01

    This is a cross sectional study to determine the relationship of postnatal depression (PND) and socio-cultural practices post-delivery among women in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. Four hundred and twenty one pregnant women were screened for depression between 36 - 42 weeks of pregnancy, 1 week and 4 - 6 weeks postpartum using Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). The women also completed questionnaires on socio-demography, psychosocial support and traditional postnatal care. The prevalence of PND at 4-6 weeks postpartum was 20.7%. Depressive symptoms at the end of pregnancy (p<0.05) and one week postpartum (p<0.05), worry about the baby (p<0.05), use of traditional medication (p<0.05) and traditional massage (p<0.05) were significantly associated with PND.

  8. Review: Helga Kotthoff (Ed. (2002. Kultur(en im Gespräch [Culture(s in Conversation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthias Otten

    2003-09-01

    Full Text Available Much of the theoretical and empirical research on intercultural communication in Germany emerges at the disciplinary edges of Linguistics, Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology or Educational Studies. The book "Kultur(en im Gespräch"—translated roughly as Culture(s in Conversation—edited by Helga KOTTHOFF, covers a wide range of theoretical and methodical approaches to the analysis of intercultural conversation and discourse. Most of the contributions refer to concepts of Socio-Linguistics and Linguistic Anthropology. The focus on the reflection of applying qualitative research methods used in the scope of intercultural conversation and discourse analysis let this book become a source of inspiration for the own research practice. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs030345

  9. Concept of inclusion on the section of Vygotskian socio-cultural theory and neuropsychology

    OpenAIRE

    Kobal Grum, Darja

    2015-01-01

    This paper discusses the concept of inclusion of children with special needs from the context of contemporary fi ndings in neuropsychology as well as from the context of the psychology of L.S. Vygotsky and his theory of socio- cultural development. In contrast to the classical physiological models that treated deficits and defects in brain functioning as final and "non-serviceable", the contemporary neuropsychological advancements show the significance of brain plastic changes, which enable t...

  10. Concept of inclusion on the section of Vygotskian socio-cultural theory and neuropsychology:

    OpenAIRE

    Kobal Grum, Darja

    2012-01-01

    This paper discusses the concept of inclusion of children with special needs from the context of contemporary fi ndings in neuropsychology as well as from the context of the psychology of L.S. Vygotsky and his theory of socio- cultural development. In contrast to the classical physiological models that treated deficits and defects in brain functioning as final and "non-serviceable", the contemporary neuropsychological advancements show the significance of brain plastic changes, which enable t...

  11. Socio-cultural context, child development and beginning reading in Peru

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cecilia Thorne

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available This article focuses on the fact that many children in Peru are not able to read fluently when they finish elementary school. To analyze this shortcoming it presents an overview of the Peruvian context, the education system, the multilingual and the socio-cultural background and identifies the difficult conditions in which Peruvian children grow and its consequences in child development and beginning reading. The paper discusses different aspectsof developmental psychology and puts the accent on Bronfenbrenner's theory and the developmental approach to education. It offers, also, a review of several studies on reading in Peru. Finally it emphasizes the advantages of incorporating the ecological theory and the developmental approach to education

  12. Danish Cultural Policy in a European and Global Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Duelund, Peter

    2016-01-01

    Danish Cultural policy is undergoing a series of transformations with regard to legislation, culture efficiency of the policy organization and financing, the status and rolle og teh arms length principle, the autonomy and role of arts and culture in society and the weights of different paradigms...... of national identity and cultural heritage. The role of art in society has been changed and are challenged. The essay analyzes based on critical theory and recent cultural study theory the cultural changes and the potentials impacts on art and culture in a global and European perspective....

  13. Cultural Issues in the Business World: An Anthropological Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Michael P.   Lillis; Robert G.   Tian

    2010-01-01

    The significance of cultural influence on business has been widely recognized in both academic and business circles. A number of authors suggest that an anthropological approach is the most appropriate way to study cultural factors and assess their impact on an organizational environment. This investigation draws attention to several important cultural issues in business utilizing an anthropological perspective. It probes the relationship between culture and human behavior, between organizati...

  14. Socio-investment, Cultural and Demographic qualities influencing Fertility Behavior in Shiekhupura, Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shahid Qayyum

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available This study is archived for the acknowledgment of the socio-budgetary, social and demographic components influencing ripeness conduct. The universe for the present study comprised of provincial and urban ranges of Shiekhupura. In testing system 180 respondents were distinguished and gathered data keeping in perspective the fruitfulness conduct of the individuals, from provincial and urban ranges by utilizing advantageous examining method. An overall organized Interview Schedule was outlined and ready for assembling the information. The gathered data from the distinguished respondents was examined utilizing fitting factual procedures. In perspective of outcomes, it was distinguished a larger part of the respondents affirm that Pakistan populace is expanding quickly because of uninformed of the results whatsoever. Effects exhibit individuals have no significantly more consciousness seeing fruitfulness identified issues besides having much misconstruing in concern of that. A few respondents demonstrated that there is have to mindful the individuals for fruitfulness conduct for the best concern of family and nation. A few respondents who were in the support, recognized that they had not family arranging focuses in their general vicinity because of individuals demonstrated their carelessness in perspective of that. It was practically all the respondents had seen that family arranging is vital for maternal and youngster health, for the best investment of family and nation

  15. Social-Cognitive and Socio-Cultural Predictors of Hepatitis B Virus-Screening in Turkish Migrants, the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Veen, V.J.J. van der; Empelen, P. van; Looman, C.W.N.; Richardus, J.H.

    2013-01-01

    Hepatitis B virus (HBV) is an important health problem in the Turkish Dutch. Screening is necessary for detection and prevention of HBV. We aimed to identify social-cognitive and socio-cultural determinants of HBV-screening intention among Turkish Dutch. A cross-sectional survey was carried out

  16. Pre- and Post-Migration Determinants of Socio-Cultural Integration of African Immigrants in Italy and Spain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Fokkema, T.; de Haas, H.

    2015-01-01

    Using a unique dataset (N=2,014), we examine the pre- and post-migration determinants of socio-cultural integration among first-generation immigrant groups in southern Europe: Moroccan and Senegalese migrants in Spain, and Egyptian and Ghanaian migrants in Italy. The results of the pooled and

  17. Women in Islam. Analysis from a socio-educational perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Teresa Terrón Caro

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available The diversity of existing realities with regard to the situation of the woman in the Arabic world does that we should approach the topic with certain caution. In the present article we expose a bibliographical review on woman and Islam in order to understand the principal debates that they have been presenting in the scientific literature from a socio-educational perspective and the analysis that from them is extracted. For the location and selection of the scientific articles that will be analyzed in this study, we have used essentially five databases: Dialnet, ISOC, Francis, Education Research Complete and Eric. In spite of the diversity of prisms with which the topic is analyzed, one of the ideas that appears of form repeated in diverse texts is the importance that the Islam has had to improve the situation of the women in the Arabic companies. Different good is the fundamentalist interpretation that in many regions of the árabo-Moslem world has been done of the Islamic law, reducing the woman to a background.

  18. An idiographic and nomothetic approach to the study of Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' socio-cultural stressors and adjustment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiders, Katharine H; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J; Updegraff, Kimberly A; Jahromi, Laudan B

    2015-04-01

    The current study examined the longitudinal relations of socio-cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stressors, enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination) and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers' depressive symptoms and risk-taking behaviors. Utilizing an idiographic and nomothetic approach, we conducted lagged analyses to examine how individuals' fluctuations in stressors predicted subsequent adjustment. Further, we investigated potential threshold effects by examining if the impact of fluctuations in stressors differed at varying levels of stressors. Mexican-origin adolescent females (N = 184) participated in yearly in-home assessments across 5 years and reported on their experiences of acculturative and enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination, depressive symptoms, and risk-taking behaviors. Findings revealed that within-person fluctuations in acculturative stressors and, to a lesser extent, perceived discrimination related to youths' depressive symptoms. For risk-taking behaviors, however, only within-person fluctuations in enculturative stressors emerged as significant. Further, a threshold effect emerged in the link between enculturative stressors and risk-taking behaviors, suggesting that fluctuations in enculturative stressors predicted changes in risk-taking behaviors at high levels of enculturative stressors but not low levels. Our findings highlight the differential relations between socio-cultural stressors and adolescent females' adjustment and suggest that prevention programs aimed at reducing depressive symptoms should attend to any degree of change in socio-cultural stressors, whereas programs focused on risk-taking behaviors should be especially attuned to levels of enculturative stress.

  19. An Idiographic and Nomothetic Approach to the Study of Mexican-Origin Adolescent Mothers’ Socio-Cultural Stressors and Adjustment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zeiders, Katharine H.; Umaña-Taylor, Adriana J.; Updegraff, Kimberly A.; Jahromi, Laudan B.

    2014-01-01

    The current study examined the longitudinal relations of socio-cultural stressors (i.e., acculturative stressors, enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination) and Mexican-origin adolescent mothers’ depressive symptoms and risk-taking behaviors. Utilizing an idiographic and nomothetic approach, we conducted lagged analyses to examine how individuals’ fluctuations in stressors predicted subsequent adjustment. Further, we investigated potential threshold effects by examining if the impact of fluctuations in stressors differed at varying levels of stressors. Mexican-origin adolescent females (N = 184) participated in yearly in-home assessments across 5 years and reported on their experiences of acculturative and enculturative stressors, ethnic discrimination, depressive symptoms, and risk-taking behaviors. Findings revealed that within-person fluctuations in acculturative stressors, and to a lesser extent, perceived discrimination, related to youths’ depressive symptoms. For risk-taking behaviors, however, only within-person fluctuations in enculturative stressors emerged as significant. Further, a threshold effect emerged in the link between enculturative stressors and risk-taking behaviors, suggesting that fluctuations in enculturative stressors predicted changes in risk-taking behaviors at high levels of enculturative stressors, but not low levels. Our findings highlight the differential relations between socio-cultural stressors and adolescent females’ adjustment, and suggest that prevention programs aimed at reducing depressive symptoms should attend to any degree of change in socio-cultural stressors, whereas programs focused on risk-taking behaviors should be especially attuned to levels of enculturative stress. PMID:25099084

  20. An exploration of socio-cultural and organizational factors affecting women's access to educational leadership

    OpenAIRE

    Korkor Owusu, Patrick

    2014-01-01

    Recent global reports indicate that women have made tremendous improvements in educational enrolment and labour participation but are woefully underrepresented in top leadership positions. Moreover, studies have shown that feminine leadership strategies are embraced but leadership is still perceived as a prerogative of men in many societies. This study therefore sought to explore the socio-cultural and organizational factors influencing the underrepresentation of women in educational leadersh...

  1. International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy : Theoretical, Experimental, and Astrophysical Perspectives

    CERN Document Server

    Chaudhuri, Rajat K; Raveendran, A. V; Satya Narayanan, A; Recent Advances in Spectroscopy : Theoretical, Astrophysical and Experimental Perspectives

    2010-01-01

    In recent years there have been great advances in the fields of laboratory and astronomical spectroscopy. These have been equally matched by large-scale computations using state-of-the-art theoretical methods. The accurate atomic opacities that are available today play a great role in the field of biomedical research using nanotechnology. The proceedings of the "International Conference on Recent Advances in Spectroscopy: Theoretical, Experimental and Astrophysical Perspectives" contain both invited and contributory papers, which give the most recent results by the peers in the areas of theoretical and experimental atomic physics as well as observational astrophysics.

  2. National security through the preservation and development of cultural sphere

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malakshinova N.Sh.

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available matters of national security in the context of the inextricable interrelationship and interdependence of national security and socio-economic development are presented in the article. The particular attention is paid to the legislative consolidation of security categories, the system of national security elements, and changes in the domestic legislation updates. Therefore, safety, a list of national interests, highlighted by long-term perspective, and questions about the means of implementation of strategic national priorities, including the named culture as a sphere of life are very important. Sphere of culture as a national priority and an important factor in the quality of life growth and harmonization of public relations, collateral dynamic socio-economic development and the preservation of a common cultural space and sovereignty of Russia are studied more detailed.

  3. A Case-Study Assignment to Teach Theoretical Perspectives in Abnormal Psychology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, David V.

    1991-01-01

    Describes an assignment that requires students to organize, prepare, and revise a case study in abnormal behavior. Explains that students employ a single theoretical perspective in preparing a report on a figure from history, literature, the arts, or current events. Discusses the value of the assignment for students. (SG)

  4. [Towards a theoretical framework for rethinking cultural accessibility].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Landini, Fernando; Cowes, Valeria González; D'Amore, Eliana

    2014-02-01

    Health services accessibility is a key health policy issue. However, few in-depth studies have addressed it theoretically. Most distinguish between availability, accessibility, and acceptability, or between geographic, financial, administrative, and cultural accessibility. We discuss and analyze the concept of accessibility as conflictive articulation between supply and demand in health. The article addresses the importance of cultural accessibility, rethinking it as a social interface, i.e., a social arena with clashing worldviews (namely, those of physicians and patients). The approach sheds light on the complex processes of grasping, translating, and reshaping knowledge and recommendations within such interaction.

  5. Debates—Perspectives on socio-hydrology: Modeling flood risk as a public policy problem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gober, Patricia; Wheater, Howard S.

    2015-06-01

    Socio-hydrology views human activities as endogenous to water system dynamics; it is the interaction between human and biophysical processes that threatens the viability of current water systems through positive feedbacks and unintended consequences. Di Baldassarre et al. implement socio-hydrology as a flood risk problem using the concept of social memory as a vehicle to link human perceptions to flood damage. Their mathematical model has heuristic value in comparing potential flood damages in green versus technological societies. It can also support communities in exploring the potential consequences of policy decisions and evaluating critical policy tradeoffs, for example, between flood protection and economic development. The concept of social memory does not, however, adequately capture the social processes whereby public perceptions are translated into policy action, including the pivotal role played by the media in intensifying or attenuating perceived flood risk, the success of policy entrepreneurs in keeping flood hazard on the public agenda during short windows of opportunity for policy action, and different societal approaches to managing flood risk that derive from cultural values and economic interests. We endorse the value of seeking to capture these dynamics in a simplified conceptual framework, but favor a broader conceptualization of socio-hydrology that includes a knowledge exchange component, including the way modeling insights and scientific results are communicated to floodplain managers. The social processes used to disseminate the products of socio-hydrological research are as important as the research results themselves in determining whether modeling is used for real-world decision making.

  6. Applied socio-hydrology using volunteer geographic information (VGI) to integrate ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendiondo, Eduardo; Taffarello, Denise; Mohor, Guilherme; Guzmán, Diego; Câmara de Freitas, Clarissa; Fava, Maria Clara; Restrepo, Camilo; Abreu, Fernando; Batalini, Marina; Lago, Cesar; Abe, Narumi; Rosa, Altair

    2017-04-01

    Socio-hydrology proposes to understand coupled human-water systems by conceptualizing its components to be dynamically connected by bi-directional feedbacks. For practical purposes, especially in developing countries of South America, socio-hydrology does integrate practical, empirical and theoretical fundamentals from citizens' knowledge and culture. This contribution shows South American examples of how volunteer geographic information (VGI) can help socio-hydrology to integrate emerging aspects with heavy feedbacks, exploding uncertainties and relevant scales of socio-hydrological scales. Here we select examples at different scales of using VGI to link aspects of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) and disaster risk reduction (DRR). On the one hand, we show some learning cases of EbA/VGI linked to socio-hydrology also related with water valuation, both monetary and non-monetary, under scenarios of changing conditions of land-use and land cover changes of strategic water supply systems in subtropical biomes. This example brings a bridge of VGI and EbA towards Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) through water topics of securitization, insurance, smart cities and sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS). Thus, on the other hand, we also depict how VGI support applied elements for socio-hydrology on South American urban areas, capable of policy actions for DRR through SUDS at human-impacted biomes under extremes of droughts, floods and pollution. We here recommend yardsticks of learning conditions from these real examples of using VGI's knowledge and culture biases for a more resilient socio-hydrology, in order to create opportunities for theoretical, conceptual and applied nature of EbA and DRR with viable alliances from IAHS/Panta Rhei with UN/Sendai/DRR Framework and UN/Sustainable Development Goals. From these examples, however, seem plausible co-evolutionary dynamics with stakeholders if local-scale constraints, from sociopolitical nature, institutions' policies and

  7. Rethinking foundations of language from a multidisciplinary perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gong, Tao; Shuai, Lan; Wu, Yicheng

    2018-04-21

    The issue of language foundations has been of great controversy ever since it was first raised in Lenneberg's (1967) monograph Biological Foundations of Language. Based on a survey of recent findings relevant to the study of language acquisition and evolution, we propose that: (i) the biological predispositions for language are largely domain-general, not necessarily language-specific or human-unique; (ii) the socio-cultural environment of language serves as another important foundation of language, which helps shape language components, induce and drive language shift; and (iii) language must have coevolved with the cognitive mechanisms associated with it through intertwined biological and cultural evolution. In addition to theoretical issues, this paper also evaluates the primary approaches recently joining the endeavor of studying language foundations and evolution, including human experiments and computer simulations. Most of the evidence surveyed in this paper comes from a variety of disciplines, and methodology therein complements each other to form a global picture of language foundations. These reflect the complexity of the issue of language foundations and the necessity of taking a multidisciplinary perspective to address it. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Law and Literature: a theoretical perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lorenzo Zolezzi Ibárcena

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available While most of the Law and Literature books and articles stress from the beginning the distinction between Law in Literature and Law as Literature, my approach is from the standpoint of Law teaching. A course on Law and Literature will help the students not only to write better, but it may convey the students facts that surround the work of the formal legal systemas the human condition or the legal culture, as well as a legal perspective thatis, so to speak, engraved in the human mind. The so-called didactic school is treated and criticized. The distinction between Law in Literature and Law as Literature cuts across the whole work.

  9. Postwar Perspectives in Danish Musical Culture 1945

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Peder Kaj

    by Bernhard Christensen and Herman D. Koppel’s Symphony nr. 3, op. 39. Through a case study of those two works and the reception of their first performance in the cultural perspective sketched above some important tendencies in Danish music in the middle of the 20th century can be shown.......Few months after the end of the German occupation of Denmark in 1945, Gunnar Heerup in an essay (“Kulturen er udelelig” [Culture is indivisible], in: Levende musik, september 1945) argued, that Danish musical culture after the war had to aim at versatility and multiplicity. The national Danish...

  10. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP: A Critical Review From A Socio-Cultural Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    I Putu Tirta Agung Setiawan

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to briefly explain and analyse the association between entrepreneurship and development theories. It will exploit Schumpeter’s idea on economic development, especially on entrepreneurship as the main engine of that development process. It will also describe the reality of entrepreneurship in developing countries and discuss issues on the development of entrepreneurship study found in Indonesia as a case study. At the end, the paper concluded that a cultural study that link western theories of development and entrepreneurship with the unique cultural realities that exist only in developing countries is important.

  11. Cross-Cultural Perspectives in Counseling: Mental Health Conceptions in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohamed, Othman

    The general societal pattern in Malaysia is reflected by the distinct multi-racial composition of the population, comprised of Malays, Chinese, and Indians. In Malaysia, ethnicity determines the varied differences in the socio-cultural and religious diversity of the population. Organized modern medical services have existed in Malaysia since…

  12. Race and Raceness: A Theoretical Perspective of the Black American Experience.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wade, Jacqueline E.

    1987-01-01

    Gives a theoretical perspective of the multidimensional nature of Black-race/White-race consciousness. American perceptions of race are expressed in White race centeredness. Blacks face the dilemma of adhering to two sets of values: a positive valuation of their race and a necessity of passing in White society. (PS)

  13. Patronage and Support: Socio-Cultural Role of Kanheri Caves in the Evolving Interactions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kishor Gaikwad

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available A number of factors were responsible in the evolution of the first state craft in deccan locale. There were bound to be, several regional power centers beyond the main arena of Satvahna power. Their negotiation, complementing and supplementing each others need as well as with limited autonomy, enjoying their peripheral important status. Kanheri caves, specially the epigraphic evidences during Satvahna times, could be the best marker of variety of power specificities within deccan. These inscriptions made references to casts, gotras, communities, gahapaties as well as garini and kutumbini etc. These were all local social cultural forces were playing imperative roles in the larger eco-political ambiance of deccan. It's a kind of multidimensional relationship of mainstream political and cultural process, specially seprated to ecological setting. Surprisingly from these plaethora of inscriptions guilds and Satvahna royal house hold didn't carve out their space. Kanheri caves laid phenomenal role in trade and cultural interactions. The present paper as an attempt to explore socio cultural role of Kanheri caves in these interactions.

  14. Blind spots of dynamic capabilities: A systems theoretic perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert Burisch

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Dynamic capabilities remain one of the most popular, but also one of the most controversial topics in current knowledge and innovation research. This study exposes strengths and weaknesses of existing conceptualizations of dynamic capabilities by using a systems theoretic lens. Systems theory suggests that organizations operate in environments they cannot fully understand. Thus, organizational action patterns inevitably involve simplification, selectivity and uncertainty leading to inherent blind spots in every kind of strategic action. As the resulting insight, fully flexible organizational capabilities might not be achievable and continuous adaptation to every kind of environmental change cannot be possible from a systems theoretic perspective. Accordingly, this work discusses empirical difficulties that derive from the preceding argumentation and outlines a corresponding re-conceptualization of the dynamic capabilities concept.

