Cross-Cultural Comparison

La comunicación que aquí presento corresponde a una parte de los resultados provisionales obtenidos en la investigación doctoral que estoy llevando a cabo en el Departamento de Antropología Social y Cultural de la Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona. Se trata de una investigación orientada a identificar los cambios sociales y culturales de las familias con hijos que padecen una cardiopatía grave, familias que ven trastocadas sus vidas y que forzosamente tienen que adaptarse a la nueva situación desde todos los puntos de vista. El miedo a la muerte es una constante en nuestra sociedad (y posiblemente en otras muchas). La muerte ha pasado de ser un acto público a un acto privado y muchas veces escondido (Ariès, 2000). Ante un evento estresante como la muerte de un familiar o la aparición de una enfermedad grave, es necesario recordar la aparición de un proceso de adaptación conocido como proceso de duelo .

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Older adults often face heightened vulnerability to depression and anxiety, influenced by social isolation, chronic illness, and cognitive decline. Preventative strategies are critical for promoting psychological well-being. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a group-based Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Intervention (MBCBI) in reducing depression and anxiety symptoms and enhancing resilience in elderly individuals at risk of mental health decline. A total of 77 participants aged 60-75 years were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The MBCBI program was conducted over 10 weekly group sessions of 90 min each. Outcome measures included the Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form (GDS-SF), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and a validated Resilience Scale. Significant improvements were observed in the intervention group, with reductions in depression and anxiety and increased resilience levels compared to controls at post-intervention and four-week follow-up (p < 0.01). Group-based MBCBI is an effective preventive strategy for improving emotional well-being and resilience in older adults at psychological risk. These findings highlight the potential integration of mindfulness-based behavioral programs in geriatric mental health settings.

A case study was conducted to clarify the influence of different body-models and modelling approaches on shoulder joint kinematics. Therefore, a single subject performed a javelin throw. The recorded movement was analyzed using two different modeling approaches using two different body models each. Results from the two different body models are highly comparable, while comparability of model approach specific results depend on the movement direction. Source of the difference between movement directions may be the model specific location of center of rotation in the shoulder joint.

Epidemiology for suicide cannot give precise numbers: between 440,000 (WHO) and 818,000 persons in the world commit suicide each year. For Europe, suicides increased regularly to a maximum in 1982-84 (median = 17/100,000). Suicide victims tend to be younger. The author doubts that psychiatric causes can explain suicide and be the only factor of importance for prevention. Suicide of adolescents is only the visible tip of a general behavior learned since childhood. The suicidal "solution" (ideas, parasuicides, attempted suicides, and suicides) is probably a social phenomenon. Efficacious prevention requires a global societal approach. Programs of research and prevention in the Netherlands are presented.

Calidad de vida; Adaptación transcultural; Cuestionarios; Neoplasia de esófago Objetivos: Llevar a cabo la adaptación transcultural al contexto colombiano de la escala de calidad de vida EORTC QLQ-OES18 para pacientes con cáncer de esófago. Métodos: De acuerdo con el proceso de adaptación propuesto por la organización EORTC, se ejecutaron los siguientes pasos: solicitud de adaptación transcultural, primera prueba piloto, aprobación de adaptación y validación lingüística, segunda prueba piloto y versión fi nal. En cada prueba piloto se aplicó la escala y posteriormente una entrevista estructurada a un grupo de pacientes con cáncer de esófago que asistieron a consulta en el Instituto Nacional de Cancerología, con el fi n de identifi car problemas de comprensión, confusión, palabras ofensivas o un parafraseo más adecuado de los ítems, para hacer un ajuste lingüístico de estos. Resultados: En cada prueba piloto participaron 12 pacientes. En la primera prueba se identificaron problemas en seis ítems, para los cuales se propuso un parafraseo más adecuado. El grupo de traducción EORTC y el grupo solicitante determinaron cuáles modifi caciones lingüísticas propuestas podían ser adaptadas, conservando la equivalencia de la versión sugerida en español colombiano con la versión original en inglés. En la segunda prueba piloto no se observaron dificultades con los ítems. Un total de cinco ítems fueron modifi cados y adaptados culturalmente. Conclusiones: El proceso de adaptación resultó en un cuestionario fácilmente comprensible en el entorno cultural colombiano. Se dispone de una versión de la escala QLQ-OES18 en español colombiano para ser validada y utilizada en estudios de calidad de vida en pacientes con cáncer de esófago.