  15. Noah’s Ark or World Wild Web? Cultural Perspectives in Global Scenario Studies and Their Function for Biodiversity Conservation in a Changing World

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carijn Beumer

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we review the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Scenarios and their assumptions on biodiversity conservation, using a framework based on the cultural theory (CT perspectives. We explored an adaptation of the CT typology and the significance of some underrepresented worldviews for discussions on conservation in a changing world. The evaluation of the assumptions on biodiversity conservation in the scenario studies and storylines adds to our understanding of the socio-cultural dimensions of biodiversity loss in a changing world. It contributes to an understanding of the worldviews underlying the complex debates on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development. Making such assumptions and world views explicit will help policymakers and conservationists discuss the diversity of conservation strategies in the face of uncertainty.

  16. Diagnosis of the State of Socio-Psychological Climate at the Enterprise

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruslan Skrynkovskyy

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the article is to analyze the theoretical positions and develop practical recommendations for improving the diagnosis of the state of the socio-psychological climate in the enterprise. The structure of the socio-psychological climate is presented through the prism of relations, the objectivity of the state and existing communications. It was established that the purpose of diagnostics of socio-psychological climate at the enterprise is to increase the efficiency and potency of the personnel through the prevention of labor conflicts, to increase team cohesion and support the main elements of corporate culture of the enterprise. It was determined that the dominants (components of the socio-psychological climate through the prism of relations and communications in the system "employee – collective – enterprise" are: 1 the dominant work of the personality; 2 the dominant work of the team; 3 the dominant work of the enterprise. The prospect of further research in this area is the improvement of the system of partial diagnostic purposes of the diagnosis of the activity (economic diagnostics of the enterprise, taking into account the presented research results.

  17. Residential Location Preferences. The Significance of Socio-Cultural and Religious Attributes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gobi Krishna Sinniah

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this paper is to explore residential location preferences and how they are related to travel behavior. The literature focuses on the preferences in relation to physical and demographic aspects, such as land uses, facilities, transportation facilities, transportation services, car ownership, income, household size and travel accessibility. However, this study suggests social and cultural issue such as racial diversity which is literally to be a significance context. The case study reported here is based on Iskandar Malaysia’s development region. Reliability Analysis and Factor Analysis are applied to determine that religious and culture are influential in terms of residential location preferences. These findings add a different perspective on travel behavior studies, which are heavily dominated by researches from Western Europe, North America and Australasia. It is suggested that transport researchers need to reject universal conclusions and be clearer about the contexts in which their findings most applied and in multi-cultural scenarios to consider cultural and religious factors more extensively.

  18. Re-thinking the complexities of 'culture': what might we learn from Bourdieu?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lynam, M Judith; Browne, A J; Reimer Kirkham, S; Anderson, J M

    2007-03-01

    In this paper we continue an ongoing dialogue that has as its goal the critical appraisal of theoretical perspectives on culture and health, in an effort to move forward scholarship on culture and health. We draw upon a programme of scholarship to explicate theoretical tensions and challenges that are manifest in the discourses on culture and health and to explore the possibilities Bourdieu's theoretical perspective offers for reconciling them. That is, we hope to demonstrate the need to move beyond descriptions 'of' culture to an understanding of cultures as dynamic, and to show ways cultural practices create contexts that have the potential to foster or impede health. In our early research, largely undertaken in Canada's multicultural context, we sought to make visible the ways in which culture shaped conceptions of health and influenced health practices of immigrant groups. In recent years this focus has expanded to include populations that reflect the cultural and social diversity of our region. From the outset we attempted to move towards a conception of culture as negotiated, unifying, transformative and dynamic. While this position continues to hold appeal we are continually reminded that, despite our leanings towards constructivism, there is salience to the notion of culture as having enduring elements. It is this tension between the view of culture as embodied and enduring and culture as constructed and dynamic that we seek to examine. We explore whether Bourdieu's theoretical perspective offers promise for reconciling these apparently competing views. Using exemplars from our research we share insights that Bourdieu's work has offered to our analyses, thereby enabling us to move towards a view of culture that holds in tension these apparently contradictory positions of culture as both essence (albeit unstable, negotiated) and constructed.

  19. Culture and Risk Communication. A Report about the Farmworker Association of Florida

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Kuhnhenn

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available In this field report, I give an account of my research trip to the Farmworker Association of Florida in Central Florida near the area of Lake Apopka (U.S.. This non-governmental association works to empower and improve farmworkers’ living and working conditions. The field trip is embedded in my research on risk communication with a special focus on the risks of herbicides. This issue is closely linked to political, cultural and racial factors. Hence, I argue, risk communication must consider culture as a contextual key factor and should embrace a critical perspective. Such a perspective is culturally appropriate and addresses issues of race and language as well as socio-economic status

  20. Game-Based Learning in Science Education: A Review of Relevant Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Ming-Chaun; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2013-12-01

    The purpose of this study is to review empirical research articles regarding game-based science learning (GBSL) published from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-one articles were identified through the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. A qualitative content analysis technique was adopted to analyze the research purposes and designs, game design and implementation, theoretical backgrounds and learning foci of these reviewed studies. The theories and models employed by these studies were classified into four theoretical foundations including cognitivism, constructivism, the socio-cultural perspective, and enactivism. The results indicate that cognitivism and constructivism were the major theoretical foundations employed by the GBSL researchers and that the socio-cultural perspective and enactivism are two emerging theoretical paradigms that have started to draw attention from GBSL researchers in recent years. The analysis of the learning foci showed that most of the digital games were utilized to promote scientific knowledge/concept learning, while less than one-third were implemented to facilitate the students' problem-solving skills. Only a few studies explored the GBSL outcomes from the aspects of scientific processes, affect, engagement, and socio-contextual learning. Suggestions are made to extend the current GBSL research to address the affective and socio-contextual aspects of science learning. The roles of digital games as tutor, tool, and tutee for science education are discussed, while the potentials of digital games to bridge science learning between real and virtual worlds, to promote collaborative problem-solving, to provide affective learning environments, and to facilitate science learning for younger students are also addressed.

  1. Rethinking Protocol Analysis from a Cultural Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smagorinsky, Peter

    2001-01-01

    Outlines a cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) perspective that accounts for protocol analysis along three key dimensions: the relationship between thinking and speech from a representational standpoint; the social role of speech in research methodology; and the influence of speech on thinking and data collection. (Author/VWL)

  2. Cultural Effect on Perspective Taking in Chinese-English Bilinguals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luk, Kevin K. S.; Xiao, Wen S.; Cheung, Him

    2012-01-01

    Some recent evidence has suggested that perspective taking skills in everyday life situations may differ across cultural groups. In the present study, we investigated this effect via culture priming in a group of Chinese-English bilingual adults in the context of a communication game. Results showed that the participants made more perspective…

  3. Cultural Capital--A Shift in Perspective: An Analysis of PISA 2009 Data for Croatia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puzic, Saša; Gregurovic, Margareta; Košutic, Iva

    2016-01-01

    Using PISA 2009 data for Croatia, this paper addresses the relationship between socio-economic background, cultural capital and educational attainment. Following Bourdieu, we emphasized the importance of interpreting cultural capital effects as effects of family habitus. The results indicated that the material and the relational dimension of…

  4. Rural Tourism at its Peak: Socio-Cultural Impacts towards Host Communities of Kinabalu Park, Sabah (Malaysian-Borneo

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tangit Tania Maria

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The Kinabalu Park in Sabah (Malaysian-Borneo represents multiple tourism opportunities for its stakeholders, host communities and tourists. Being the first World Heritage Site in Malaysia endorsed by UNESCO since 2000, this nature-based tourism destination is a popular tourism destination in Malaysia, as well as in the Asia region. The designated study area includes villages nearby Kinabalu Park. Through the popularity of the park and various other attractions within the area, tourism activities contributes to socio-cultural impacts towards its host communities. The perceptions and attitudes of the locals towards tourism are identified and evaluated. By having the input of host communities as part of conserving tourism whilst meeting certain principles of sustainable tourism, the paper aims to attain interesting findings about the perceptions of the host communities towards socio-cultural impacts of tourism on their community. The paper further aims to recommend for the continuous improvement of sustainable tourism development at Kinabalu Park and its surroundings.

  5. Cultural Psychology of Differences and EMS; a New Theoretical Framework for Understanding and Reconstructing Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yamamoto, Toshiya

    2017-09-01

    In this paper I introduce the outlines of our new type of theoretical framework named 'Cultural psychology of Differences' for understanding cultural others and dialogically reconstructing interactions among cultural others. In order to understand cultural others, it is necessary for us to reconstruct a new concept which enables us to analyze dynamic generation processes of culture. We propose the concept of Expanded Mediational Structure, EMS, as an elementary unit for understanding human social interactions. EMS is composed of subjects who interacts each other using objects of some kind as mediators, and a normative mediator, NM, which mediates their interactions. It is necessary to generate, share and adjust a NM to keep social interactions stable, and culture will appear when interaction malfunction is attributed to a gaps of NMs. The concept of EMS helps us to understand how culture is functionally substantialized in the plane of collective (or communal) intersubjectivity and how cultural conflicts develop and intensify. Focusing on the generation process of culture through interactions provides us with another option to understand cultural others through dialogical interactions with them.

  6. On regional differences in sick leave : the role of work, individual and health characteristics and socio-cultural environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Beemsterboer, W.; Stewart, R.; Groothoff, J.; Nijhuis, F.

    2008-01-01

    Objectives: Regional differences in sick leave frequency and duration determinants were studied between different professions (sale and cleaning) in different regions in the Netherlands (Utrecht and South Limburg) and the influence of socio-cultural factors on those determinants was explored.

  7. Sustainability transitions in the perspective of ecological macroeconomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Røpke, Inge

    2013-01-01

    Globally, societies are facing a number of serious environmental, economic and social crises. Although the multiple crises are interrelated, research communities tend to be organised around specific complexes of problems. This paper is intended to contribute to the development of an ecological...... macroeconomics that addresses multiple crises by including insights from different, partly overlapping research communities. The main idea is to explore the usefulness of combining three different system perspectives in the study of sustainability transitions: socio-technical provision systems, distributional...... systems and macroeconomic systems. First, the theoretical concept of sustainability and the different system perspectives are outlined, and then the perspectives are brought together in the discussion of a specific topic that is key to sustainable transition: the need for considerable resources to invest...

  8. The Dubai Community Psychiatric Survey: II. Development of the Socio-cultural Change Questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bebbington, P; Ghubash, R; Hamdi, E

    1993-04-01

    The Dubai Community Psychiatric Survey was carried out to assess the effect of very rapid social change on the mental health of women in Dubai, one of the United Arab Emirates. In order to measure social change at an individual level, we developed a questionnaire covering behaviour and attitudes in a wide range of situations, the Socio-cultural Change Questionnaire (ScCQ). In this paper we give an account of the considerations that determined the form of the ScCQ, its structural characteristics, and its validity.

  9. Crisis Communication in a Systems- and Medium Theoretical Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Tække, Jesper

    conflict, risk, trust, public opinion and mass media in regard to this field, and, vice versa, how can we understand crisis communication with sociologically systems theoretical concepts? This paper tries to answer these questions and thereby to contribute to the understanding of the field. Hereto......The academic field of crisis communication is more relevant now than ever before because of the digital media revolution, setting new standards for how to react to critics. But what is this academic field in a systems theoretical perspective? How can we understand sociological concepts like...... the paper takes into account and discusses crisis communication in relation to the new medium environment and especially in regard to social media. The conclusion is that organizations now more than ever must be observant, reflected and responsive with regard to the public opinion, because of the new, more...

  10. El potencial analítico de las Redes socio-métricas y ego-centradas: una aplicación al estudio de la Cohesión-Integración de colectivos sociales

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos Lozares

    2013-07-01

    Full Text Available This article links different theoretical-conceptual fields, methodological perspectives and methods usually juxtaposed in sociological work. From a theoretical point of view it focuses on the idea of cohesion and integration as expressions of the distribution of resources of social Capital. in a perspective between conceptual and methodological issues it refers to the theory and analysis of social networks and also to intermediate concepts between networks, cohesion, integration and social capital such as Bonding and Bridging. the empirical references of its application are six human collectives, which are the expression of different modes of belonging and integration into society. in terms of analysis and interpretation, on the one hand, a combination of classical socialdemographical variables is used, and, on the other hand, relational variables are used. these latter variables are expressed under two modes, socio-metric and ego-centred. in this sense the article also shows the effectiveness and relevance of the socio-metric and ego-centred networks and its indicators.

  11. Organisational culture as a socio-economic phenomenon in the context of the modern management paradigm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shubin Aleksandr A.

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The article studies cognitive component of the “organisational culture” category and marks our three groups of approaches to the aspect description of the studied category: aspects of the organisational culture formed by the control system; aspects of the organisational culture inherent in the controlled system; and universal aspects inherent in both control and controlled systems. The article provides the authors’ definition of the organisational culture as a complex element of the internal environment of the organisation that has certain phenomenological properties (synergy, dynamics, uniqueness, adaptability, mentality, hierarchy, aggregation, communicativeness and sociality; integrating spiritual, material, static and procedural elements with the aim of formation of a single management philosophy for ensuring external adaptation and efficient functioning of an enterprise. The article establishes the role and place of the organisational culture as a socio-economic phenomenon in the context of the modern management paradigm through specification of prerequisites of formation and development of the neo-classical concept of the organisational culture; features of the modern management paradigm; phenomenological properties of the culture; factors of influence upon the organisational culture and tendencies of development of the phenomenon of the national organisational culture.

  12. Toward a Theoretical Model of Employee Turnover: A Human Resource Development Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peterson, Shari L.

    2004-01-01

    This article sets forth the Organizational Model of Employee Persistence, influenced by traditional turnover models and a student attrition model. The model was developed to clarify the impact of organizational practices on employee turnover from a human resource development (HRD) perspective and provide a theoretical foundation for research on…

  13. Understanding the Modularity of Socio-technical Production Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thuesen, Christian Langhoff

    This paper seeks to contribute to the development of Configurational Theory by offering a reinterpretation of the modularity concept from a socio-technical perspective in general and Actor Network Theory (ANT) in particular. By formulating modularity from an ANT perspective covering social...

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  15. What drives adult personality development? : A comparison of theoretical perspectives and empirical evidence

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Specht, J.; Bleidorn, W.; Denissen, J.J.A.; Hennecke, M.; Hutteman, R.; Luhmann, M.; Orth, U.; Reitz, A.K.; Zimmerman, J.

    2014-01-01

    Increasing numbers of empirical studies provide compelling evidence that personality traits change across the entire lifespan. What initiates this continuing personality development and how does this development proceed? In this paper, we compare six theoretical perspectives that offer testable

  16. A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Singaporean and Taiwanese Eighth Graders' Science Learning Self-Efficacy from a Multi-Dimensional Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Tzung-Jin; Tan, Aik Ling; Tsai, Chin-Chung

    2013-05-01

    Due to the scarcity of cross-cultural comparative studies in exploring students' self-efficacy in science learning, this study attempted to develop a multi-dimensional science learning self-efficacy (SLSE) instrument to measure 316 Singaporean and 303 Taiwanese eighth graders' SLSE and further to examine the differences between the two student groups. Moreover, within-culture comparisons were made in terms of gender. The results showed that, first, the SLSE instrument was valid and reliable for measuring the Singaporean and Taiwanese students' SLSE. Second, through a two-way multivariate analysis of variance analysis (nationality by gender), the main result indicated that the SLSE held by the Singaporean eighth graders was significantly higher than that of their Taiwanese counterparts in all dimensions, including 'conceptual understanding and higher-order cognitive skills', 'practical work (PW)', 'everyday application', and 'science communication'. In addition, the within-culture gender comparisons indicated that the male Singaporean students tended to possess higher SLSE than the female students did in all SLSE dimensions except for the 'PW' dimension. However, no gender differences were found in the Taiwanese sample. The findings unraveled in this study were interpreted from a socio-cultural perspective in terms of the curriculum differences, societal expectations of science education, and educational policies in Singapore and Taiwan.

  17. Memory, museums and information science: An interdisciplinary perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Adriano Sampaio

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available Reflects on Museums and Information Science in an interdisciplinary perspective, tracing an interface between memory and information. Presents socio-historical approaches of Information Science in an attempt to subsidize social issues that guide this discussion - 'The Social Epistemology Shera', the 'Hermeneutics Capurro' and 'Approach of Knowledge Wersig'. Highlights the dialogue between information, memory and museum institutions, analyzing its importance in the socio-cultural dynamics of the information society. Considers the process of building interdisciplinary, under a social dimension as a vital contribution to the direction of new readings that can transform individuals in humans reflexive and critical agents capable of walking paths foreseen and unforeseen, changing social reality.

  18. Three-Fold Embedding: Farm Development in Relation to Its Socio-Material Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ron Methorst

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Understanding heterogeneity in farm development strategies is important in order to design effective policies and support programs to increase the sustainability of agriculture in relation to its socio-material context. Using a unique case study of 102 dairy farmers in The Netherlands, all operating in a highly similar socio-material context, this paper studies the differences in the relation of farms with the socio-material context. To this end, the concept of three-fold embedding is developed and tested using the ideal-typical characteristics of three patterns of farm development that were identified in the case study: (1 maximising total milk production; (2 optimising milk production using mainly on-farm resources; and (3 diversified on-farm production. Three-fold embedding was conceptualised in relation to the following dimensions: (1 value chain relations; (2 socio-cultural relations; and (3 natural resource relations, while using a scale ranging from a Close to a Stretched set of relations. The concept of three-fold embedding proves to be useful to identify in a non-normative and non-binary manner meaningful differences between patterns of farm development. These differences relate to differences in opportunity identification and strategic decision-making. The concept supports a relational perspective in studying farm strategy development using a sociology of entrepreneurship approach.

  19. Overweight and obesity among adolescents in Norway: cultural and socio-economic differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grøholt, Else-Karin; Stigum, Hein; Nordhagen, Rannveig

    2008-09-01

    The aim of this study was to investigate overweight and obesity among a representative population of 15,966 Norwegian 15-16 year olds and the associations with different socio-economic and cultural risk factors. Self-reported data were obtained from school-based surveys in six counties during 2000-04. Overweight and obesity were calculated using Cole's index. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 11.8% and 2.4%, respectively, higher among boys. Logistic regression analyses revealed that adolescents in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark (the northernmost counties) were 70-90% more likely to be overweight and obese compared with adolescents in Oslo (the capital and southernmost county) (OR for overweight in Finnmark = 1.7, CI = 1.3, 2.3). Lower educational plans and poor family economy were both significantly associated with overweight and obesity. So was physical inactivity (OR = 1.2, CI = 1.1, 1.3 and OR = 1.6, CI = 1.2, 2.1, respectively). Eating breakfast was positively associated with not being overweight/obese. Overweight and obesity is associated with socio-economic factors and with factors related to food habits and nutrition, suggesting important areas for prevention.

  20. Broadening perspectives on trauma and recovery: a socio-interpersonal view of PTSD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maercker, Andreas; Hecker, Tobias

    2016-01-01

    Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the very few mental disorders that requires by definition an environmental context-a traumatic event or events-as a precondition for diagnosis. Both trauma sequelae and recovery always occur in the context of social-interpersonal contexts, for example, in interaction with a partner, family, the community, and the society. The present paper elaborates and extends the social-interpersonal framework model of PTSD. This was developed to complement other intrapersonally focused models of PTSD, which emphasize alterations in an individual's memory, cognitions, or neurobiology. Four primary reasons for broadening the perspective from the individual to the interpersonal-societal contexts are discussed. The three layers of the model (social affects, close relationships, and culture and society) are outlined. We further discuss additional insights and benefits of the social-interpersonal perspective for the growing field of research regarding resilience after traumatic experiences. The paper closes with an outlook on therapy approaches and interventions considering this broader social-interpersonal perspective on PTSD.

  1. Why are you satisfied with an online game?:exploring game attractiveness and gaming climate from a socio-technical perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Zuo, W. (Wangjing)

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Some online games are prosperous and have attracted a large number of players, while others cannot sustain. Both technical and social factors likely affect a player’s satisfaction with an online game. However, there is a clear dearth of studies in which have investigated online games from a socio-technical perspective. This article seeks to address this gap through an empirical study on technical factors (manifesti...

  2. Political, Economic, Socio-Cultural, and Educational Challenges of Administering a Sino-US Joint Venture Campus in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ozturgut, Osman

    2008-01-01

    This qualitative study explored the political, economic, socio-cultural, and educational challenges of administering a Sino-U.S. joint-venture campus in the People's Republic of China. China American University (CAU) is an educational joint venture between China Investment Company (CIC) and American University (AU) in the U.S. that resulted in…

  3. The Case of Value Based Communication—Epistemological and Methodological Reflections from a System Theoretical Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Victoria von Groddeck

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to reflect the epistemological and methodological aspects of an empirical research study which analyzes the phenomenon of increased value communication within business organizations from a system theoretical perspective in the tradition of Niklas LUHMANN. Drawing on the theoretical term of observation it shows how a research perspective can be developed which opens up the scope for an empirical analysis of communication practices. This analysis focuses on the reconstruction of these practices by first understanding how these practices stabilize themselves and second by contrasting different practices to educe an understanding of different forms of observation of the relevant phenomenon and of the functions of these forms. Thus, this approach combines system theoretical epistemology, analytical research strategies, such as form and functional analysis, and qualitative research methods, such as narrative interviews, participant observation and document analysis. URN: urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs1003177

  4. SOCIO - CULTURAL ASPECTS OF TUBERCULOSIS AND DIALOGUE WITH PUBLIC HEALTH POLICIES IN BRAZIL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Débora Regina Marques Barbosa

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Tuberculosis away from individuals affected by their social and affective and reconstructionof collective values, relegating them to the condition of inferiority and subservience Sartrean,liabilities oppressive conditions imposed by society, which dismisses the other as legitimatein the intersubjective social construction. This work aims to address the social, psychologicaland symbolic carrier of tuberculosis and PPS in Brazil through integrative review in databasesScientific Electronic Library Online (Scielo and Google Scholar using the descriptorsTuberculosis Society, Culture, Psychosocial Aspects, Sociocultural Aspects; Public Policy inHealth, Social Movements and Social Control, individually or grouped according to theirproximity or remoteness to the guiding question: "How Public Policies on Health dialoguewith social movements and sociocultural aspects of Tuberculosis?". Whereas the way ofseeing a situation and its meaning in a certain reality is guiding factor, even though subjective,of actions, it is stressed that interventions should take in the full measure of human socio-economic-political-cultural. In this sense, knowledge of cultural and socioeconomic situationof a region is essential to confronting the chain of events that disease primarily social in agiven community.

  5. Theoretical foundations guiding culture change: The work of the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dupuis, Sherry; McAiney, Carrie A; Fortune, Darla; Ploeg, Jenny; Witt, Lorna de

    2016-01-01

    Longstanding concerns about quality care provision, specifically in the area of long-term care, have prompted calls for changing the culture of care to reflect more client-driven and relationship-centred models. Despite an increase in culture change initiatives in both Canada and the United States, there is insufficient information about the theories and approaches that guide culture change. The purpose of this paper is to describe a culture change initiative currently underway in Canada, the Partnerships in Dementia Care Alliance, and the theoretical foundations informing our work. More specifically, we describe how the theoretical and philosophical underpinnings of the Alzheimer Disease and Related Dementias framework, the authentic partnership approach, participatory action research and Appreciative Inquiry have been integrated to guide a culture change process that encourages working collaboratively, thinking and doing differently and re-imagining new possibilities for changing the culture of dementia care. © The Author(s) 2014.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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

  7. Socio-cultural determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine in Western Kenya

    OpenAIRE

    SUNDARAM, N.; SCHAETTI, C.; CHAIGNAT, C.-L.; HUTUBESSY, R.; NYAMBEDHA, E. O.; MBONGA, L. A.; WEISS, M. G.

    2012-01-01

    SUMMARY Determinants of anticipated acceptance of an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) were studied in urban and rural communities of Western Kenya. An explanatory model interview administered to 379 community residents assessed anticipated vaccine acceptance at various prices from no cost to full-cost recovery, socio-cultural features of cholera and social characteristics. Nearly all (99%) residents indicated willingness to accept a no-cost OCV, 95% at a price of US$ 0?8, 73% at US$ 4?2 and 59% at ...

  8. MOOC's from the perspective of learning

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Buhl, Mie

    The contribution discusses the upcoming model for elearning. form a learning perspective drawing on theoretical and empirical explorative studies. the contribution suggests that MOOC requires new teaching skills and new learning cultures in light of diverse national, regional and social contexts...

  9. Socio-cultural factors of formation of musical preferences of Ukrainian students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. M. Nesterenko

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available The impact of social and cultural factors on the musical preferences of students in Ukraine has been analysed in the article. The following factors have been selected: the type of society and social change in the polical fields of economy, culture, technology, students, musical paradigm. The urgency of the analysis of the genesis, development and change of musical preferences of students has been proven, the necessity to study the influence of sociocultural factors on the formation of musical preferences in modern society has been grounded. This allowed characterising the musical preferences as a socio-cultural phenomenon that present signs and society, and culture of the society. It has been found that the development of technology, such as the invention and use of the gramophone, phonograph, cinema, radio, television, and later a tape recorder, computer, Internet, mobile communications and the latest gadgets, has enhanced the formation of musical preferences.It has contributed meeting the needs and inquiries of students, which are studying musical art, the use of individual trajectories of formation of formal and informal musical preferences. Formal preferences are associated with the activities of social institutions and social organizations. In this context, the musical preferences and those recommended “from above” have been considered to be two different ways of formation of musical preferences in a totalitarian society. The variety of musical preferences has been determined. State-formed musical preferences have been identified and characterized by a second method of forming a musical preferences, which is based on the perception of diversity and is not approved by the musical culture of the individually selected samples, “from below” groups, which are defined as individual and personal, or informal, musical preferences. The musical preferences of students, related to situations of social changes that have occurred in the spheres

  10. Integrating socio-cultural perspectives into ecosystem service valuation: A review of concepts and methods

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Scholte, S.S.K.; van Teeffelen, A.J.A.; Verburg, P.H.

    2015-01-01

    Ecosystem service research has long been dominated by a monetary interpretation of value, neglecting other social perspectives on the importance of ecosystems for human well-being. Emphasis has been put on individual utility and rational choice, which does not adequately capture the full spectrum of

  11. Socio-Cultural Context and Bulling Others in Childhood.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morcillo, Carmen; Ramos-Olazagasti, Maria A; Blanco, Carlos; Sala, Regina; Canino, Glorisa; Bird, Hector; Duarte, Cristiane S

    2015-08-01

    The objective of this epidemiological study was to examine, using an ecological perspective, which individual and distal contextual factors (familial, social and cultural) are associated with bullying other children across two different sites. Our sample included 1,271 Puerto Rican children 10 and older years of age at baseline residing in the South Bronx in New York and in the Standard Metropolitan Area in San Juan and Caguas, Puerto Rico. Bullying others was assessed through parents' and children's response to one item in the conduct disorder section of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children Version IV (DISC IV). Child, family, social and cultural factors were examined as independent variables with bullying others as dependent variable in hierarchical models adjusting for gender, maternal education, poverty, single parent household and site. Prevalence of bullying others was 15.2% in South Bronx versus 4.6% in Puerto Rico (p<0.0001). Poor social adjustment and academic achievement, parental harsh discipline, negative school environment, exposure to violence, peer delinquency and level of acculturation in the child were all risk factors for bullying others. Child acculturation accounted for site differences in rates of bullying others. We conclude that, besides the school context, specific aspects of the community, family, and culture influence the development of bullying perpetration and should be targets for interventions and prevention programs. Minority youth living in at-risk contexts may benefit from contextually sensitive preventive interventions that address how assimilation into a high-risk context may increase involvement in bullying perpetration.

  12. Equity in Cross-Cultural Gifted Screening from a Philippine Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vista, Alvin

    2015-01-01

    This paper discusses issues on cross-cultural gifted screening from a Philippine perspective. Research on gifted education in the Philippines, and Southeast Asia in general, is still nascent. The main focus of this review of literature is on equity of the gifted education screening process across wide socioeconomic, cultural, and linguistic…

  13. Linguistic Culture and Essentialism in South Africa

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stephanie Rudwick

    2008-10-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores how language and culture are intertwined and often regarded as “invariable fixed properties” in contemporary South Africa by focusing on one particular indigenous African language group, i.e. isiZulu-speakers. Drawing from general theoretical sociolinguistic approaches to language and culture and considering South Africa’s socio-political history, the paper demonstrates the significance and saliency of Zulu linguistic culture to Zulu people in the post-apartheid state. It is examined, how Zulu linguistic culture is regarded a resource in the isiZulu-speaking community and as one of the most salient tools of in-group identification in the larger contemporary South African society. Zulu people’s culture is profoundly language-embedded and Zulu linguistic culture often based on essentialism.

  14. Organizational culture and relationship marketing: an interorganizational perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fabiano Larentis

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose – This paper aimed to analyze the contribution of interorganizational relationships, specifically between suppliers and clients, to organizational cultural changes. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative multiple case study in two marketing channels was performed, through in-depth interviews, observation and data analysis based on grounded theory. Findings – The contribution of trust, commitment, cooperation and learning processes has been identified in the organizational cultural changes and in the reduction of the role conflicts of the boundary spanners. Also, the role of employee turnover to weaken these dimensions and respective relations has been noticed. Originality/value – The development of an interorganizational culture has been evidenced, as a system of symbols and meanings shared by groups or individuals from different organizations, on a transitional basis, with the predominance of the cultural perspective of fragmentation. It is a culture originated from relationships through intersections of cultures, a culture of boundaries.

  15. Cultural Evolutionary Perspectives on Creativity and Human Innovation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fogarty, Laurel; Creanza, Nicole; Feldman, Marcus W

    2015-12-01

    Cultural traits originate through creative or innovative processes, which might be crucial to understanding how culture evolves and accumulates. However, because of its complexity and apparent subjectivity, creativity has remained largely unexplored as the dynamic underpinning of cultural evolution. Here, we explore the approach to innovation commonly taken in theoretical studies of cultural evolution and discuss its limitations. Drawing insights from cognitive science, psychology, archeology, and even animal behavior, it is possible to generate a formal description of creativity and to incorporate a dynamic theory of creativity into models of cultural evolution. We discuss the implications of such models for our understanding of the archaeological record and the history of hominid culture. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  16. Human health risks and socio-economic perspectives of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh: A scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahman, M Azizur; Rahman, A; Khan, M Zaved Kaiser; Renzaho, Andre M N

    2018-04-15

    Arsenic contamination of drinking water, which can occur naturally or because of human activities such as mining, is the single most important public health issue in Bangladesh. Fifty out of the 64 districts in the country have arsenic concentration of groundwater exceeding 50µgL -1 , the Bangladeshi threshold, affecting 35-77 million people or 21-48% of the total population. Chronic arsenic exposure through drinking water and other dietary sources is an important public health issue worldwide affecting hundreds of millions of people. Consequently, arsenic poisoning has attracted the attention of researchers and has been profiled extensively in the literature. Most of the literature has focused on characterising arsenic poisoning and factors associated with it. However, studies examining the socio-economic aspects of chronic exposure of arsenic through either drinking water or foods remain underexplored. The objectives of this paper are (i) to review arsenic exposure pathways to humans; (ii) to summarise public health impacts of chronic arsenic exposure; and (iii) to examine socio-economic implications and consequences of arsenicosis with a focus on Bangladesh. This scoping review evaluates the contributions of different exposure pathways by analysing arsenic concentrations in dietary and non-dietary sources. The socio-economic consequences of arsenicosis disease in Bangladesh are discussed in this review by considering food habits, nutritional status, socio-economic conditions, and socio-cultural behaviours of the people of the country. The pathways of arsenic exposure in Bangladesh include drinking water, various plant foods and non-dietary sources such as soil. Arsenic affected people are often abandoned by the society, lose their jobs and get divorced and are forced to live a sub-standard life. The fragile public health system in Bangladesh has been burdened by the management of thousands of arsenicosis victims in Bangladesh. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc

  17. International Allied Health Education and Cross-Cultural Perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Makhdoom A.; Robinson, Thomas C.; Al Enezi, Naser

    2002-01-01

    Three issues in global relations should be addressed in international education: societal and academic interdependence, global-centric perspectives, and cultural respect. A model for international allied health education exchange includes the following aspects of both advisors and advisees: history, politics, economics, sociocultural environment,…

  18. Assessing construction innovation: theoretical and practical perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter Davis

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Innovation is key for productivity improvement and advancements in different sectors of the economy, including the construction sector.  The criticism of the slow pace of innovation in construction industry may be unwarranted, considering the structure of the industry and nature of the construction business.  The loosely coupled nature of firms, mostly Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s, delivering ‘projects’ through partial engagement, together with the distinction between the project innovation and firm innovation makes it difficult to extract innovations in a meaningful way.  The problem also lies in conceptualising, defining, articulating and assessing innovation in construction.  The literature is replete with research into construction innovation, however, there is limited research into understanding how innovation is perceived and narrated in practice.  The paper aims to explore how innovation is assessed and narrated in construction, specifically analysing theory and practice perspectives.  A theoretical model was constructed from a structured literature review illustrating existing discourse and narratives of construction innovation assessment.  A qualitative analysis of ‘Professional Excellence in Building’ submission documents to the Australian Institute of Building was performed to identify the practice perspective of innovation.  The findings suggest that internal organizational and process innovation account for the majority of improvements identified.  Importantly a taxonomy of narrative is developed that articulates how the construction industry in Australia views industry innovation.

  19. Beyond cultural stereotyping: views on end-of-life decision making among religious and secular persons in the USA, Germany, and Israel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schweda, Mark; Schicktanz, Silke; Raz, Aviad; Silvers, Anita

    2017-02-17

    End-of-life decision making constitutes a major challenge for bioethical deliberation and political governance in modern democracies: On the one hand, it touches upon fundamental convictions about life, death, and the human condition. On the other, it is deeply rooted in religious traditions and historical experiences and thus shows great socio-cultural diversity. The bioethical discussion of such cultural issues oscillates between liberal individualism and cultural stereotyping. Our paper confronts the bioethical expert discourse with public moral attitudes. The paper is based on a qualitative study comprising 12 focus group discussions with religious and secular persons in the USA, Germany, and Israel (n = 82). Considering the respective socio-political and legal frameworks, the thematic analysis focuses on moral attitudes towards end-of-life decision making and explores the complex interplay between individual preferences, culture, and religion. Our findings draw attention to the variety and complexity of cultural and religious aspects of end-of-life decision making. Although there is local consensus that goes beyond radical individualism, positions are not neatly matched with national cultures or religious denominations. Instead, the relevance of the specific situatedness of religious beliefs and cultural communities becomes visible: Their status and role in individual situations, for example, as consensual or conflicting on the level of personal perspectives, family relationships, or broader social contexts, e.g., as a majority or minority culture within a political system. As the group discussions indicate, there are no clear-cut positions anchored in "nationality," "culture," or "religion." Instead, attitudes are personally decided on as part of a negotiated context representing the political, social and existential situatedness of the individual. Therefore, more complex theoretical and practical approaches to cultural diversity have to be developed.

  20. Socio-functional dynamics of the mathematical contents

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Isabel Alonso-Berenguer

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The article presents a model of the socio-functional dynamics of the mathematical contents that offers a novel theoretical-methodological basement for the development of the process of teaching-learning of the mathematical one. The investigation, of theoretical character, used the methods of analysis-synthesis, inductive-deductive and historical-logical to elaborate the one mentioned model that leaves of considering that the future professors have appropriated previously of the mathematical contents, foreseen in the curriculum, and they are, therefore, under conditions of understanding the potentialities of the same ones to facilitate the formation of socio-functional values.   

  1. Gender and Autonomy-Supportive Contexts: Theoretical Perspectives of Self-Determination and Goal Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Shinyi; Chen, Yu-Chuan

    2013-01-01

    In integrating theoretical perspectives of self-determination and goal-setting, this study proposes a conceptual model with moderating and mediating effects exploring gender issue in autonomy-supportive learning in higher education as research context. In the proposed model, goal-setting attributes, i.e., individual determinants, social…

  2. A Holistic Theoretical Approach to Intellectual Disability: Going beyond the Four Current Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schalock, Robert L.; Luckasson, Ruth; Tassé, Marc J.; Verdugo, Miguel Angel

    2018-01-01

    This article describes a holistic theoretical framework that can be used to explain intellectual disability (ID) and organize relevant information into a usable roadmap to guide understanding and application. Developing the framework involved analyzing the four current perspectives on ID and synthesizing this information into a holistic…

  3. A socio-psychological perspective on community participation in health during the Unidad Popular government: Santiago de Chile, from 1970 to 1973.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjez-Berrios, Esteban

    2014-01-01

    Community participation in health has conventionally been described and analysed from a non-historical perspective, neglecting the central role that disadvantaged communities have played in the construction of health institutions in our societies, alienating collective health from its historical subject. From a socio-psychological perspective, this study explores the experiences of community participation in health during the Unidad Popular government in Santiago de Chile from 1970 to 1973, evidencing a radical pedagogical process inside poor urban settlements, aimed to transform Chilean classist health institutions. These findings contribute to a critical understanding of community participation in health, conceived as a dialectic and transformative action.

  4. A cross-culture, cross-gender comparison of perspective taking mechanisms.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessler, Klaus; Cao, Liyu; O'Shea, Kieran J; Wang, Hongfang

    2014-06-22

    Being able to judge another person's visuo-spatial perspective is an essential social skill, hence we investigated the generalizability of the involved mechanisms across cultures and genders. Developmental, cross-species, and our own previous research suggest that two different forms of perspective taking can be distinguished, which are subserved by two distinct mechanisms. The simpler form relies on inferring another's line-of-sight, whereas the more complex form depends on embodied transformation into the other's orientation in form of a simulated body rotation. Our current results suggest that, in principle, the same basic mechanisms are employed by males and females in both, East-Asian (EA; Chinese) and Western culture. However, we also confirmed the hypothesis that Westerners show an egocentric bias, whereas EAs reveal an other-oriented bias. Furthermore, Westerners were slower overall than EAs and showed stronger gender differences in speed and depth of embodied processing. Our findings substantiate differences and communalities in social cognition mechanisms across genders and two cultures and suggest that cultural evolution or transmission should take gender as a modulating variable into account.

  5. Broadening perspectives on trauma and recovery: a socio-interpersonal view of PTSD†

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andreas Maercker

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD is one of the very few mental disorders that requires by definition an environmental context—a traumatic event or events—as a precondition for diagnosis. Both trauma sequelae and recovery always occur in the context of social–interpersonal contexts, for example, in interaction with a partner, family, the community, and the society. The present paper elaborates and extends the social–interpersonal framework model of PTSD. This was developed to complement other intrapersonally focused models of PTSD, which emphasize alterations in an individual's memory, cognitions, or neurobiology. Four primary reasons for broadening the perspective from the individual to the interpersonal–societal contexts are discussed. The three layers of the model (social affects, close relationships, and culture and society are outlined. We further discuss additional insights and benefits of the social–interpersonal perspective for the growing field of research regarding resilience after traumatic experiences. The paper closes with an outlook on therapy approaches and interventions considering this broader social–interpersonal perspective on PTSD.

  6. THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF MONITORING OF REGION’S SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES:

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valentyna Yakubiv

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available The article defines the nature of socio-economic development processes monitoring in a region on the basis of systematization of scientific works on economics. The terms of monitoring introduction into the processes of socio-economic development of a region are defined. The difference between monitoring and standard statistic technology is explained. The fact that socio-economic processes monitoring is primarily directed at collection, examination and preparation of information for making and analyzing of economic decisions at different management levels is proved. The indicators by the direction “renewable energy and energy efficiency”, which are evaluated in the process of monitoring, are outlined. Major tasks of monitoring are defined and principles of its information basis forming are determined. Key words: decentralization, information basis, renewable energy, monitoring, region, development, socio-economic processes.

  7. Socio-cultural factors and school engagement : A study among Turkish, Moroccan, Assyrian and native Dutch youth in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Andriessen, I.

    2006-01-01

    This dissertation focuses on the impact of socio-cultural factors on school engagement of minority students in Dutch secondary schools. This question was raised because studies that focus on the impact of structural or institutional factors were often left with an 'ethnic residual'. This ethnic

  8. Factors affecting the recreation of a story from a text : A cross-cultural experiment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Stokmans, Mia; el Aissati, Abder; Boogaard, Marianne; van den Bogaerde, Beppie; Bacchini, Sylvia; Curcic, Maja; de Jong, Nivja; le Pichon, Emanuelle; Rasier, Laurent

    In this research, we regard a text as a written expression about an extraordinary experience in which the socio-economic, cultural and historical background of an author affects the way this experience is translated into a text that tells the story. From this perspective, the task of a reader is to

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

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    张滕龙

    2014-01-01

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

  10. Using a Theoretical Framework of Institutional Culture to Analyse an Institutional Strategy Document

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacobs, Anthea Hydi Maxine

    2016-01-01

    This paper builds on a conceptual analysis of institutional culture in higher education. A theoretical framework was proposed to analyse institutional documents of two higher education institutions in the Western Cape, for the period 2002 to 2012 (Jacobs 2012). The elements of this theoretical framework are "shared values and beliefs",…

  11. An Exercise in Theoretical Archaeology: Do Archaeological Cultures Exist?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marko Porčić

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available Archaeological culture still persists as a basic analytical and interpretative concept in Serbian archaeology despite criticism. This paper presents a formal view of archaeological cultures and explores the epistemological implications of this formalization. Formal analysis of archaeological culture is achieved through logical and quantitative explication of the traditional definition of archaeological cultures. The main result of the formal analysis is that there are real patterns of formal variability of material culture that may or may not correspond to traditional archaeological cultures. These patterns are real only in the analytical sense – they are real for given input data and scale of analysis. Unlike the traditional approach where this patterns are equated with archaeological cultures which are furthered interpreted in essentialist terms or as quasi- organic entities such as ethnic groups, it is claimed here that discovered patterns are only the starting point – the empirical situation that needs to be accounted for in anthropological an historical terms. This paper shows how patterns that are traditionally identified as archaeological cultures can arise as a consequence of an entire range of processes – different social and historical realities. The main conclusion is that the traditional concept of archaeological culture is not useful neither as analytical or interpretative tools for two reasons: 1 traditional cultures are subjectively defined entities with no theoretical justification for the criteria used in their definition and 2 the empirical pattern cannot be an explanation in itself because it is the thing that needs to be explained. Cultural evolutionary (transmission theory is proposed as a general framework for defining and interpreting patterns of formal variability of material culture in time and space.