Expanding into international markets and effectively introducing products abroad are topics of great interest to international marketers and managers. The research and information on diffusion, the procedure by which an innovation is disbursed, has been widely expanded throughout the last decade. Nevertheless international diffusion research remains limited, even in the midst of product expansion into international markets. This paper offers propositional theories consolidating the current research in the area of international diffusion in the form of an inventory. This inventory, along with its implications for management considering international product introductions and recommendations for future research, provides an updated view of international diffusion to aid in forecasting international marketing success.

Markus and Kitayama&#39;s (1991) theory of independent and interdependent self-construals had a major influence on social, personality, and developmental psychology by highlighting the role of culture in psychological processes. However, research has relied excessively on contrasts between North American and East Asian samples, and commonly used self-report measures of independence and interdependence frequently fail to show predicted cultural differences. We revisited the conceptualization and measurement of independent and interdependent self-construals in 2 large-scale multinational surveys, using improved methods for cross-cultural research. We developed (Study 1: N = 2924 students in 16 nations) and validated across cultures (Study 2: N = 7279 adults from 55 cultural groups in 33 nations) a new 7-dimensional model of self-reported ways of being independent or interdependent. Patterns of global variation support some of Markus and…

Background: To explore the strengths and weaknesses of conventional biomedical research strategies and methods as applied to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and to suggest a new research framework for assessing these treatment modalities. Discussion: There appears to be a gap between published studies showing little or no efficacy of CAM, and reports of substantial clinical benefit from patients and CAM practitioners. This "gap" might be partially due to the current focus on placebo-controlled randomized trials, which are appropriately designed to answer questions about the efficacy and safety of pharmaceutical agents. In an attempt to fit this assessment strategy, complex CAM treatment approaches have been dissected into standardized and often simplified treatment methods, and outcomes have been limited. Unlike conventional medicine, CAM has no regulatory or financial gatekeeper controlling their therapeutic "agents" before they are marketed. Treatments may thus be in widespread use before researchers know of their existence. In addition, the treatments are often provided as an integrated 'whole system' of care, without careful consideration of the safety issue.

Background:The Ciclovía-Recreativa is a free, community-based program in which streets are closed temporarily to motorized transport, allowing access to walkers, runners, rollerbladers, and cyclists only. We assessed existing information about the Ciclovía as a public health strategy and proposed next steps for research and public health practice.Methods:We conducted a systematic search of peer-reviewed and other literature, which was complemented by expert interviews and consultation.Results:We reviewed 38 Ciclovías from 11 countries. Most programs (84.2%) take place in urban settings. The programs range from 18−64 events per year (54 ± 24.6; 52 [mean ± standard deviation; median]) with events lasting from 2−12 hours (6 ± 2.4; 6). The length of the streets ranges from 1−121 km (14.6 ± 22.1; 7), and the estimated number of participants per event ranges from 60-1,000,000 persons (61,203 ± 186,668; 3810). Seventy-one percent of the programs include physical activity classes and in 89%...

The aim of this study was to adapt to Catalan the parents' and children's global report forms of the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire (APQ), using a community sample of 364 children between 10 and 15 years old and their families. Sociodemographic information (from parents) and the presence of externalizing problems (from parents and teachers) were collected. The results suggest a 3-factor structure corresponding to the scales of Positive Parenting Practices (PPP), Inconsistent and Negative Discipline (IND) and Poor Monitoring/Supervision (PMS). The internal consistency is acceptable in all the scales, except for the IND in the children's format. The scales also present good convergent and discriminant validity, and the relations with the external variable studied pointed in the expected direction: inefficient parenting practices are related to the presence of more behavior problems in children. To sum up, the Catalan version of the parents' and children's global report forms of the APQ are considered suitable for use in the area of children's and adolescents' behavior problems.