  12. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jat, Tej Ram; Deo, Prakash R; Goicolea, Isabel; Hurtig, Anna-Karin; San Sebastian, Miguel

    2015-01-01

    Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery-related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using thematic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the 'three delays' framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery-related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services) were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were unable to claim their entitlements and that the duty bearers were not

  13. Socio-cultural and service delivery dimensions of maternal mortality in rural central India: a qualitative exploration using a human rights lens

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tej Ram Jat

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: Despite the avoidable nature of maternal mortality, unacceptably high numbers of maternal deaths occur in developing countries. Considering its preventability, maternal mortality is being increasingly recognised as a human rights issue. Integration of a human rights perspective in maternal health programmes could contribute positively in eliminating avertable maternal deaths. This study was conducted to explore socio-cultural and service delivery–related dimensions of maternal deaths in rural central India using a human rights lens. Design: Social autopsies were conducted for 22 maternal deaths during 2011 in Khargone district in central India. The data were analysed using the matic analysis. The factors associated with maternal deaths were classified by using the ‘three delays’ framework and were examined by using a human rights lens. Results: All 22 women tried to access medical assistance, but various factors delayed their access to appropriate care. The underestimation of the severity of complications by family members, gender inequity, and perceptions of low-quality delivery services delayed decisions to seek care. Transportation problems and care seeking at multiple facilities delayed reaching appropriate health facilities. Negligence by health staff and unavailability of blood and emergency obstetric care services delayed receiving adequate care after reaching a health facility. Conclusions: The study highlighted various socio-cultural and service delivery–related factors which are violating women's human rights and resulting in maternal deaths in rural central India. This study highlights that, despite the health system's conscious effort to improve maternal health, normative elements of a human rights approach to maternal health (i.e. availability, accessibility, acceptability, and quality of maternal health services were not upheld. The data and analysis suggest that the deceased women and their relatives were

  14. Socio-cultural factors in the development of anorexia nervosa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garner, D M; Garfinkel, P E

    1980-11-01

    A population of professional dance (N = 183) and modelling (N = 56) students, who by career choice must focus increased attention and control over their body shapes, was studied. Height and weight data were obtained on all subjects. In addition, a questionnaire that is useful in assessing the symptoms of anorexia nervosa, the Eating Attitudes Test (EAT), was administered. Results of these tests were compared with those of normal female university students (N = 59), patients with anorexia nervosa (N = 68), and music students (N = 35). Anorexia nervosa and excessive dieting concerns were overrepresented in the dance and modelling students. Twelve cases (6.5%) of primary anorexia nervosa were detected in the dance group. All but one case developed the disorder while studying dance. Within the dance group those from the most competitive environments had the greatest frequency of anorexia nervosa. These data suggest that both pressures to be slim and achievement expectations are risk factors in the development of anorexia nervosa. The influence of socio-cultural determinants are discussed within the context of anorexia nervosa as a multidetermined disorder.

  15. Sustaining ecosystem services in cultural landscapes

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Plieninger, Tobias; van der Horst, Dan; Schleyer, Christian

    2014-01-01

    Classical conservation approaches focus on the man-made degradation of ecosystems and tend to neglect the socialecological values that human land uses have imprinted on many environments. Throughout the world, ingenious land-use practices have generated unique cultural landscapes...... research and management. With this paper, we introduce a special feature that aims to enhance the theoretical, empirical and practical knowledge of how to safeguard the resilience of ecosystem services in cultural landscapes. It concludes (1) that the usefulness of the ecosystem services approach...... to the analysis and management of cultural landscapes should be reviewed more critically; (2) that conventional ecosystem services assessment needs to be complemented by socio-cultural valuation; (3) that cultural landscapes are inherently changing, so that a dynamic view on ecosystem services and a focus...

  16. Applicability of Socio-Technical Model (STM in Working System of Modern Organizations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rosmaini Tasmin

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available Knowledge has been identified as one of the most important resources in organization that contributes to competitive advantages. Organizations around the world realize and put into practice an approach that bases on technological and sociological aspects to fill-up the gaps in their workplaces. The Socio-Technical Model (STM is an established organizational model introduced by Trist since 1960s at Tavistock Institute, London. It relates two most common components exist in all organizations, namely social systems (human and technological systems (information technology, machinery and equipment in organizations over many decades. This paper reviews the socio-technical model from various perspectives of its developmental stages and ideas written by researchers. Therefore, several literature reviews on socio-technical model have been compiled and discussed to justify whether its basic argument matches with required practices in Techno-Social environments. Through a socio-technical perspective on Knowledge Management, this paper highlights the interplay between social systems and technological system. It also suggests that management and leadership play critical roles in establishing the techno-social perspective for the effective assimilation of Knowledge Management practices.

  17. Khat (Catha edulis: The herb with officio-legal, socio-cultural and economic uncertainty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sikiru Lamina

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Khat (Catha edulis is a plant of uncertain and highly controversial status grown in the countries around the Red Sea and on the eastern coast of Africa. The chewing of khat leaves has a deep-rooted religious and socio-cultural tradition. Khat is considered a cash crop and its cultivation is a source of economic value to the societies and nations involved. There have, however, been reports of negative economic effects on the individuals engaging in the habit of khat chewing.

    The increasing use of khat worldwide, along with the negative international attention that this has garnered, has led to the present status of uncertainty of the once indigenous practice of khat chewing. Scientists, mostly western Europeans, have tended to focus on problems related to khat with little attention to the positive role of khat chewing in society and the world at large. In addition, no report has directly associated khat with any organised crime, violence or antisocial activity, particularly in countries where khat is legalised.

    This paper reviewed the various areas of uncertainty and controversy relating to khat. Based on the findings of the review, further qualitative and quantitative research is required and a positive international approach to khat use at economic, religious and socio-cultural levels is advocated.

  18. Socio-cognitive influences on the domain-specificity of prosocial behavior in the second year.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kärtner, Joscha; Schuhmacher, Nils; Collard, Jenny

    2014-11-01

    The main aim of this study was to explain the domain-specificity of early prosocial behavior in different domains (i.e., helping, comforting, and cooperation) by simultaneously assessing specific socio-cognitive factors (i.e., self-other-differentiation and joint attentional skills) that were hypothesized to be differentially related to the three domains of prosocial behavior. Based on a longitudinal study design, observational and parental report data were collected when toddlers (N=42) from German urban middle-class families were 15 and 18 months of age. At 15 months, regression analyses indicated differential relationships between socio-cognitive development and prosocial behavior (i.e., joint attentional skills were positively related with helping and, as hypothesized, both joint attentional skills and self-other differentiation were positively related with cooperation). Furthermore, self-other differentiation at 15 months predicted increases in coordination between 15 and 18 months. Finally, between 15 and 18 months, parental reports of socio-cognitive measures increased significantly while behavioral measures of both socio-cognitive concepts and prosocial behavior were stable across time. In sum, these results support the theoretical assumption of domain-specific socio-cognitive influences that constitute differential development of prosocial behavior. Implications of the results for theory and future studies are discussed from different perspectives with a focus on an interference interpretation calling for the integration of socialization approaches to the study of prosocial development. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  19. Can an Educational Intervention, Specifically Theatre in Education, Influence Students' Perceptions of and Attitudes to Cultural and Religious Diversity? A Socio-Educational Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koukounaras-Liagis, Marios

    2011-01-01

    Contemporary thinking seems to be particularly interested in the investigation of the role of culture in socio-political life. This article presents aspects of a research project, undertaken in Greece, looking into whether a cultural product can foster intercultural communication and influence young people's perceptions of and attitudes to…

  20. Contrasting Perspectives on Organizational Culture Change in Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connolly, Michael; James, Chris; Beales, Bill

    2011-01-01

    The concept of organizational culture continues to be widely used for descriptive and explanatory purposes in academic, policy, and managerial debates in education and other contexts. The range of perspectives on its meaning, which are readily apparent in both educational and non-educational literature, is directly relevant to the analysis of…

  1. Incorporating Cultural Perspectives into Diabetes Self-Management Programs for East Asian Immigrants: A Mixed-Study Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Chorong; Nam, Soohyun; Whittemore, Robin

    2016-04-01

    It is important to understand East Asian immigrants (EAIs)' unique perspectives in managing diabetes in order to provide culturally-competent care. However, it is not known whether EAIs' perspectives are addressed in diabetes self-management interventions developed for EAIs. Therefore, a mixed-study review was conducted to identify EAIs' perspective from qualitative research (n = 9 studies) and to evaluate the components of EAI diabetes self-management interventions (n = 7). Themes from the qualitative synthesis demonstrated that EAIs have unique cultural values and traditional health beliefs while struggling with multi-contextual barriers due to immigration. The evaluation of EAI diabetes self-management interventions revealed that there was a lack of consensus on cultural strategies for EAIs' across the interventions. Addressing language barriers was the only factor consistently integrated in the cultural components of intervention by employing bilingual interventionists. EAIs' perspectives and experiences need to be incorporated in the future diabetes self-management interventions to better provide culturally-competent care.

  2. Theoretical Approaches in Evolutionary Ecology: Environmental Feedback as a Unifying Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lion, Sébastien

    2018-01-01

    Evolutionary biology and ecology have a strong theoretical underpinning, and this has fostered a variety of modeling approaches. A major challenge of this theoretical work has been to unravel the tangled feedback loop between ecology and evolution. This has prompted the development of two main classes of models. While quantitative genetics models jointly consider the ecological and evolutionary dynamics of a focal population, a separation of timescales between ecology and evolution is assumed by evolutionary game theory, adaptive dynamics, and inclusive fitness theory. As a result, theoretical evolutionary ecology tends to be divided among different schools of thought, with different toolboxes and motivations. My aim in this synthesis is to highlight the connections between these different approaches and clarify the current state of theory in evolutionary ecology. Central to this approach is to make explicit the dependence on environmental dynamics of the population and evolutionary dynamics, thereby materializing the eco-evolutionary feedback loop. This perspective sheds light on the interplay between environmental feedback and the timescales of ecological and evolutionary processes. I conclude by discussing some potential extensions and challenges to our current theoretical understanding of eco-evolutionary dynamics.

  3. The Environmental Trilogy project: Balancing technical, institutional, and cultural perspectives to environmental management

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kurstedt, Pamela S.; Jim, Russell; Wadsworth, Bonnie C.W.; Burke, William H.; Kurstedt, Harold A. Jr.

    1992-01-01

    'The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking we were at when we created them.' Albert Einstein. I've identified an initial set of three perspectives important to building an integrated, comprehensive approach to managing the environment - technical, institutional, and cultural. I've constructed an holistic model (called the Environmental Trilogy) for environmental management, encompassing at least these three perspectives and their interrelationships. In this paper, I outline the model and report the results of a working session facilitated at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, in October 1991, involving three representatives from each of the technical, institutional, and cultural perspectives. The institutional members of this group were people who understand institutional effects, rather than those who represent institutions. The working group discussed and analyzed the technical-institutional, technical-cultural, and institutional-cultural inter- relationships of the environmental trilogy. The goals of the working group were to put structure on the environmental trilogy model, to facilitate the definition of variables, and explore relationships between and among variables. The working group members are to continue studying issues and components, perspectives, connections, and cause-and-effect in the models and report back to interested parties. The outcome is projected to be a more holistic, integrated view of the environment. (author)

  4. Socio-cultural and economic factors affecting food consumption patterns in the Arab countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musaiger, A O

    1993-04-01

    Several factors have been found to determine the dietary habits of the people in the Arab world. Food consumption pattern has dramatically changed in some Arab countries as a result of sudden increase in income from oil revenue. It is believed that food subsidy policy has adversely affected the food habits in the Gulf states by encouraging the intake of fat, sugar, rice, wheat flour and meat. Socio-cultural factors such as religion, beliefs, food preferences, gender discrimination, education and women's employment all have a noticeable influence on food consumption patterns in this region. Mass media, especially televised food advertisements, play an important role in modifying the dietary habits. The migration movement, particularly that which was carried out during the 70s has a great impact on the food practices in many Arab countries. Comprehensive studies on social, cultural and economic factors associated with food consumption patterns in the Arab region are highly recommended.

  5. External Factors Influencing Interorganizational Collaboration: The Strategic Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Monika Golonka

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The main purpose of this paper is to present the phenomenon of interorganizational collaboration from the strategic perspective, as a complex phenomenon, infl uenced by environmental factors, such as institutions � both formal and informal. Additional aims of the paper are: to present a model including all signifi cant elements and identifying important research gaps.Methodology: The paper presents the results of literature analyses as well as the fi ndings of the latest research studies in the fi eld of interorganizational collaboration, taking into account the environment of the organization.Conclusions: The external environment of the organization, in particular socio-cultural factors, has a significant impact on the formation, development, evolution and management of interorganizational collaboration. There are still many research gaps in this fi eld, and some of them have been presented in this paper.Research limitations: This paper is a theoretical and conceptual study. It forms an introduction to further empirical research.Originality: The paper presents the phenomenon of interorganizational collaboration in a broader context, taking into account the external environment as an element infl uencing such collaboration. Most of the works in this fi eld focus on organizations managing or coping with the environment. This paper presents a different approach. It indicates the external factors that infl uence interorganizational collaboration from a strategic perspective, and subsequently presents them in the form of a model.

  6. AN INTERPRETATION ON CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY: SOME THEORETICAL PRINCIPLES AND APPLICATIONS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Moises Esteban Guitart

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available The aim of this paper is to discuss a particular view on cultural psychology focusedon “lived experience” and “vital geography” terms. It is provided sometheoretical principles and applications of this perspective. According to this view,human development is the result of participation in educational practices throughwhich people appropriate the “signs”, “cultural technology” or explicit and implicitforms of shared life. It is postulated two assumptions and three features.The assumptions are: the lived experienced should be studied in the context orsituation where it is expressed and constructed, and the “cultural diet” is thefood of our psyche (our memories, fears, perceptions, feelings, thoughts. The featuresremind us to consider the human experience as the unit of analysis, bothsituated and distributed, and finally, as a product of participation in particularvital geographies. Applications are outlined in the field of clinical psychology andrehabilitation, socioeducative field and in the field of social psychology of organizations,as examples of practices according to a culturally oriented psychology.Finally, it is emphasized the need to take into account the subjective, social andpolitical sides of culture in order to develop an ecological understanding of mindand human behavior.

  7. The Safety Culture Enactment Questionnaire (SCEQ): Theoretical model and empirical validation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Castro, Borja López; Gracia, Francisco J; Tomás, Inés; Peiró, José M

    2017-06-01

    This paper presents the Safety Culture Enactment Questionnaire (SCEQ), designed to assess the degree to which safety is an enacted value in the day-to-day running of nuclear power plants (NPPs). The SCEQ is based on a theoretical safety culture model that is manifested in three fundamental components of the functioning and operation of any organization: strategic decisions, human resources practices, and daily activities and behaviors. The extent to which the importance of safety is enacted in each of these three components provides information about the pervasiveness of the safety culture in the NPP. To validate the SCEQ and the model on which it is based, two separate studies were carried out with data collection in 2008 and 2014, respectively. In Study 1, the SCEQ was administered to the employees of two Spanish NPPs (N=533) belonging to the same company. Participants in Study 2 included 598 employees from the same NPPs, who completed the SCEQ and other questionnaires measuring different safety outcomes (safety climate, safety satisfaction, job satisfaction and risky behaviors). Study 1 comprised item formulation and examination of the factorial structure and reliability of the SCEQ. Study 2 tested internal consistency and provided evidence of factorial validity, validity based on relationships with other variables, and discriminant validity between the SCEQ and safety climate. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) carried out in Study 1 revealed a three-factor solution corresponding to the three components of the theoretical model. Reliability analyses showed strong internal consistency for the three scales of the SCEQ, and each of the 21 items on the questionnaire contributed to the homogeneity of its theoretically developed scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) carried out in Study 2 supported the internal structure of the SCEQ; internal consistency of the scales was also supported. Furthermore, the three scales of the SCEQ showed the expected correlation

  8. Managing a culturally diverse workforce : Diversity perspectives in organizations

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Podsiadlowski, Astrid; Gröschke, Daniela; Kogler, Marina; Springer, Cornelia; van der Zee, Karen

    The authors conducted two studies to analyze why and how organizations approach and manage cultural diversity in the Austrian workplace and to identify organizations' diversity perspectives. In Study 1, 29 interviews revealed insights into organizational approaches to diversity and how these

  9. 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

  10. An Investigation of Non-Thesis Master's Program Geography Teacher Candidates' Attitudes towards Teaching Profession regarding Several Socio-Cultural Features

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sezer, Adem; Kara, Hasan; Pinar, Adnan

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of non-thesis master's degree program: geography teacher candidates towards teaching profession regarding several socio-cultural features. The study was conducted in different universities with 218 geography teacher candidates enrolled in the geography education non-thesis master's degree…

  11. The Education Leadership in Global Perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Adifatoni, Yuswo

    2016-01-01

    This article looks closely on the deep identification of the global theoretical perspectives in educational leadership and Javanese culture leadership as the main sources of Indonesian leadership models. The discussion focuses on the definition of leadership, various leadership styles, leadership approaches, concept of power, as well as the issue of gender and leadership. At the end of discussion will give understanding on the quality of school principal leadership not only theoretical ideas ...

  12. Moritz Schlick – ethics from a meta-theoretical perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mihina František

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Moritz Schlick was the leader of an influential group of scientists, logicians and philosophers. The content of his book “Problems of Ethics” is the application of the method of logical analysis of language to some of traditional ethical problems. Schlick offers many topics in his book Problems of Ethics – what are the motives of human conduct, what is egoism, what is the meaning of “moral”, etc. In this article, focus will be on the explanation of only one of many areas of Schlick’s ethics – the meta-theoretical perspective describing the main aims of his ethical magnum opus – Problems of Ethics.

  13. Socio-historical amnesia in Ukraine: to statement of the problem

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. A. Arkhipova

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the problem of social memory and social amnesia, represented in socio-cultural phenomena of the Ukrainian society. The specificity of social memory’s functioning has been studied with the use of a systematic approach. Social amnesia is presented in the form of operations, which are included into the integral system network of the reproduction of social oblivion. On the basis of specific examples, theoretical and sociological analysis of the structural and organizational complex of memorial subjects and objects, which are the components of such social institutions: religion, education, government, family, has been conducted. Within the frame of socio-system analysis, the value of social memory defects in the structure of social reality has been determined. The mechanism of the socio-historical amnesia’s construction has been schematically set out as well as the resulting from it tendency to mythologizing/hallucination has been described. The social amnesia is the social script and the characteristic, which forms mentality. The influence of social and historical amnesia in the process of perception of social time has been estimated, a schematic representation of the model of time distortion has been represented. The non-actualization of the experience in this model determines the formation of the imaginable social reality.

  14. A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Transition out of Elite Sport

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Küttel, Andreas

    This PhD thesis investigates the transition out of elite sport from a holistic and ecological perspective. The framework that guided this project was developed based on sport developmental and transition models and focus on the influence of the macro-level (e.g., culture, welfare system) and the ...... elite sport with education or work. Applying a cultural praxis, this thesis emphasizes the importance to consider the socio-cultural context when studying athletes’ careers and transitions.......This PhD thesis investigates the transition out of elite sport from a holistic and ecological perspective. The framework that guided this project was developed based on sport developmental and transition models and focus on the influence of the macro-level (e.g., culture, welfare system......) and the meso-level (e.g., sports system, dual career possibilities) on athletes’ transition and the consequences of athletic retirement. In this project, the transition of former elite athletes from Switzerland, Denmark, and Poland was compared in terms of preconditions, adaptation quality, and life situation...

  15. A Socio-Cultural Reframing of Science and Dis/ability in Education: Past Problems, Current Concerns, and Future Possibilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Connor, David J.; Valle, Jan W.

    2015-01-01

    In this article we assert the value of a socio-cultural reframing of science and dis/ability in education. We begin by problematizing current issues in education pertaining to the often-unquestioned concept of dis/ability and the impact that has upon research, theory, practice, and policy. As our topic is broad, we have chosen to focus upon four…

  16. Using Literature to Teach Cross-Cultural Management: A German Perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bloch, Brian

    1995-01-01

    Discusses the use of German literature in courses teaching cross-cultural management. The article argues that literature depicting society and culture promotes effective business interaction. It also attempts to clarify the benefits of using literary texts to supplement theoretical texts on international business. (26 references) (Author/CK)

  17. The Integrated Model of Sustainability Perspective in Spermatophyta Learning Based on Local Wisdom

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hartadiyati, E.; Rizqiyah, K.; Wiyanto; Rusilowati, A.; Prasetia, A. P. B.

    2017-09-01

    In present condition, culture is diminished, the change of social order toward the generation that has no policy and pro-sustainability; As well as the advancement of science and technology are often treated unwisely so as to excite local wisdom. It is therefore necessary to explore intra-curricular local wisdom in schools. This study aims to produce an integration model of sustainability perspectives based on local wisdom on spermatophyta material that is feasible and effective. This research uses define, design and develop stages to an integration model of sustainability perspectives based on local wisdom on spermatophyta material. The resulting product is an integration model of socio-cultural, economic and environmental sustainability perspective and formulated with preventive, preserve and build action on spermatophyta material consisting of identification and classification, metagenesis and the role of spermatophyta for human life. The integration model of sustainability perspective in learning spermatophyta based on local wisdom is considered proven to be effective in raising sustainability’s awareness of high school students.

  18. Food loss reduction from an environmental, socio-economic and consumer perspective - The case of the Swiss potato market.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willersinn, Christian; Mouron, Patrik; Mack, Gabriele; Siegrist, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Potatoes are one of the commodities with the highest loss shares along the entire supply chain. In the present study, we analyzed six potential loss reduction scenarios concerning their environmental-socio-economic sustainability compared with the current situation by using the "SustainOS" methodology. For this purpose, life cycle assessments, full-cost calculations and an online consumer survey were conducted. Environmental improvements through loss reduction were rather small and did not cross limits of significance, but the socio-economic performance of the entire supply chain can be improved considerably. Pearson correlation coefficients and linear regression analyses were used to predict the influence of specific subjective items like the intention to avoid food loss, knowledge related to food loss and consumers' price sensitivity on the assigned preference. Results show that perceived risks, perceived inconvenience and the general acceptance of loss-reducing instruments influence consumers' preferences. Altogether, only three out of six tested scenarios seem realistic: selling unwashed potatoes in a lightproof box, selling unpacked potatoes, and improved quality sorting at farms. For two of the other scenarios, consumers significantly indicated their refusal even if losses decreased considerably, whereas the sixth scenario was unfavorable from a socio-economic perspective. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of international journalism students in Russia: The role of communication skills in the adaptation process

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gladkova A.A.

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Background. The study of both Russian and international publications issued in the last twenty years revealed a significant gap in the number of studies examining adaptation (general living, psychological, socio-cultural, etc. in general, i.e., without regard to specific characteristics of the audience, and those describing adaptation of a particular group of people (specific age, ethnic, professional groups, etc.. Objective. The current paper aims to overcome this gap by offering a closer look at the adaptation processes of international journalism students at Russian universities, in particular, their psychological and socio-cultural types of adaptation. The question that interests us the most is how psychological and socio-cultural adaptation of international journalists to-be can be made easier and whether communication-oriented techniques can somehow facilitate this process. Design. In this paper, we provide an overview of current research analyzing adaptation from different angles, which is essential for creating a context for further narrower studies. Results. We discuss adaptation of journalism students in Russia, suggesting ways to make their adaptation in a host country easier and arguing that the development of communication skills can be important for successful adaptation to new living and learning conditions. Conclusion. We argue that there is a need for more detailed, narrow-focused research discussing the specifics of adaptation of different groups of people to a new environment (since we believe different people tend to adapt to new conditions in different ways as well as research outlining the role of communication competences in their adaptation processes.

  20. Approaching socio-technical issues in Knowledge Communication

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kampf, Constance; Islas Sedano, Carolina

    2008-01-01

    This paper looks at the connection between technology, knowledge management and knowledge communication theory from a process perspective. Knowledge management and knowledge communication processes are examined through the iterations in creating project goals and objectives which connect the social...... and objectives with respect to knowledge communication theory, demonstrating the potential of knowledge communication concepts for socio-technical design processes, as well as the implications of socio-technical design processes in extending our understanding of knowledge communication....

  1. Reconsidering inequalities in preventive health care: an application of cultural health capital theory and the life-course perspective to the take-up of mammography screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Missinne, Sarah; Neels, Karel; Bracke, Piet

    2014-11-01

    While there are abundant descriptions of socioeconomic inequalities in preventive health care, knowledge about the true mechanisms is still lacking. Recently, the role of cultural health capital in preventive health-care inequalities has been discussed theoretically. Given substantial analogies, we explore how our understanding of cultural health capital and preventive health-care inequalities can be advanced by applying the theoretical principles and methodology of the life-course perspective. By means of event history analysis and retrospective data from the Survey of Health Ageing and Retirement, we examine the role of cultural capital and cultural health capital during childhood on the timely initiation of mammography screening in Belgium (N = 1348). In line with cumulative disadvantage theory, the results show that childhood cultural conditions are independently associated with mammography screening, even after childhood and adulthood socioeconomic position and health are controlled for. Lingering effects from childhood are suggested by the accumulation of cultural health capital that starts early in life. Inequalities in the take-up of screening are manifested as a lower probability of ever having a mammogram, rather than in the late initiation of screening. © 2014 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness © 2014 Foundation for the Sociology of Health & Illness/John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Ethno-cultural duality and, ethnic, stereotypes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Žikić Bojan P.

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available A construction of an individual identity, in dual ethno-cultural environments, is often based on a premise that an ethnic identity is a primary human determinant. In such dual ethno-cultural communities, a basic ethnic stereotype could be called „relational“: it is founded on the concept of „Others/We-group“ distinction, where the Others appear as a main reason for the existence of the We-group members who use the distinction. This stereotype is based on the following premises: the first one says that a local socio-cultural reality contains two solid ethno-cultural groups, whereas the other suggests that in a local context, there exist just „They“ as a solid ethno-cultural group while among „Us“ the solidity is in fact, limited to ethnic affiliation. The consequence of the attitude is pervasive presentation of intra-ethnic differences, more than mere stereotyping of the Others. These stereotypes are based on the so-called „homeland“ classifications and appear to represent a small ethnography of ideas and images on what constitutes and makes a local ethnic community. The stereotypes of this particular kind are more often seen among members of Serbian ethnic group, at least based on a research in two local communities - Bečej and Seleuš. In the two communities, the prevailing attitudes on intra-ethnic differences and the stereotypes developed out of the differences are more numerous and elaborated, based on the „homeland“ classification. This cultural, cognitive process is a consequence of intertwining of two perspectives in understanding of the We-group. The first perspective narrates about the We-group ethnic background, and the second emphasizes the group domicile, that is, it defines the We-group in space. The first perspective is founded, more or less, on indispensable experience of an ethnic identity, while the other perspective is more based on empirical experience; the second perspective is also a creation of a

  3. The quest for a culture of learning: a South African schools perspective

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The quest for a culture of learning: a South African schools perspective. ... at gaining conceptual clarity as to what is meant by a “culture of learning” and exploring ... in the social interaction taking place within classrooms, schools and learning ...

  4. Safety culture in design. Final report

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Macchi, L.; Pietikaeinen, E.; Liinasuo, M.; Savioja, P.; Reiman, T.; Wahlstroem, M.; Kahlbom, U.; Rollenhagen, C.

    2013-04-01

    In this report we approach design from a safety culture approach As this research area is new and understudied, we take a wide scope on the issue. Different theoretical perspectives that can be taken when improving safety of the design process are considered in this report. We suggest that in the design context the concept of safety culture should be expanded from an organizational level to the level of the network of organizations involved in the design activity. The implication of approaching the design process from a safety culture perspective are discussed and the results of the empirical part of the research are presented. In the interview study in Finland and Sweden we identified challenges and opportunities in the design process from safety culture perspective. Also, a small part of the interview study concentrated on state of the art human factors engineering (HFE) practices in Finland and the results relating to that are presented. This report provide a basis for future development of systematic good design practices and for providing guidelines that can lead to safe and robust technical solutions. (Author)

  5. Safety culture in design. Final report

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Macchi, L.; Pietikaeinen, E.; Liinasuo, M.; Savioja, P.; Reiman, T.; Wahlstroem, M. [VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Espoo (Finland); Kahlbom, U. [Risk Pilot AB, Stockholm (Sweden); Rollenhagen, C. [Vattenfall, Stockholm, (Sweden)

    2013-04-15

    In this report we approach design from a safety culture approach As this research area is new and understudied, we take a wide scope on the issue. Different theoretical perspectives that can be taken when improving safety of the design process are considered in this report. We suggest that in the design context the concept of safety culture should be expanded from an organizational level to the level of the network of organizations involved in the design activity. The implication of approaching the design process from a safety culture perspective are discussed and the results of the empirical part of the research are presented. In the interview study in Finland and Sweden we identified challenges and opportunities in the design process from safety culture perspective. Also, a small part of the interview study concentrated on state of the art human factors engineering (HFE) practices in Finland and the results relating to that are presented. This report provide a basis for future development of systematic good design practices and for providing guidelines that can lead to safe and robust technical solutions. (Author)

  6. An Experience in a Socio-Cultural Animation, an Experience in a Rural University Context in Mexico

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saul Miranda Ramos

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available The need for interventions located in different cultural contexts led to the development of the Universidad del Desarrollo del Estado de Puebla (UNIDES Campus Yaonáhuac to implement a socio-educational project with the objective to know about the social reality of the Campus, their needs and resources, evaluation of this project allowed us to know the impacts. From a qualitative perspective, a Sociocultural Animation project was implemented, based on analysis techniques of reality: meetings, brainstorming and document analysis. The working group consisted of 16 undergraduates enrolled in psychology undergraduate from 2007 at the UNIDES; the process was conducted in four stages: Reality Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Participatory Evaluation. The main results identified the need to work on improving the academic background of the Working Group for actions that were implemented for the mobilization of consciousness, the rise of organized participation in academic activities and the impact of the ASC in a group itself. Some of the errors of implementation are highlighted to take them into account in subsequent development projects. Interest of students and faculty to address issues under the same consistent methodology to different curricula, was detected. The ASC move consciences, people and institutions, then, it is generative and performative –Transformer– a society characterized by stiffness and dichotomy. Methodology of the ASC as a highly efficient tool in higher education framed by the Social Pedagogy is proposed.

  7. Socio-economic project evaluation in practice

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Larsen, A.

    1995-01-01

    The theoretical basis for a socio-economic project evaluation can be doubtful and specific analyses can involve quite essential uncertainty. Among serious theoretical problems of the energy sector there should be named the price distortions, due to various taxes. The choice of the presumed calculation interest can be difficult, due to the extremely long-range energy-political planning. (EG) 10 refs

  8. A cross-culture, cross-gender comparison of perspective taking mechanisms

    OpenAIRE

    Kessler, Klaus; Cao, Liyu; O'Shea, Kieran J.; Wang, Hong Fang

    2014-01-01

    Being able to judge another person's visuo-spatial perspective is an essential social skill, hence we investigated the generalizability of the involved mechanisms across cultures and genders. Developmental, cross-species, and our own previous research suggest that two different forms of perspective taking can be distinguished, which are subserved by two distinct mechanisms. The simpler form relies on inferring another's line-of-sight, whereas the more complex form depends on embodied transfor...

  9. Getting Back to the Woods: Familial Perspectives on Culture and Preschoolers' Acquisition of Self-Regulation and Emotion Regulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boyer, Wanda

    2013-01-01

    Discourse on culture is vital to early childhood educators' understanding of the young child in various socio-cultural experiences in family and community settings. In this article, the author will present a contemporary definition of culture. This article will then discuss the developmental constructs of self-regulation and emotion regulation and…

  10. Safety culture in an RBMK perspective; Sostoyanie i perspektivy razvitiya sistemy povysheniya kul`tury bezopasnosti AEhS Rossii

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Porokhin, V G [Rosenergoatom, Moscow (Russian Federation)

    1997-12-31

    The presentation discusses the following issues: state and perspectives of the development of the system on Russia NPP safety culture enhancement; steps of Rosehnergoatom on development of system on Russia NPP Russia NPP safety culture enhancement, qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the safety culture, the nearest perspectives on safety culture enhancement in Russia.

  11. The consequences of "Culture's consequences"

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Knudsen, Fabienne; Froholdt, Lisa Loloma

    2009-01-01

      In this article, it is claimed that research on cross-cultural crews is dominated by one specific understanding of the concept of culture, which is static, evenly distributed and context-independent. Such a conception of culture may bring some basic order while facing an unknown culture...... review of the theory of Geert Hofstede, the most renowned representative of this theoretical approach. The practical consequences of using such a concept of culture is then analysed by means of a critical review of an article applying Hofstede to cross-cultural crews in seafaring. Finally, alternative...... views on culture are presented. The aim of the article is, rather than to promote any specific theory, to reflect about diverse perspectives of cultural sense-making in cross-cultural encounters. Udgivelsesdato: Oktober...

  12. Wealth, Families and Death: Socio-Legal Perspectives on Wills and Inheritance: Introduction

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniel Monk

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Inheritance as both a concept and a practice is of deep significance within all societies and jurisdictions. Located at the intersection between economics, family relations and the end of life, it offers a unique perspective on a variety of contemporary socio-legal debates. Yet the socio-legal phenomenon of inheritance has attracted relatively little scholastic attention. This special issue, which brings together eight papers coming from six different countries (and eight different jurisdictions: Belgium, England and Wales, Israel, Spain (Catalonia and the Basque Country, Switzerland and the USA, demonstrates the breadth of inheritance as a field of study in a number of ways and at the same time opens up important new lines of enquiry. This international breadth serves to foreground the significance of both national and regional political culture on inheritance law. Most significant in this respect is the fact that the authors are evenly split between those commentating on civil legal systems and those on common-law systems; for traditionally the two systems have adopted highly distinct responses to the principles of testamentary freedom and forced heirship. All the articles in this collection provide insight into this fundamental distinction but at the same time demonstrate its limits in practice. La herencia, tanto como concepto o como práctica, es muy significante en todas las sociedades y jurisdicciones. Situada en la intersección entre economía, relaciones familiares y el final de la vida, ofrece una perspectiva única sobre una variedad de debates sociojurídicos contemporáneos. Sin embargo, el fenómeno de la herencia ha atraído relativamente poca atención entre la comunidad académica sociojurídica. Este número especial, que reúne ocho documentos procedentes de seis países y ocho jurisdicciones diferentes: Bélgica, Inglaterra y Gales, Israel, España (Cataluña y País Vasco, Suiza y Estados Unidos, demuestra la amplitud de la

  13. EDUCAÇÃO EM CIÊNCIAS E A TEORIA DA ATIVIDADE CULTURAL-HISTÓRICA: CONTRIBUIÇÕES PARA A REFLEXÃO SOBRE TENSÕES NA PRÁTICA EDUCATIVA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juliano Camillo

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Activity Theory has its origins in the works by Vygotsky and currently spans diverse fields of knowledge. Recently, much of Science Education research have used Socio-Cultural-Historical references, however their potential use is far from being achieved. To broaden the discussion around this theoretical perspective, we present some principles of the Cultural-Historical Activity Theory in the context of Science Education. This is carried out through the making of three explicit categories - the relationship between the individual and the collective, the content of educational activity and the expected result for the educational activity. This allows the clarification of certain tensions that arise in this type of educational practice and, according to our point of view, they correspond to contradictions that need to be overcome. The questions presented here are not exhausted and we expect them to become elements for future debate on this matter.

  14. Culture, gender, and self: a perspective from individualism-collectivism research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kashima, Y; Yamaguchi, S; Kim, U; Choi, S C; Gelfand, M J; Yuki, M

    1995-11-01

    Individualism and collectivism are often equated with independent vs. interdependent, agentic vs. communal, and separate vs. relational self-construals. Although these same concepts have been used to characterize both cultural and gender differences, a perspective of cultural evolution suggests it is unlikely. A division of labor within society may produce gender differences, but this cannot explain cultural differences. A study of self-construal involving 5 cultures (Australia, the United States, Hawaii, Japan, and Korea) shows that differences between these cultures are captured mostly by the extent to which people see themselves as acting as independent agents, whereas gender differences are best summarized by the extent to which people regard themselves as emotionally related to others.

  15. Socio-cultural inhibitors to use of modern contraceptive techniques in rural Uganda: a qualitative study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabagenyi, Allen; Reid, Alice; Ntozi, James; Atuyambe, Lynn

    2016-01-01

    Introduction Family planning is one of the cost-effective strategies in reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates. Yet in Uganda, the contraceptive prevalence rate is only 30% among married women in conjunction with a persistently high fertility rate of 6.2 children per woman. These demographic indicators have contributed to a high population growth rate of over 3.2% annually. This study examines the role of socio-cultural inhibitions in the use of modern contraceptives in rural Uganda. Methods This was a qualitative study conducted in 2012 among men aged 15-64 and women aged 15-49 in the districts of Mpigi and Bugiri in rural Uganda. Eighteen selected focus group discussions (FGDs), each internally homogeneous, and eight in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted among men and women. Data were collected on sociocultural beliefs and practices, barriers to modern contraceptive use and perceptions of and attitudes to contraceptive use. All interviews were tape recoded, translated and transcribed verbatim. All the transcripts were coded, prearranged into categories and later analyzed using a latent content analysis approach, with support of ATLAS.ti qualitative software. Suitable quotations were used to provide in-depth explanations of the findings. Results Three themes central in hindering the uptake of modern contraceptives emerged: (i) persistence of socio-cultural beliefs and practices promoting births (such as polygamy, extending family lineage, replacement of the dead, gender-based violence, power relations and twin myths). (ii) Continued reliance on traditional family planning practices and (iii) misconceptions and fears about modern contraception. Conclusion Sociocultural expectations and values attached to marriage, women and child bearing remain an impediment to using family planning methods. The study suggests a need to eradicate the cultural beliefs and practices that hinder people from using contraceptives, as well as a need to scale

  16. Socio-cultural inhibitors to use of modern contraceptive techniques in rural Uganda: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kabagenyi, Allen; Reid, Alice; Ntozi, James; Atuyambe, Lynn

    2016-01-01

    Family planning is one of the cost-effective strategies in reducing maternal and child morbidity and mortality rates. Yet in Uganda, the contraceptive prevalence rate is only 30% among married women in conjunction with a persistently high fertility rate of 6.2 children per woman. These demographic indicators have contributed to a high population growth rate of over 3.2% annually. This study examines the role of socio-cultural inhibitions in the use of modern contraceptives in rural Uganda. This was a qualitative study conducted in 2012 among men aged 15-64 and women aged 15-49 in the districts of Mpigi and Bugiri in rural Uganda. Eighteen selected focus group discussions (FGDs), each internally homogeneous, and eight in-depth interviews (IDIs) were conducted among men and women. Data were collected on sociocultural beliefs and practices, barriers to modern contraceptive use and perceptions of and attitudes to contraceptive use. All interviews were tape recoded, translated and transcribed verbatim. All the transcripts were coded, prearranged into categories and later analyzed using a latent content analysis approach, with support of ATLAS.ti qualitative software. Suitable quotations were used to provide in-depth explanations of the findings. Three themes central in hindering the uptake of modern contraceptives emerged: (i) persistence of socio-cultural beliefs and practices promoting births (such as polygamy, extending family lineage, replacement of the dead, gender-based violence, power relations and twin myths). (ii) Continued reliance on traditional family planning practices and (iii) misconceptions and fears about modern contraception. Sociocultural expectations and values attached to marriage, women and child bearing remain an impediment to using family planning methods. The study suggests a need to eradicate the cultural beliefs and practices that hinder people from using contraceptives, as well as a need to scale-up family planning services and sensitization

  17. Decline of the Rave Inspired Clubculture in China: State Suppression, Clubber Adaptations and Socio-cultural Transformations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew M Chew

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available This study examines the development of rave inspired clubculture in China between the late 1990s and the present. It focuses in particular on the harsh suppression of clubland by the Chinese state in 2000, the reactions of clubbers and the club industry, and the clubcultural transformations that resulted from the suppression. A nationally coordinated anti-drug campaign that specifically targeted dance clubs was orchestrated by the central government and it has forced many clubs to close down. The rent-seeking practices of local officials also greatly intimidated clubbers. Clubbers and club operators adapted to the adverse circumstances by transforming club spaces and inventing new club practices. Although these adaptations have kept clubculture alive, they also generated negative socio-cultural impacts: the undermining of sociality inside dance clubs, the weakening of the communal dimension of clubculture and the exacerbation of socio-economic stratification in clubland.

  18. African rice (Oryza glaberrima) cultivation in the Togo Hills: ecological and socio-cultural cues in farmer seed selection and development

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Teeken, B.W.E.

    2015-01-01

    Abstract

    Teeken B (2015). African rice (Oryza glaberrima) cultivation in the Togo Hills: ecological and socio-cultural cues in farmer seed selection and development. PhD thesis, Wageningen University, The Netherlands, 306 pp. The low adoption rates of

  19. Psycho-Socio-Cultural Determinants of Food Choice: A Qualitative Study on Adults in Social and Cultural Context of Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haghighian Roudsari, Arezoo; Vedadhir, Abouali; Amiri, Parisa; Kalantari, Naser; Omidvar, Nasrin; Eini-Zinab, Hassan; Hani Sadati, Seyed Mohammad

    2017-10-01

    Objective: Food choice is a process through which people think, feel, and eat food. It does not only influence individuals' health and well-being, families and communities, but also it has an effect on regional, national, and global levels. This qualitative study was conducted to explore perceptions and lived experiences of Tehran adult residents on psychological, social and cultural determinants of food choice. Method: In this qualitative design, we recruited 33 adults aged 30 to 64 years from various districts of Tehran, capital of Iran, and we explored how people make decisions about food choice in practice and shape their perception, attitude, and eating practices. An individual in-depth semi-structured interview guide included major questions with follow-up probes was used to explore participants' current and past eating habits from childhood to adulthood, dietary change at different life courses, and effective psychological state on food selection in different seasons. Results: This study revealed that food choice in the studied adults (30-64 years old) was widely influenced by psychological, social, and cultural determinants, which can be categorized into 5 main themes: cultural context and patterns; social Structure and norms; information resources and media; household and family structure; and nutrition transition. Conclusion: The findings clarified the importance of social and cultural contexts, which influence the food choice of adults in a metropolis like Tehran. Many of these concepts are contextualized from childhood. These findings could serve as guideline to design socio-culturally appropriate strategies and improve dietary behaviors of Iranians.

  20. Journal Editorship: Mentoring, Democratic, and International Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mullen, Carol A.

    2011-01-01

    This essay builds on a review of studies in education. Journal editorship is explored from the mentoring, democratic, and international perspectives. Trends are examined within the publishing culture around these three editorial functions. Theoretical groundwork is provided for exploring contemporary journal editorship and its challenges and…

  1. The Cultural Genogram: An International Cross-Cultural Case Study on Entrepreneurship

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khasadyahu Zarbabal

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Experiential entrepreneurship has become a significant pedagogy in preparing American students to compete in the dynamic and consolidating global economy. Whereas the model of experiential learning facilitates collaboration between industry experts, entrepreneurs and community stakeholders, it is imperative to look at entrepreneurship from a global perspective. Medgar Evers College has a mission for social justice and socio-economic transformation. Through the Entrepreneurship & Experiential Learning (EEL lab, students are exposed to industry leaders, faculty and other stakeholders to the benefits of global entrepreneurship and experiential learning. This paper is a case study that discusses lessons learned on innovation, culture and entrepreneurship from students and faculty’s exposure to innovation and international entrepreneurs from Kenya, Chile, Costa Rico, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, China, London, Paris, Japan and Thailand. Additionally, the paper addresses the implications on entrepreneurial learning by encouraging diverse perspectives and practice for the student entrepreneurs in the 21st century. The originality of the paper is in its diversity of perspectives – it is a collaboration of faculty and staff on three different continents and three academic institutions.

  2. The cultural differences in time and time management: A socio-demographic approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    F. Venter

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose/Objectives: The aim of this article is to investigate perceived cultural differences in the perceptions of time and time management, and the implications regarding productivity amongst socio-demographic groups in Gauteng. This study indicates that socio-demographic variables such as home language, gender, education, age and income are related to various factors of time perception. Design/Methodology/Approach: The questionnaire consisted of 35 questions to be rated on a five-point Likert scale. Six dimensions of time were measured, namely, the sense of purpose, effective organisation, structured routine, present orientation, persistence and a global time perception. A multi-cultural non-probability convenience sample (n=804 was drawn from residents in the Gauteng region. Respondents were selected from upper- middle- and lowerincome groups residing in various suburban areas and townships in the region. Students of the North-West University carried out the fieldwork. Findings/Implications: The research study found that the dimensions sense of purpose and persistence of time obtained the highest mean factor scores: 4.05 and 3.95 respectively on the 1 (negative to 5 (positive scale, with 87, 4% and 83.8% of the respondents obtaining high scores (above 3.40 respectively. This implies that most respondents felt that they spent their time usefully and meaningfully, while at the same time, would not give up until the task was completed. The dimension present orientation of time produced the lowest mean factor score of 3.09, with 29.4% of respondents obtaining scores below 2.60, indicating a lack of focusing on completing a task at a designated point in time. The study also found that organisations have to increase productivity and reduce costs. The consequences of this for many employees included increased workloads, longer working hours and greater time pressure. Originality/Value: The findings of this study are original and innovative. The

  3. Assessing the ERP-SAP implementation strategy from cultural perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Gunawan; Syaiful, Bakhri; Sfenrianto; Nurul, Fajar Ahmad

    2017-09-01

    Implementing ERP-SAP projects in Indonesian large enterprises frequently create headaches for the consultants, since there are always be a large gap between the outcomes of the SAP with the expected results. Indonesian enterprises have experience with a huge amount of investments and ended up with minor benefits. Despite its unprecedented benefits, the SAP strategy is still considered as a mandatory enterprise system for every enterprise to compete in the marketplaces. The article examines the SAP implementation from cultural perspectives to present new horizon that commonly ignored by major Indonesian enterprises. The article applies the multiple case studies with three large Indonesia enterprises, such as KS, the largest steel producer; GEM, a subsidiary of conglomerate enterprise operates in the mining industry, and HS, a subsidiary of the largest retailer in Asia with more than 700 stores in Indonesia. The outcome of the article is expected to provide a comprehensive analysis from cultural perspectives regarding to common problems faced by SAP consultants.

  4. Information Behavior: A Socio-Cognitive Ability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Amanda Spink

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available How has human information behavior evolved? Our paper explores this question in the form of notions, models and theories about the relationship between information behavior and human evolution. Alexander's Ecological Dominance and Social Competition/Cooperation (EDSC model currently provides the most comprehensive overview of human traits in the development of a theory of human evolution and sociality. His model provides a basis for explaining the evolution of human socio-cognitive abilities, including ecological dominance, and social competition/cooperation. Our paper examines the human trait of information behavior as a socio-cognitive ability related to ecological dominance, and social competition/cooperation. The paper first outlines what is meant by information behavior from various interdisciplinary perspectives. We propose that information behavior is a socio-cognitive ability that is related to and enables other socio-cognitive abilities such as human ecological dominance, and social competition/cooperation. The paper reviews the current state of evolutionary approaches to information behavior and future directions for this research

  5. Scientific literacy and the social constructivist perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antić Slobodanka

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The term scientific literacy is already common in our educational rhetoric. Although the term is widely used, there are no papers that analyse the definition of the term and the rangeitencompasses in Serbia. If scientific literacy is a necessary outcome of education, this analysis is an important base for designing the teaching/learning process which is intended to develop such an outcome. Therefore, this paper provides an analysis of the concept of scientific literacy (SL, the different viewpoints on SL and the nature of the concept. Furthermore, five key lines as courses of action in the teaching/learning process, necessary for the development of these competencies, are defined: appreciation ofstudents' previous knowledge, encouragement of students' basic functional literacy and reading comprehension skills, the development of students' understanding of the socio-cultural perspective on the origin and use of scientific knowledge and technological products, and practicing of scientific research, either through school science or science applied in the context of cooperation between school and the local community, i.e. in the socio-cultural background where students live.

  6. Intercultural communication: Differences between Western and Asian perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Dang, Linh

    2016-01-01

    The thesis focused differences in intercultural communication from Western and Asian perspective. The goal of this thesis was to find the differences and similarities in business communication between Western and Asian culture. The theoretical part of this thesis was titled as intercultural communication. Definition of intercultural communication, culture’s influence on perception, obstacles in intercultural communication and inter-cultural communication competences were covered in this...

  7. Terrorism in Nigeria - Revisiting Nigeria’s Socio-Political Approach to Counterterrorism and Counterinsurgency

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-06-12

    Mustapha, and Stewards 2007). The distinct but obvious socio- cultural differences between the three major ethnic groups (Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba , and Igbo...Political Dimension ....................................................................................................... 53 Socio- cultural and...

  8. Socio-Historical Development of the Nursing in the Culture of the People’s Republic of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Guzmán Aguilar

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available This essay presents a literature about some of the most remarkable origins of nursing in today's people’s Republic of ChinaThe main objectives around this topic were pursued to describe the socio-historical development of nursing in the culture ofthe people's Republic of China, specifically identify their origins as a discipline in the culture, to distinguish the influence ofChinese cultural patterns in the development of the nursing labor practice, and finally show the advance of nursing as adiscipline from China vision against nowadays world vision. At the same time, for data collection sources were used journalarticles on nursing, web pages about Chinese culture, reference books and an interview with a professional exmember of theChinese government with extensive knowledge about this culture. Both the Foundation of Chinese philosophical tradition ofTaoism and aesthetics in combination with western science will be important for future developments in nursing researchand educational patterns of Chinese society, being altogether exemplary in terms of its development, expansion, planningand establishment in the general population. Henceforth was concluded that Chinese philosophies and religions havestrongly influenced the way they live and think about the health and care within Chinese society

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julia Stoffregen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available 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 this respect, the independent choice of learning resources, the spirit of the platform, the range of available formats and access to technologies. Practitioners use these factors to elaborate on the readiness of public administrations towards the use of open e-Learning systems. To academic debates on culture in e-Learning, the results provide an alternative model that is contextualized to meet the demands of public sector contexts. Overall, the paper contributes to the lack of research about open e-Learning systems in the public sector, as well as regarding culture in the management of learning and knowledge exchange.

  10. Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system. PMID:20089149

  11. Preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health in Southwest Nigeria: socio-cultural, magico-religious and economic aspects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oguntade Adegboyega E

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Agrarian rural dwellers in Nigeria produce about 95% of locally grown food commodities. The low accessibility to and affordability of orthodox medicine by rural dwellers and their need to keep healthy to be economically productive, have led to their dependence on traditional medicine. This paper posits an increasing acceptance of traditional medicine country-wide and advanced reasons for this trend. The fact that traditional medicine practitioners' concept of disease is on a wider plane vis-à-vis orthodox medicine practitioners' has culminated in some socio-cultural and magico-religious practices observed in preparation and use of plant medicines for farmers' health management. Possible scientific reasons were advanced for some of these practices to show the nexus between traditional medicine and orthodox medicine. The paper concludes that the psychological aspect of traditional medicine are reflected in its socio-cultural and magico-religious practices and suggests that government should fund research into traditional medicine to identify components of it that can be integrated into the national health system.

  12. Balancing Acts: Culture as Commodity Among Business Consultants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elias Mellander

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available In this article the authors intend to analyze how the concept of culture is packaged, sold and delivered as a commodity. It is based on an ethnographic study of a Swedish consultancy in the field of cross-cultural communication and the relationship between the company and its clients. The clients were primarily foreign executives working in Sweden or Swedish expatriates, preparing for life abroad. The significance of culture-as-commodity will be explored from the perspective of the company as well as its clients in order to shed light on how the concept of culture can be communicated and what happens to it in the process. The study shows how the company combines theoretical perspectives from anthropology and intercultural communication with the aim to deliver a complex yet accessible understanding of culture to its clients. The analysis shows that these perspectives both clash and synergize, creating contradictions as well as turning culture into an accessible and useful tool for clients. The authors argue that researchers in the field of applied cultural analysis can learn from the example put forth by the balancing act between these two perspectives on culture performed by the company. The authors conclude that although the commodification process reduces and simplifies the meaning(s of culture, the company still manages to put culture on the agenda, demonstrating to its clients how, why, and in what ways it matters to them.

  13. Muslims in their European societies of settlement : A comparative agenda for empirical research on socio-cultural integration across countries and groups

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Statham, P.; Tillie, J.

    2016-01-01

    Islam has become the key site for demarcating boundaries between majority populations and individuals of immigrant origin across Europe. This article outlines a research agenda on the socio-cultural integration of Muslims in their Western European societies of settlement. Integration issues with

  14. Review: Ulises Toledo Nickels (2012. Socio-fenomenología. El significado de la vida social cotidiana [Socio-Phenomenology. On the Meaning of Everyday Life

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fernando Farías Olavarría

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available In this book the epistemologist of the social sciences Ulises TOLEDO NICKELS develops a reconstruction of a number of theoretical, epistemological, and methodological reflections and of  the findings of empirical research that, during the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st, have resulted in the constitution of a science of society with phenomenology at its core. The intention of such a reconstruction is to show that the collection of perspectives within qualitative research is neither chaotic nor dispersed. On the contrary, it is possible to achieve a nomothetic appraisal from the link of motives, perspectives, and search strategies that, from the author's point of view, makes possible support of the idea that this stance represents a long term research program. To strengthen this argument, he uses the epistemological categories that belong to a scientific research program in accord with the contributions of the historical research of I. LAKATOS. With those categories, TOLEDO NICKELS goes in a polythetic direction (internal and external history toward an investigation of the multiple streams and stages that underlie this scientific research program called socio-phenomenology. URN: http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:0114-fqs140144

  15. Main factors in the formation of socio-cultural identity under the conditions of incomplete modernization (case study of the Republic of Bashkortostan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Al’fira Raisovna Mazhitova

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available Modernization caused deep and extensive socio-cultural changes in the Russian society. According to the research conducted by the Centre for the Study of Social and Cultural Change of the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, modernization processes in Russia are different on the national and regional levels. The republic studies show that indexes and phase values of modernization in the Republic of Bashkortostan are lower than in Russia as a whole. Like Russia, the Republic is now in the phase of mature primary modernization. With regard to secondary modernization, Russia has entered the phase of high medium development and Bashkortostan – a phase of medium medium development. The processes of integrated modernization in Russia are already at the medium medium level, in the Republic – at the low medium level. The secondary modernization leads to the formation of the society that is based on knowledge, and on information and communication systems. Combining the means of communication, radio, television and computer in a coherent system resulted in emergence of a single socio-cultural space. Modern people live in a world of signs and symbols, which largely determine their behavior. Since that time it is not only people that create signs and symbols, but, in a sense, it is the signs and symbols that form people. If modernization implies the transition from a traditional society to a modern information society, then in the field of culture it is the transition from a national culture to the global culture. Currently, mass culture is the major factor determining people’s way of life, outlook, habits and behavior. Such influence aligns the personality in a way, and forms an average individual. Recent years have seen the increase in the number of people advocating the preservation and development of national culture, traditions, folk crafts and the sense of uniqueness of the nation. The author is convinced that it is the

  16. Sensitizing Concepts for Socio-Spatial Literacy in HCI

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Krogh, Peter Gall; Petersen, Marianne Graves; O'Hara, Kenton

    2017-01-01

    People inherently share spaces with other people. Congenitally, interactive technologies and ubiquitous environments shape our opportunities for enacting social relations. Proxemics and Spatial Sharing have been suggested as foundations for our understanding of the socio-spatial aspects of comput...... in a design process. The proposed sensitizing concepts and the theoretical work of the paper contribute to enhanced Socio-spatial literacy in HCI....

  17. Operations and maintenance performance in oil and gas production assets. Theoretical architecture and capital value theory in perspective

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liyanage, Jayantha P.

    2003-07-01

    to visualize how operations and maintenance performance makes good business sense, and more balanced information and knowledge requirements to support decisions settings. The thesis emphasizes that despite there is a popular demand on this issue, subject matter has not fully been explored within the oil and gas business environment, and even the few of more recent contributions have not adequately addressed the issue. The underlying challenges in this regard are attributed in this thesis to socio-technical complexity and causal ambiguity of operations and maintenance performance within organizational settings. And it furthermore emphasizes that the degree of such complexity and ambiguity are defined by the extent of information and knowledge asymmetries on performance. To address the issue of technical alienation of operations and maintenance performance in oil and gas business terms, the thesis attempt to generate a link between oil and gas business, oil and gas production assets, and operations and maintenance performance. The underlying assertion is that, oil and gas production portfolio of any organization bears a specific role-play in respect of what matters for commercial success of the business, and that role-play in turn is the basis to redefine the mission for operations and maintenance. And also, this mission remains the point of departure for systematic development of operations and maintenance performance architecture. The theoretical architecture that is brought into perspective in this thesis, addresses both the socio-technical complexity by dimensioning operations and maintenance performance into its constituent components, and causal ambiguity simultaneously by incorporating a logic to this dimensioning process. Equally importantly, during this effort, it also pays attention to institute relevance, completeness, and flexibility of the architecture as necessary. Moving further, the thesis elaborates on how this theoretical architecture can be extended

  18. Operations and maintenance performance in oil and gas production assets. Theoretical architecture and capital value theory in perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liyanage, Jayantha P.

    2003-01-01

    to visualize how operations and maintenance performance makes good business sense, and more balanced information and knowledge requirements to support decisions settings. The thesis emphasizes that despite there is a popular demand on this issue, subject matter has not fully been explored within the oil and gas business environment, and even the few of more recent contributions have not adequately addressed the issue. The underlying challenges in this regard are attributed in this thesis to socio-technical complexity and causal ambiguity of operations and maintenance performance within organizational settings. And it furthermore emphasizes that the degree of such complexity and ambiguity are defined by the extent of information and knowledge asymmetries on performance. To address the issue of technical alienation of operations and maintenance performance in oil and gas business terms, the thesis attempt to generate a link between oil and gas business, oil and gas production assets, and operations and maintenance performance. The underlying assertion is that, oil and gas production portfolio of any organization bears a specific role-play in respect of what matters for commercial success of the business, and that role-play in turn is the basis to redefine the mission for operations and maintenance. And also, this mission remains the point of departure for systematic development of operations and maintenance performance architecture. The theoretical architecture that is brought into perspective in this thesis, addresses both the socio-technical complexity by dimensioning operations and maintenance performance into its constituent components, and causal ambiguity simultaneously by incorporating a logic to this dimensioning process. Equally importantly, during this effort, it also pays attention to institute relevance, completeness, and flexibility of the architecture as necessary. Moving further, the thesis elaborates on how this theoretical architecture can be extended

  19. Public safety risk management at socio-economic and / or historic-cultural significant dam sites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Earle, Gordon D.; Ryan, Katherine; Pyykonen, Nicole K.; Pitts, Lucas [Otonabee Region Conservation Authority, Peterborough, (Canada)

    2010-07-01

    The Lang Dam and adjoining gristmill, located near Peterborough are integral parts of the Lang Pioneer Village museum. Activities occurring within close proximity to the dam have led to safety issues. The owner (ORCA) has developed and implemented public safety management plans (PSMPs) for each of its water control structures, including the Lang Dam. ORCA gave special attention to the social, economic, aesthetic, historic and cultural dimensions associated the implementation of public safety management plans. These factors play a significant role in how well public safety measures (PSMs) are received by stakeholder groups and the general public. This paper reported the challenges of developing and implementing a PSMP for the Lang Dam, with the focus on property site-specific PSMS while preserving socio-economic and historic-cultural character and values. It was demonstrated that the dam owners, regulatory authorities, control agencies and preservationists need to come together to develop a holistic public safety management process.

  20. Culture and crisis communication transboundary cases from nonwestern perspectives

    CERN Document Server

    George, Amiso M

    2017-01-01

    Culture and Crisis Communication presents an examination of how politics, culture, religion, and other social issues affect crisis communication and management in nonwestern countries. From intense human tragedy to the follies of the rich, the chapters examine how companies, organizations, news outlets, health organizations, technical experts, politicians, and local communities communicate in crisis situations. Taking a wider view than a single country’s perspective, the text contains a cross-cultural and cross-country approach. In addition, the case studies offer valuable lessons that organizations that wish to operate or are operating in those cultures can adopt in preparing and managing crises. The book highlights recent crisis events such as Syria’s civil war, missing Malaysia Flight MH370, andJapan’s Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster. Each of the case studies examines how culture impacts communication and responses to crises. Authoritative, insightful, and instructive, this importan...

  1. Mass media constructions of 'socio-psychological epidemics' in sub-Saharan Africa: The case of genital shrinking in 11 countries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de-Graft Aikins, Ama; Dzokoto, Vivian A; Yevak, Earl

    2015-11-01

    Genital shrinking is a recurring phenomenon with about 180 reported cases in sub-Saharan Africa over the last two decades. Transcending national boundaries, it results in distress for victims, mob violence against accused perpetrators and mass panic which law enforcement agencies struggle to contain. This article examines mass media construction and framing of genital shrinking within a social representations theory framework. Our analysis suggests the following: (1) mass media reports are informed by lay and expert perspectives; (2) three stocks of knowledge are drawn on interchangeably, with culture constituting a core representation; (3) lay and expert perspectives overlap on cultural and common-sense explanations of genital shrinking; and (4) scientific explanations are limited to individual pathophysiology and psychopathology and do not inform public opinion. We consider the implications of understanding genital shrinking for improving mass media constructions and dissemination of information on 'socio-psychological epidemics' that may have scientific explanations. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Socio-Environmental Resilience and Complex Urban Systems Modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deal, Brian; Petri, Aaron; Pan, Haozhi; Goldenberg, Romain; Kalantari, Zahra; Cvetkovic, Vladimir

    2017-04-01

    The increasing pressure of climate change has inspired two normative agendas; socio-technical transitions and socio-ecological resilience, both sharing a complex-systems epistemology (Gillard et al. 2016). Socio-technical solutions include a continuous, massive data gathering exercise now underway in urban places under the guise of developing a 'smart'(er) city. This has led to the creation of data-rich environments where large data sets have become central to monitoring and forming a response to anomalies. Some have argued that these kinds of data sets can help in planning for resilient cities (Norberg and Cumming 2008; Batty 2013). In this paper, we focus on a more nuanced, ecologically based, socio-environmental perspective of resilience planning that is often given less consideration. Here, we broadly discuss (and model) the tightly linked, mutually influenced, social and biophysical subsystems that are critical for understanding urban resilience. We argue for the need to incorporate these sub system linkages into the resilience planning lexicon through the integration of systems models and planning support systems. We make our case by first providing a context for urban resilience from a socio-ecological and planning perspective. We highlight the data needs for this type of resilient planning and compare it to currently collected data streams in various smart city efforts. This helps to define an approach for operationalizing socio-environmental resilience planning using robust systems models and planning support systems. For this, we draw from our experiences in coupling a spatio-temporal land use model (the Landuse Evolution and impact Assessment Model (LEAM)) with water quality and quantity models in Stockholm Sweden. We describe the coupling of these systems models using a robust Planning Support System (PSS) structural framework. We use the coupled model simulations and PSS to analyze the connection between urban land use transformation (social) and water

  3. Intercultural Communication as Viewed from the Perspective of Cross-cultural Psychology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niikura, Ryoko

    The encounter with foreign nationals in everyday life calls for not only understanding of the other on the level of recognition but also the ability to cope with the whole spectrum of emotional reactions associated with direct experience of other cultures. Viewing the subject from the perspective of cross-cultural psychology, this paper outlines the course of human information processing that restricts cross-cultural personal acceptance and the psychological process involved in contact with other cultures. Building on this basis, it then discusses the significance of understanding other cultures and examines requirements for communication with people who have different cultural backgrounds. A particular focus is the approach to communication with international students in Japanese universities.

  4. Social networks and family violence in cross-cultural perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korbin, J E

    1995-01-01

    The purpose of this chapter was twofold. First, the chapter put forward a brief cross-cultural perspective indicating that multiple types of intrafamilial violence occur cross-culturally. Second, the chapter placed social networks at the core of a complex etiology of intrafamilial violence. The purpose of giving centrality to social networks is not to suggest that social networks are the sole or primary agent contributing to family violence but to broaden the context in which family violence is viewed beyond that of the perpetrator, the victim/survivor, or the violent dyad.

  5. Patterns of Internet Usage: Learning Sphere and the Socio-cultural Context

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hossein Ebrahimabadi

    2009-11-01

    Full Text Available In addition to the curriculum and the learning targets, there are some other points –as “the culture of the real life”, “patterns of communication and virtual-life’s experiencing”, and generally “pattern of communication and internet usage”- should be considered in evaluating internet. Applying results of a survey on the impacts of both the web-based and the traditional educational methods on students’ learning and motivation, the present study explores the patterns of internet usage. Research method is experimental, using the t test for independent groups and analyzing multi-variable regression, and some points as the population, method of sampling and data gathering is explained in the article. Results show that there is a meaningful difference between the grades of the test group and the witness group; thus variable of “the internet usage” could predict changes in learning. In other words, supra-usage of internet would decrease learning and curriculum development. However, using internet for scientific and schooling would cause students to correlate their patterns of computer and internet usage. As results show, decline in entertaining usage of internet is related to the socio-cultural context, way and amount of participating in the web, and the quality of virtual learning sphere, rather than the interest or disinterest of the users.

  6. Developing young adolescents’ self-regulation by means of formative assessment: A theoretical perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Meusen-Beekman, Kelly; Joosten-ten Brinke, Desirée; Boshuizen, Els

    2018-01-01

    Fostering self-regulated learning (SRL) has become increasingly important at various educational levels. Most studies on SRL have been conducted in higher education. The present literature study aims toward understanding self-regulation processes of students in primary and secondary education. We explored the development of young students’ self-regulation from a theoretical perspective. In addition, effective characteristics for an intervention to develop young students’ self-regulation were ...

  7. Women and alcohol: cross-cultural perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heath, D B

    1991-01-01

    A review of the worldwide literature about women and alcohol contradicts many stereotypes and raises some new questions, interpretations, and practical implications. Norms, values, attitudes, and expectations may be at least as important as physiological differences between the sexes with respect to patterns of drinking and their outcomes. Women have been drinking as long as men have throughout history, and they drink about as often as men in many cultures; in a few instances, they even seem to drink more, in spite of the fact that the physical impact of a given dose of alcohol is greater for women. In nonindustrial societies, women usually have more easy access to alcoholic beverages; in fact, they often monopolize production and predominate in the distribution system. A cross-cultural perspective shows that too narrow a focus on the social, psychological, and physical problems that excessive drinkers incur has severely hampered the understanding of women's diverse roles with respect to alcohol.

  8. Translation of the Chinese Menu from the Perspective of Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汪平心

    2015-01-01

    Chinese food culture is similar to a pearl shinning in this era of globalization.Due to a higher frequency of cross-cultural communication than ever before,people from western countries show increasing interests in Chinese cuisine.Therefore,a standardized translation of the Chinese menu plays a more indispensible role in grasping the precise understanding of Chinese food names for foreign diners.From a cultural perspective,this paper primarily discusses various differences between Chinese and Western food cultures,and provides major translation principles and tips of the Chinese menu so as to arrive at a standardized translation as clearly and accessibly as possible.

  9. Translation of the Chinese Menu from the Perspective of Food Culture

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    汪平心

    2015-01-01

    Chinese food culture is similar to a pearl shinning in this era of globalization. Due to a higher frequency of cross-cultural communication than ever before, people from western countries show increasing interests in Chinese cuisine. Therefore, a standardized translation of the Chinese menu plays a more indispensible role in grasping the precise understanding of Chinese food names for foreign diners. From a cultural perspective, this paper primarily discusses various differences between Chinese and Western food cultures, and provides major translation principles and tips of the Chinese menu so as to arrive at a standardized translation as clearly and accessibly as possible.

  10. Why developmental psychology is incomplete without comparative and cross-cultural perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Mark; Haun, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    As a discipline, developmental psychology has a long history of relying on animal models and data collected among distinct cultural groups to enrich and inform theories of the ways social and cognitive processes unfold through the lifespan. However, approaches that draw together developmental, cross-cultural and comparative perspectives remain rare. The need for such an approach is reflected in the papers by Heyes (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150069. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0069)), Schmelz & Call (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150067. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0067)) and Keller (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150070. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0070)) in this theme issue. Here, we incorporate these papers into a review of recent research endeavours covering a range of core aspects of social cognition, including social learning, cooperation and collaboration, prosociality, and theory of mind. In so doing, we aim to highlight how input from comparative and cross-cultural empiricism has altered our perspectives of human development and, in particular, led to a deeper understanding of the evolution of the human cultural mind. PMID:26644590

  11. Why developmental psychology is incomplete without comparative and cross-cultural perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nielsen, Mark; Haun, Daniel

    2016-01-19

    As a discipline, developmental psychology has a long history of relying on animal models and data collected among distinct cultural groups to enrich and inform theories of the ways social and cognitive processes unfold through the lifespan. However, approaches that draw together developmental, cross-cultural and comparative perspectives remain rare. The need for such an approach is reflected in the papers by Heyes (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150069. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0069)), Schmelz & Call (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150067. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0067)) and Keller (2015 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B 371, 20150070. (doi:10.1098/rstb.2015.0070)) in this theme issue. Here, we incorporate these papers into a review of recent research endeavours covering a range of core aspects of social cognition, including social learning, cooperation and collaboration, prosociality, and theory of mind. In so doing, we aim to highlight how input from comparative and cross-cultural empiricism has altered our perspectives of human development and, in particular, led to a deeper understanding of the evolution of the human cultural mind. © 2015 The Author(s).

  12. Probability from a Socio-Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sharma, Sashi

    2016-01-01

    There exists considerable and rich literature on students' misconceptions about probability; less attention has been paid to the development of students' probabilistic thinking in the classroom. Grounded in an analysis of the literature, this article offers a lesson sequence for developing students' probabilistic understanding. In particular, a…

  13. Roles of Personality, Vocational Interests, Academic Achievement and Socio-Cultural Factors in Educational Aspirations of Secondary School Adolescents in Southwestern Nigeria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Salami, Samuel O.

    2008-01-01

    Purpose: This paper seeks to examine the roles of personality, vocational interests, academic achievement and some socio-cultural factors in educational aspirations of secondary school adolescents in southwestern Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach: A survey research design was adopted. The sample comprised 430 (males = 220, females = 210)…

  14. Using activity theory to study cultural complexity in medical education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frambach, Janneke M; Driessen, Erik W; van der Vleuten, Cees P M

    2014-06-01

    There is a growing need for research on culture, cultural differences and cultural effects of globalization in medical education, but these are complex phenomena to investigate. Socio-cultural activity theory seems a useful framework to study cultural complexity, because it matches current views on culture as a dynamic process situated in a social context, and has been valued in diverse fields for yielding rich understandings of complex issues and key factors involved. This paper explains how activity theory can be used in (cross-)cultural medical education research. We discuss activity theory's theoretical background and principles, and we show how these can be applied to the cultural research practice by discussing the steps involved in a cross-cultural study that we conducted, from formulating research questions to drawing conclusions. We describe how the activity system, the unit of analysis in activity theory, can serve as an organizing principle to grasp cultural complexity. We end with reflections on the theoretical and practical use of activity theory for cultural research and note that it is not a shortcut to capture cultural complexity: it is a challenge for researchers to determine the boundaries of their study and to analyze and interpret the dynamics of the activity system.

  15. Socio-cultural dimensions to sharpen designer's cultural eyeglasses

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Van Boeijen, A.G.C.

    2013-01-01

    This paper answers the question, how the dimensions that have been developed by anthropologists to typify cultures, can support designers in user-centred design processes. An analysis and evaluation of the use of cultural dimensions in design projects was performed. Although many of the dimensions

  16. A Socio-Cultural Diagnosis of Adolescent Diets in Comitán, Chiapas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Claudia Elizabeth Ramírez Domínguez

    2009-03-01

    Full Text Available This study, based on group interviews with adolescents (pre-university level students from various educational institutions and socio-cultural backgrounds in Comitán, Chiapas (Mexico, was undertaken to identify the settings for the dietary practices of young people. Using a multi-dimensional analysis, we found that the predominant paradigm in public health, based on concepts such as risk factors and lifestyle, tends to obscure the complexity of social processes and to place responsibility for health on each individual. The dietary practices of adolescents are determined by the dynamics established in school and family environments and occur in a context of time pressures as well as the poor provision and choice of foods. We noted a discrepancy between knowledge on the one hand and dietary practices, weight control and perceived risks or expectations concerning body image on the other.

  17. Comparison of Effective Socio-Cultural and Psychological Factors in Women Suicide in Iran and Tajikistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Abolhassan Ryazi

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of the present research was to study socio-cultural and psychological effective factors contributing to suicide, as well as comparing these factors among Iranian and Tajik women who attempted suicide. The present study was a qualitative study in which 60 patients (30 from each country participated. Each of these participants went through an in-depth interview. Results of the study showed that the most important factors considering suicide attempt in both groups were as follows: domestic violence, cultural induction, family cold relations, forced marriages, too much responsibility, lack of privacy, polygamy, irrational biases and lack of communication between generations. Tajik men, despite the law of monogamy, prefer polygamy and marry more than one woman. Tajik people also, prohibit burring body of a woman who is dead after a suicide atempt in Muslim cemetery.

  18. In search of risk and safety cultures : empirical and theoretical considerations in the settings of northern and western Europe

    OpenAIRE

    Melinder, Karin

    2000-01-01

    Abstract There has been an increasing interest in determinants of public health at societal level. These factors have often been of a socio-economic nature, whereas culture has attracted less attention. The aim of this dissertation is to analyze, operationalize, and empirically explore the potentials of the concept of culture in macro- level injury research. The dissertation is built upon five different papers. The empirical papers investigate the scope available for emp...

  19. In Spirituality: A Perspective from a Traditionally Latin Culture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guenther, Zenita; Németh-Torres, Geovani

    2016-01-01

    The concept of spirituality is influenced by culture and the values and mores of Brazil, and though not directly linked to religion it actually grows from the same roots. This paper examines spirituality in education from the perspective of a humanistic psychology framework expressed as an ideal of the adequate personality or healthy personality.…

  20. THE EDUCATION LEADERSHIP IN GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuswo Adifatoni

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available This article looks closely on the deep identification of the global theoretical perspectives in educational leadership and Javanese culture leadership as the main sources of Indonesian leadership models. The discussion focuses on the definition of leadership, various leadership styles, leadership approaches, concept of power, as well as the issue of gender and leadership. At the end of discussion will give understanding on the quality of school principal leadership not only theoretical ideas but also the practical one for the Indonesian school

  1. Risk in social-cultural perspective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kwee, S.L.

    1980-01-01

    The author intends to instigate a social-cultural risk theory. He finds the conception of risk is too objectively viewed and feels it should be considered more in relation to the subjective nature of human opinion and action. Objective and quantitative risk calculations on the basis of a theoretical model are possible and accountable, but the eventual assessment and decision making, which are based on these calculations, implicates subjective evaluation. An integral risk theory which takes into account both objective and subjective factors is considered. This can form a basis for a better social consideration and political decision making, an important point in the area of radiation hygiene. (C.F.)

  2. Rumors of Our Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated: Archaeological Perspectives on Culture and Sustainability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cameron B. Wesson

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Predictions of the imminent demise of Indigenous cultures have circulated among Western intellectuals for more than two hundred years. Capitalism, Christianity, and Western civilization were thought by 19th century scholars to be on the verge of eradicating global cultural variation. Contemporary scholars have revived these views, suggesting that not only were Indigenous cultures about to succumb to Western hegemony, these forces were poised to bring about the end of history itself. What unites these perspectives are an ideology stressing asymmetrical power relations between the West and Indigenous cultures, and the proposition that only Western intervention is capable of rescuing Indigeneity. This paper examines the current crisis of Indigenous cultural sustainability, arguing that the epistemology informing many of these perspectives remain largely unchanged from their 19th century precursors. Citing case studies in archaeology and cultural heritage management, I suggest a ground-up approach to cultural sustainability in which Western institutions and individuals serve only the expressed desires and at the invitation of Indigenous peoples. Such restraint represents both recognition of Indigenous sovereignty regarding all cultural preservation efforts, as well as the dynamic, ever-changing nature of culture itself.

  3. Battles and Borders. : Perspectives on Cultural Transmission and Literature in Minor Language Areas

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Broomans, Pieternella; Jensma, Goffe; Jiresch, Esther; Klok, Janna; van Elswijk, Roald

    2015-01-01

    Battles and Borders. Perspectives on Cultural Transmission and Literature in Minor Language Areas is about literature on the fringes of Europe. The authors all discuss the often unique ways in which literary history and cultural transfer function in peripheral and central regions against the

  4. HESS Opinions: A conceptual framework for assessing socio-hydrological resilience under change

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Feng; Clark, Julian; Karpouzoglou, Timothy; Dewulf, Art; Buytaert, Wouter; Hannah, David

    2017-07-01

    Despite growing interest in resilience, there is still significant scope for increasing its conceptual clarity and practical relevance in socio-hydrological contexts: specifically, questions of how socio-hydrological systems respond to and cope with perturbations and how these connect to resilience remain unanswered. In this opinion paper, we propose a novel conceptual framework for understanding and assessing resilience in coupled socio-hydrological contexts, and encourage debate on the inter-connections between socio-hydrology and resilience. Taking a systems perspective, we argue that resilience is a set of systematic properties with three dimensions: absorptive, adaptive, and transformative, and contend that socio-hydrological systems can be viewed as various forms of human-water couplings, reflecting different aspects of these interactions. We propose a framework consisting of two parts. The first part addresses the identity of socio-hydrological resilience, answering questions such as resilience of what in relation to what. We identify three existing framings of resilience for different types of human-water systems and subsystems, which have been used in different fields: (1) the water subsystem, highlighting hydrological resilience to anthropogenic hazards; (2) the human subsystem, foregrounding social resilience to hydrological hazards; and (3) the coupled human-water system, exhibiting socio-hydrological resilience. We argue that these three system types and resiliences afford new insights into the clarification and evaluation of different water management challenges. The first two types address hydrological and social states, while the third type emphasises the feedbacks and interactions between human and water components within complex systems subject to internal or external disturbances. In the second part, we focus on resilience management and develop the notion of the resilience canvas, a novel heuristic device to identify possible pathways and to

  5. The Culture of Peace from a Transdisciplinary Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nahir Josefina Rodríguez De Betancourt

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Several researchers, such as: Fisas, Truvilla, UNESCO, among others, agree on the importance of the Culture of Peace, which is a human project of great importance and is a way to achieve harmony between the localities of each nation. This essay focuses on the Culture of Peace from a Transdisciplinary Perspective. Said essay is of a guiding and informative nature with documentary support. The purpose of this is to address the issue of the importance of the Culture of Peace, as a mechanism to promote in individuals respect for life, harmony among people, security, relevance to society and for in this way, the redemption of values ​​such as solidarity, respect, love, work, coexistence, among other interactions. Likewise, a culture that defeats elements that have to do with violence, peer abuse, discrimination and the preference of religions. On the contrary, we want the consolidation of brotherhood, justice, freedom and democracy in the resolution of problems or conflicts in the school, the family and the community.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    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.

  7. Theoretical nuclear physics in France: overview and perspectives - 2004 and 2009

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2004-11-01

    A first report published in 2004 proposes an overview of the situation of research in theoretical nuclear physics in France per field of research: nucleus structure, nuclear reactions at low and medium energies (fusion, fission, multi fragmentation), hadron physics, state equation of nuclear matter and of neutron matter, and nuclear astrophysics, plasma of quarks and gluons, and nucleus-nucleus collisions at high energy, developments of the theory of the nuclear N-body problem and its impact on other disciplines. For each theme, the report indicates the involved research themes and their specific fields of research, comments the research themes, objectives and perspectives, discusses how the theoretical activity matches experimental programmes. The second report published in 2009 proposes the same kind of overview for the following themes: nucleus structure, state equation of nuclear and stellar matter, collisions and reactions at low and medium energy, hadron physics, quarks and gluons in nuclear physics, interdisciplinary applications of nuclear theory. Each report also provides some statistics about the researcher community

  8. Population Genomics and the Statistical Values of Race:An Interdisciplinary Perspective on the Biological Classification of Human Populations and Implications for Clinical Genetic Epidemiological Research

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Koffi N. Maglo

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The biological status and biomedical significance of the concept of race as applied to humans continue to be contentious issues despite the use of advanced statistical and clustering methods to determine continental ancestry. It is thus imperative for researchers to understand the limitations as well as potential uses of the concept of race in biology and biomedicine. This paper deals with the theoretical assumptions behind cluster analysis in human population genomics. Adopting an interdisciplinary approach, it demonstrates that the hypothesis that attributes the clustering of human populations to frictional effects of landform barriers at continental boundaries is empirically incoherent. It then contrasts the scientific status of the cluster and cline constructs in human population genomics, and shows how cluster may be instrumentally produced. It also shows how statistical values of race vindicate Darwin’s argument that race is evolutionarily meaningless. Finally, the paper explains why, due to spatiotemporal parameters, evolutionary forces and socio-cultural factors influencing population structure, continental ancestry may be pragmatically relevant to global and public health genomics. Overall, this work demonstrates that, from a biological systematic and evolutionary taxonomical perspective, human races/continental groups or clusters have no natural meaning or objective biological reality. In fact, the utility of racial categorizations in research and in clinics can be explained by spatiotemporal parameters, socio-cultural factors and evolutionary forces affecting disease causation and treatment response.

  9. Theoretical Communities of Praxis: The University Writing Center as Cultural Contact Zone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monty, Randall William

    2013-01-01

    The fundamental purpose of "Theoretical Communities of Praxis: The University Writing Center as Cultural Contact Zone" is to investigate the situatedness of Writing Center Studies, defining it as an autonomous (sub)discipline and interdisciplinary contact zone within the larger discipline of Rhetoric and Composition. In order to meet…

  10. Cross-Cultural Understanding of Robotics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Peronard, Jean-Paul

    2013-01-01

    This article aims to improve our understanding of how people in a healthcare context adopt robot technology and, in particular, the importance of culture in this process. The adoption of technology can be problematic when transferring technology from one culture to another. Differences in values...... and beliefs about robotics can affect the motivation for as well as the practice of using robotics in healthcare. Therefore, this paper seeks to develop a deeper theoretical understanding of the cultural impact on robotics adoption by using a cross-cultural perspective to explain variation in priorities...... and discuss possible guidelines to help build a strategy for introducing robotics into a culture’s healthcare sector and broaden the current agenda in international technology marketing....

  11. The influence of hormonal status and socio-cultural determinants on postmenopausal sexual dysfunction.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Erdoğan Aslan

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the hormonal and psycho-socio-cultural determinants that effect postmenopausal sexual dysfunction. Design: Case-control study. Setting: University hospital, Menopause clinics. Patients: 50 volunteers fit for inclusion criteria. Intervention: FSFI questionaire was applied to the participants after initial interview that preset questions evaluating psychosocio-cultural determinants were directed. Vaginal pH, total testosterone, and SHBG levels were measured in addition to routine menopause investigations. Results: FSFI scores were accordingly low in women who considered that they had a sexual dysfunction (50% and, in those who felt menopausal transition had a negative impact in their sexual relations (52% (p=0.00. While 6% of participants found sex after menopause as either shameful-unappropriate or unnecessary, other 17% stated that sex after menopause should continue as a duty of woman. 33% of the participants outlined that “motherhood” is the most important goal of their lives. Stepwise logistic regression analysis revealed a correlation between FSFI scores and FAI. Conclusion: FSD is prevalent in our country. Questioning the patient about the presence of sexual dysfunction may be sufficient to disclose the problem. FAI is a more reliable parameter in selecting candidates for androgen therapy.

  12. The Interdependent Family-Centric Career: Career Perspective of the Overseas Chinese in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pekerti, Andre A.

    2008-01-01

    This theoretical article presents an interdisciplinary approach to extend the scope of current career theories and their application to the overseas Chinese (OC) in Indonesia. Using an ecological model to analyze culture and an emic perspective, the article discusses several factors that affect careers of OC Indonesians. Factors such as culture,…

  13. Cultural Diversity in the Workplace: The State of the Field.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fine, Marlene G.

    1996-01-01

    Reviews three broad categories of research on cultural diversity in the workplace: general overviews, theoretical perspectives, and empirical research studies. Offers an explanation for the paucity of research on the topic, and suggests topics and methods for future research. (SR)

  14. Cultural, Social and Political Perspectives in Science Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    education research to question whether conventional research approaches, foci and theoretical approaches are sufficient in a world of science education that is neither politically neutral, nor free of cultural values. Attention is not only on the individual learner but on the cultural, social and political......This book presents a collection of critical thinking that concern cultural, social and political issues for science education in the Nordic countries. The chapter authors describe specific scenarios to challenge persisting views, interrogate frameworks and trouble contemporary approaches...... to researching teaching and learning in science. Taking a point of departure in empirical examples from the Nordic countries the collection of work is taking a critical sideways glance at the Nordic education principles. Critical examinations target specifically those who are researching in the fields of science...

  15. A review of theoretical perspectives on language learning and acquisition

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Norbahira Mohamad Nor

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reviews three main theoretical perspectives on language learning and acquisition in an attempt to elucidate how people acquire their first language (L1 and learn their second language (L2. Behaviorist, Innatist and Interactionist offer different perspectives on language learning and acquisition which influence the acceptance of how an L2 should be taught and learned. This paper also explicates the relationship between L1 and L2, and elaborates on the similarities and differences between the two. This paper concludes that there is no one solid linguistic theory which can provide the ultimate explanation of L1 acquisition and L2 learning as there are many interrelated factors that influence the success of language acquisition or language learning. The implication is that teachers should base their classroom management practices and pedagogical techniques on several theories rather than a single theory as learners learn and acquire language differently. It is hoped that this paper provides useful insights into the complex process involved in language acquisition and learning, and contributes to the increased awareness of the process among the stakeholders in the field of language education. Keywords: behaviorist, innatist, interactionist, language acquisition, second language learning

  16. Mapping the organizational culture research in nursing: a literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scott-Findlay, Shannon; Estabrooks, Carole A

    2006-12-01

    This paper reports a critical review of nursing organizational culture research studies with the objectives of: (1) reviewing theoretical and methodological characteristics of the studies and (2) drawing inferences specific to the state of knowledge in this field. Organizational culture is regarded as significant in influencing research use in clinical practice yet it is not understood how culture shapes practitioners' behaviours. Only one review of this empirical literature in nursing has been completed. Using selected computerized databases, published nursing research studies in English that examine organizational culture were accessed. Organizational culture studies were categorized using Hatch's three perspectives on organizational culture: (1) modern, (2) symbolic-interpretive and (3) postmodern. The review was conducted in 2005. Twenty-nine studies were in the final data set. Results pointed to variations in cultural definitions and incorporation of organizational sciences theory. In classifying the studies, modern perspectives dominated (n = 22), symbolic-interpretive approaches were an emerging group (n = 6) and one study was unclassifiable. Our results expand current cultural instrument reviews by pinpointing tools that have been previously overlooked and by identifying ongoing theoretical and methodological challenges for researchers. An exclusive reliance on modernistic approaches in organizational culture research cannot yield a complete understanding of the phenomenon. Rather, the field could benefit from a variety of cultural approaches. In a similar vein, researchers need to be mindful of the terminology and the unit of analysis they use in their research, as these are the two largest research challenges.

  17. By Any Beat Necessary

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skøtt, Bo

    2010-01-01

    using various strategies and teaching tools. It appears that different the cultural strategies of different eras rearticulate social movements in terms of sub-, socio- and counter-culture, depending on which cultural perspective is valid. This realization has lead me to study how a sociocultural...... Marxism, Structuralism and Social Constructivism. The choice of cultural analysis as a starting point for this dissertation, thus, involves a number of theoretical and methodological implications. Theoretically, the thesis departs from more traditional library and information science studies’ foundation......, etc. is relatively high. The coupling between library and information science and this sociocultural object field is made out of interest for different knowledge forms used by the activists in their handling of identity shifts at 1000fryd. Through analysis of how the activists empower themselves...

  18. School concept as an instrument of socio-cultural changes in postmodern philosophy of education: from theory to practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bokova Tatiana

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The article is dedicated to the analysis of the socio-cultural changes taking place in the sphere of modern American education. The authors analyze the transformation of the School concept, starting with understanding school as a formal social institution and up to understanding school as a self-sufficient educational environment and intercultural interaction base. According to the authors, the formation of this concept is connected with significant shifts in the field of culture, which has entered a phase of development, well known as postmodernism. The influence of the postmodernism ideas and deconstruction as its main idea determine the character of the alternative education in the United States of nowadays.

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

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    MUZZIO, Henrique

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available RESUMOEsse ensaio tem como objetivo analisar o contexto cultural brasileiro e a sua influência no universo organizacional a partir de uma perspectiva cultural regional que não se limite à visão funcionalista e avance por meio de conceitos contemporâneos como os fluxos culturais e os códigos culturais locais. Do ponto de vista internacional, os estudos comparativos que trabalham com a perspectiva de adaptação cultural já apresentam um volume significativo de pesquisas que enfatizam as distinções entre regiões ou nações. Mas, quando se trata dessa perspectiva dentro de países culturalmente diversos, parece ainda não haver no campo a mesma expressão. Em países em que é reconhecida a diversidade cultural, como o Brasil, análises que levem em conta as influências dessa variável podem contribuir para a eficiência das relações internas e externas da organização. Arguimos a necessidade das organizações contemplarem em suas ações o que chamamos de legitimidade cultural local, quando as organizações atuam em distintos contextos respeitando os valores e as práticas culturais locais. As diferentes culturas regionais encontradas no Brasil se refletem nos hábitos dos consumidores, no comportamento social e nas atitudes e desempenho das pessoas no trabalho, o que requer efetivamente diferentes e variadas práticas de gestão.ABSTRACTThis essay has the objective of analyzing the Brazilian cultural context and its influence on the organizations universe from a cultural regional perspective that goes beyond the functionalist paradigm and advances through contemporary concepts, like cultural flows and the local cultural codes. In an international perspective, in studies that consider the perspective of cultural adaptation, it is possible finding a significant volume of research that emphasizes the distinctions between regions or nations. On the other hand, when it these studies deal with this perspective inside each culturally

  20. Gaming the System: Culture, Process, and Perspectives Supporting a Game and App Design Curriculum

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herro, Danielle

    2015-01-01

    Games and digital media experiences permeate the lives of youth. Researchers have argued the participatory attributes and cognitive benefits of gaming and media production for more than a decade, relying on socio-cultural theory to bolster their claims. Only recently have large-scale efforts ensued towards moving game play and design into formal…

  1. Transactional Analysis - Cultural and Educational Perspectives of Negotiations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lect. Ph. D. Oana Iucu

    2009-05-01

    Full Text Available This study introduces the negotiation topics from one modern perspective, as an managerial, cultural and protocol structure. The traditionally orientation, psycho-social and communicational, technically and instrumentally, has been extended with one dynamic and very actual approach to the protocol procedures. Here is also analyzed principals negotiation’s components, which are frequently mentioned in handbooks of management and negotiation, from the organizational and operational its consequences point of view.

  2. Cross-cultural undergraduate medical education in North America: theoretical concepts and educational approaches.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reitmanova, Sylvia

    2011-04-01

    Cross-cultural undergraduate medical education in North America lacks conceptual clarity. Consequently, school curricula are unsystematic, nonuniform, and fragmented. This article provides a literature review about available conceptual models of cross-cultural medical education. The clarification of these models may inform the development of effective educational programs to enable students to provide better quality care to patients from diverse sociocultural backgrounds. The approaches to cross-cultural health education can be organized under the rubric of two specific conceptual models: cultural competence and critical culturalism. The variation in the conception of culture adopted in these two models results in differences in all curricular components: learning outcomes, content, educational strategies, teaching methods, student assessment, and program evaluation. Medical schools could benefit from more theoretical guidance on the learning outcomes, content, and educational strategies provided to them by governing and licensing bodies. More student assessments and program evaluations are needed in order to appraise the effectiveness of cross-cultural undergraduate medical education.

  3. The impact of social stratification on cultural consumption

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tomić Marta

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines theoretical perspectives, research approaches and research results about the relationship between social stratification and cultural consumption. Paper presents main representatives of three sociological discourses: those who believe that class divisions still exist and that thay had an influence on the social inequalities, especially in the domain of cultural consumption and tastes; authors and researchers who emphasize the impact of social stratification on the formation of cultural stratification, and the third group which consists of those who are advocates of cultural consumptions theories and individualization and cultural tastes which means that membership of a particular social class are not by any cultural influences.

  4. 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…

  5. Revisioning Clinical Psychology: Integrating Cultural Psychology into Clinical Research and Practice with Portuguese Immigrants

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Susan; Harris, Sara; Foster, Gary; Clarke, Juanne; Gadermann, Anne; Morrison, Marie; Bezanson, Birdie Jane

    2013-01-01

    This article outlines a model for conducting psychotherapy with people of diverse cultural backgrounds. The theoretical foundation for the model is based on clinical and cultural psychology. Cultural psychology integrates psychology and anthropology in order to provide a complex understanding of both culture and the individual within his or her cultural context. The model proposed in this article is also based on our clinical experience and mixed-method research with the Portuguese community. The model demonstrates its value with ethnic minority clients by situating the clients within the context of their multi-layered social reality. The individual, familial, socio-cultural, and religio-moral domains are explored in two research projects, revealing the interrelation of these levels/contexts. The article is structured according to these domains. Study 1 is a quantitative study that validates the Agonias Questionnaire in Ontario. The results of this study are used to illustrate the individual domain of our proposed model. Study 2 is an ethnography conducted in the Azorean Islands, and the results of this study are integrated to illustrate the other three levels of the model, namely family, socio-cultural, and the religio-moral levels. PMID:23720642

  6. Safety Cultures in Water-Based Outdoor Activities in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andkjær, Søren; Arvidsen, Jan

    2015-01-01

    In this paper, we report on the study Safe in Nature (Tryg i naturen) in which the aim was to analyze and discuss risk and safety related to outdoor recreation in the coastal regions of Denmark. A cultural perspective is applied to risk management and the safety cultures related to three selected...... water-based outdoor activities: small boat fishing, sea kayaking, and kite surfing. The theoretical framework used was cultural analysis and the methodological approach was mixed methods using case studies with survey and qualitative interviews. The study indicates that safety is a complex matter...... and that safety culture can be understood as the sum and interaction among six categories. The safety culture is closely related to the activity and differs widely among activities. We suggest a broad perspective be taken on risk management wherein risk and safety can be managed at different levels. Small boat...

  7. Socio-cultural and economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by Mediterranean mountain agroecosystems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernués, Alberto; Rodríguez-Ortega, Tamara; Ripoll-Bosch, Raimon; Alfnes, Frode

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this work was to elucidate the socio-cultural and economic value of a number of ecosystem services delivered by mountain agroecosystems (mostly grazing systems) in Euro-Mediterranean regions. We combined deliberative (focus groups) and survey-based stated-preference methods (choice modelling) to, first, identify the perceptions of farmers and other citizens on the most important ecosystem services and, second, to value these in economic terms according to the willingness to pay of the local (residents of the study area) and general (region where the study area is located) populations. Cultural services (particularly the aesthetic and recreational values of the landscape), supporting services (biodiversity maintenance) and some regulating services (particularly fire risk prevention) were clearly recognized by both farmers and citizens, with different degrees of importance according to their particular interests and objectives. The prevention of forest fires (≈50% of total willingness to pay) was valued by the general population as a key ecosystem service delivered by these agroecosystems, followed by the production of specific quality products linked to the territory (≈20%), biodiversity (≈20%) and cultural landscapes (≈10%). The value given by local residents to the last two ecosystem services differed considerably (≈10 and 25% for biodiversity and cultural landscape, respectively). The Total Economic Value of mountain agroecosystems was ≈120 € person(-1) year(-1), three times the current level of support of agro-environmental policies. By targeting and quantifying the environmental objectives of the European agri-environmental policy and compensating farmers for the public goods they deliver, the so-called "green" subsidies may become true Payments for Ecosystems Services.

  8. Socio-cultural and economic valuation of ecosystem services provided by Mediterranean mountain agroecosystems.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alberto Bernués

    Full Text Available The aim of this work was to elucidate the socio-cultural and economic value of a number of ecosystem services delivered by mountain agroecosystems (mostly grazing systems in Euro-Mediterranean regions. We combined deliberative (focus groups and survey-based stated-preference methods (choice modelling to, first, identify the perceptions of farmers and other citizens on the most important ecosystem services and, second, to value these in economic terms according to the willingness to pay of the local (residents of the study area and general (region where the study area is located populations. Cultural services (particularly the aesthetic and recreational values of the landscape, supporting services (biodiversity maintenance and some regulating services (particularly fire risk prevention were clearly recognized by both farmers and citizens, with different degrees of importance according to their particular interests and objectives. The prevention of forest fires (≈50% of total willingness to pay was valued by the general population as a key ecosystem service delivered by these agroecosystems, followed by the production of specific quality products linked to the territory (≈20%, biodiversity (≈20% and cultural landscapes (≈10%. The value given by local residents to the last two ecosystem services differed considerably (≈10 and 25% for biodiversity and cultural landscape, respectively. The Total Economic Value of mountain agroecosystems was ≈120 € person(-1 year(-1, three times the current level of support of agro-environmental policies. By targeting and quantifying the environmental objectives of the European agri-environmental policy and compensating farmers for the public goods they deliver, the so-called "green" subsidies may become true Payments for Ecosystems Services.

  9. Didactic aspects of cognition of human as a bio-psycho-socio-cultural personality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palamar, Borys I; Vaskivska, Halyna O; Palamar, Svitlana P

    Modern education, according to leading Ukrainian scientists, requires the development of a new paradigm, which will consider the phenomenon of man holistically. The article describes didactic aspects of cognition of human as a bio-psycho-socio-cultural personality, as social fact, as a phenomenon. For the actualization of the didactic aspects of the problem, the authors used the methods of scientific literature analysis, systemic analysis and generalizations, analysis own practice of didactic and methodological character. Reforming the systems of education and medicine should occur in the context of providing active, creative, productive human life. Practice of system analysis proved that man as a subject of study should be considered as a biological entity, a social being, the bearer of consciousness and culture. A holistic approach to the study of man, viewing him as creatures of the natural (bodily) and social individual (society, culture) and the subject of mental and spiritual (creative and deliberate) activity can reveal its unique originality. The uniqueness of the phenomenon of man as the subject and object of research lies in its indivisibility, which is based on the unity of the laws of nature and society. Therefore, when studying the person should take into account the interests of social and natural Sciences. This once again confirms the idea of the necessity of human studies with the help of a systematic approach, which generates true and holistic view of the person, that involves the development of meta-perception of world and ourselves.

  10. A theoretical approach to artificial intelligence systems in medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spyropoulos, B; Papagounos, G

    1995-10-01

    The various theoretical models of disease, the nosology which is accepted by the medical community and the prevalent logic of diagnosis determine both the medical approach as well as the development of the relevant technology including the structure and function of the A.I. systems involved. A.I. systems in medicine, in addition to the specific parameters which enable them to reach a diagnostic and/or therapeutic proposal, entail implicitly theoretical assumptions and socio-cultural attitudes which prejudice the orientation and the final outcome of the procedure. The various models -causal, probabilistic, case-based etc. -are critically examined and their ethical and methodological limitations are brought to light. The lack of a self-consistent theoretical framework in medicine, the multi-faceted character of the human organism as well as the non-explicit nature of the theoretical assumptions involved in A.I. systems restrict them to the role of decision supporting "instruments" rather than regarding them as decision making "devices". This supporting role and, especially, the important function which A.I. systems should have in the structure, the methods and the content of medical education underscore the need of further research in the theoretical aspects and the actual development of such systems.

  11. The Rhetoric and Reality of Leading the Inclusive School: Socio-Cultural Reflections on Lived Experiences

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lindy-Anne Abawi

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper details a cross-cultural study of inclusive leadership practices within a basic education context in each of the following countries: Australia, Canada, and Colombia. Each school was selected after district educational leaders identified the school as being inclusive of students with diverse learning needs over an extended period of time. The researchers were particularly interested in the norms and assumptions that were evident within conversations because these were viewed as indicators of the nature of the embedded school culture within each context. School leaders and teachers were interviewed to determine the link between rhetoric and reality, and what inclusion ‘looked like’, ‘felt like’, and ‘sounded like’ at each site, and whether any discernible differences could be attributed to societal culture. A refractive phenomenological case study approach was used to capture the messages within each context and the lived experiences of the participants as they sought to cater for the needs of students. Data were collected from semi-structured interviews with school leaders and teaching staff. Each researcher conducted environmental observations, documenting the impressions and insights gained from the more implicit messages communicated verbally, non-verbally, and experientially from school structures, visuals, and school ground interactions. Themes were collated from the various narratives that were recounted. Both similarities and distinct socio-cultural differences emerged.

  12. "If Your Roommate Dies, You Get A 4.0": Reclaiming Rumor with Burke and Organizational Culture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scheibel, Dean

    1999-01-01

    Argues for a reconsideration of rumor from an interpretive perspective and articulates a theoretical perspective that combines organizational culture with Burke's guilt-purification-redemption cycle. Concludes that students use rumor to make sense of and to cope with problematic aspects of their university-life pertaining to roommates, academic…

  13. Culture in action

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Murakami, Kyoko

    2012-01-01

    overview of the development of discourse analysis and discursive psychology and highlight key philosophical foundations and theoretical assumptions on which discursive psychology and practice of discourse analysis are based. As the examples of discourse analysis, I will demonstrate how culture can......The overall aim of this chapter is to discuss an approach to studying culture by drawing on the project of remembering and reconciliation from a discursive psychology perspective. I demonstrate discourse analysis from research using a case of the Anglo-Japanese reconciliation. I provide a brief...... be studied as a topic of members' concern. In this view, culture is not a matter of the researcher's concern to handle as a causal factor or independent variable. Discursive psychologists study culture as a resource for the participants. Finally, I will discuss the implication of the discursive approach...

  14. Historical and Cultural Perspectives on Centralization/Decentralization in Continuing Education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edelson, Paul J.

    1995-01-01

    Views centralization/decentralization from four perspectives: historical, as an outgrowth of professionalism, in the culture of higher education, and management theory. Suggests that some form of centralized control will always be necessary if continuing education is to function in a larger organization, but smaller units may be the wave of the…

  15. Entrepreneurial networks as culturally embedded phenomena

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vlatka Skokic

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available Entrepreneurship research concerning networks has largely focused on network structure, content and governance. We believe that further research is required in order to gain a richer understanding of why specific network forms and types originated. The purpose of this paper is to explore the existence, importance, values and meanings of both the informal and formal networks and networking behaviours of small-scale hotel owner-managers embedded in the socio-economic context of Croatia. In order to gain richer and more detailed understanding of entrepreneurial networks and to understand the influence of socio-economic setting on entrepreneurial networking, we have employed qualitative, in-depth study with small hotel owners. Results suggest that entrepreneurs do not establish strong personal and firm-to-firm ties, but rather focus on formal associations. Reported findings identify socio-cultural factors apparently unique to the context of former socialist economy which have the potential to explain the reported networking behaviour. The adopted research approach brings another dimension to existing theoretical underpinnings, which can encourage researchers to extend or revise theories with new contextual variables.

  16. Evolution of cultural traits occurs at similar relative rates in different world regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Currie, Thomas E; Mace, Ruth

    2014-11-22

    A fundamental issue in understanding human diversity is whether or not there are regular patterns and processes involved in cultural change. Theoretical and mathematical models of cultural evolution have been developed and are increasingly being used and assessed in empirical analyses. Here, we test the hypothesis that the rates of change of features of human socio-cultural organization are governed by general rules. One prediction of this hypothesis is that different cultural traits will tend to evolve at similar relative rates in different world regions, despite the unique historical backgrounds of groups inhabiting these regions. We used phylogenetic comparative methods and systematic cross-cultural data to assess how different socio-cultural traits changed in (i) island southeast Asia and the Pacific, and (ii) sub-Saharan Africa. The relative rates of change in these two regions are significantly correlated. Furthermore, cultural traits that are more directly related to external environmental conditions evolve more slowly than traits related to social structures. This is consistent with the idea that a form of purifying selection is acting with greater strength on these more environmentally linked traits. These results suggest that despite contingent historical events and the role of humans as active agents in the historical process, culture does indeed evolve in ways that can be predicted from general principles.

  17. Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Cluster vs. Single Home Photovoltaic Solar Energy Systems in Rural Nepal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kimber Haddix McKay

    2010-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the socio-cultural dimensions of obstacles facing solar photovoltaic projects in two villages in rural Nepal. The study was conducted in Humla District, Nepal, one of the most remote and impoverished regions of the country. There are no roads in the district, homes lack running water and villagers’ health suffers from high levels of indoor air pollution from open cooking/heating fires and the smoky torches traditionally burned for light. The introduction of solar energy is important to these villagers, as it removes one major source of indoor air pollution from homes and provides brighter light than the traditional torches. Solar energy is preferable in many villages in the region due to the lack of suitable streams or rivers for micro-hydroelectric projects. In the villages under study in this paper, in-home solar electricity is a novel and recent innovation, and was installed within the last three years in two different geo-spatial styles, depending upon the configuration of homes in the village. In some villages, houses are grouped together, while in others households are widely dispersed. In the former, solar photovoltaic systems were installed in a “cluster” fashion with multiple homes utilizing power from a central battery store under the control of the householder storing the battery bank. In villages with widely spaced households, a single home system was used so that each home had a separate solar photovoltaic array, wiring system and battery bank. It became clear that the cluster system was the sensible choice due to the geographic layout of certain villages, but this put people into management groups that did not always work well due to caste or other differences. This paper describes the two systems and their management and usage costs and benefits from the perspective of the villagers themselves.

  18. Challenges Experienced by Korean Medical Students and Tutors during Problem-Based Learning: A Cultural Perspective

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Hyunjung; Choi, Ikseon; Rhee, Byoung Doo; Tae-Lee, Jong

    2016-01-01

    How people learn is influenced by the cultural contexts in which their learning occurs. This qualitative case study explored challenges Korean medical students and tutors experienced during their PBL sessions from a cultural perspective using Hofstede's cultural dimensions. Twelve preclinical medical students and nine tutors from a large Korean…

  19. Multimodality and Design of Interactive Virtual Environments for Creative Collaboration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gürsimsek, Remzi Ates

    . The three-dimensional representation of space and the resources for non-verbal communication enable the users to interact with the digital content in more complex yet engaging ways. However, understanding the communicative resources in virtual spaces with the theoretical tools that are conventionally used...... perspective particularly emphasizes the role of audio-visual resources in co-creating representations for effective collaboration, and the socio-cultural factors in construction of meaningful virtual environments....

  20. 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...