This article provides crucial information to judge the appropriateness of the Mexican version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Third Edition and recognizes some limitations in both the process of its adaptation to the Mexican population and the norm development process. This is an effort to contribute to the debate initiated by , who argued in court against the use of Mexican norms in a death penalty case, which depended upon establishing the diagnosis of mental retardation. As a part of the defense team, these scholars argued a number of points against the use of the Mexican norms. With input from the lead researcher on the Mexican standardization process, some of the criticisms are addressed, and further information about the norm development process for this test in Mexico is provided in an attempt to be critical about the strengths and weaknesses of the use of existing Mexican norms. Finally, we argue that results from a single test must not be used to make life and death decisions and that test development is a continuous process influenced by culture, language, and indeed by norm-developing procedures and debates.

The aim of this investigation was to determine which of 58 preselected Zulu words developed by Panday et al. (2007) could be used for Speech Reception Threshold (SRT) testing. To realize this aim the homogeneity of audibility of 58 bisyllabic Zulu low tone verbs was measured, followed by an analysis of the prosodic features of the selected words. The words were digitally recorded by a Zulu first language male speaker and presented at 6 intensity levels to 30 Zulu first language speakers (18 -25 years, mean age of 21.5 years), whose hearing was normal. Homogeneity of au­dibility was determined by employing logistic regression analysis. Twenty eight words met the cri­terion of homogeneity of audibility. This was evidenced by a mean slope of 50% at 5.98%/dB. The prosodic features of the twenty eight words were further analyzed using a computerized speech laboratory system. The findings confirmed that the pitch contours of the words followed the pro­sodic pattern apparent within Zulu li...

Individualism-collectivism (IC) has been established as one of the central dimensions of cross-cultural research; however, there is only little evidence whether this dimension can be detected from nonverbal behavior (NVB). Using a novel computer-animation methodology, we investigated the influence of NVB and cultural stereotypes on the ascription of individualistic or collectivistic values to actors from different cultures described as distinct on the IC-dimension: United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Germany. Animated computer characters were used to mask out clues of the nationality of actors while displaying their real movement behavior. The results show cultural specificities in the combined processing of NVB and stereotype activation. Whereas Arabs based their collectivism ratings solely on NVB, Germans showed a strong susceptibility to stereotype activation. In addition, Arabs were able to discern collectivism from NVB. As opposed to collectivism, individualism was not discernible from NVB by either Germans or Arabs.

The theory of gerotranscendence offers a framework for understanding the profound psychological shift that often accompanies aging, characterized by a movement away from materialistic and pragmatic worldviews towards a more cosmic, transcendent perspective. This transition is characterized by shifts in values, attitudes, and behaviors, emphasizing spiritual fulfillment, introspection, and deeper acceptance of life's mysteries. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between gerotranscendence and life satisfaction among Iranian older adults, offering insights into the potential role of this perspective in promoting well-being in later life. Methods: This study employed a population-based, cross-sectional analytical-descriptive design to investigate key psychosocial variables among older adults. A total of 183 individuals aged >60 years and residing in Kerman City, Iran, were recruited through cluster sampling to ensure representative coverage across the region. Data collection involved the administration of two psychometrically validated instruments, the gerotranscendence scale (GS-S) and the life satisfaction index-Z (LSIZ), along with a structured socio-demographic questionnaire to capture participants' background characteristics. Results: Of the participants, 127(69.4%) were married, and 99(54.1%) were female, with a mean age of 66.7±7.14. The findings indicate a statistically significant positive correlation between overall gerotranscendence scores and life satisfaction (P<0.01, r=0.357), with each dimension of gerotranscendence contributing uniquely to this association. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gerotranscendence explained 20.3% of the variance in life satisfaction scores, underscoring its potential as a predictor of well-being in older adults. Discussion: This study underscores the significance of cultivating a gerotranscendent perspective to enhance life satisfaction among older adults. Policymakers and practitioners should consider integrating gerotranscendence principles into health promotion initiatives, intervention programs, and care planning strategies for older adults. Such an approach may not only enhance individual well-being but also support holistic and culturally sensitive aging policies.

The concept of workplace spiritualty (WS) has gained importance in the last years. However, most of the research has been qualitative and focused on culture in the United States. The purpose of this study is to expand the understanding of workplace spirituality by conducting an empirical analysis of its impact on employee outcomes such as job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and individual innovative behavior in Mexico and the United States. The research model predicts that workplace spirituality will have an effect on all employee outcomes. A total of 304 employees from different industries in Mexico and the US were surveyed. Results from PLS analysis show that workplace spirituality has a positive and significant relationship with all employee outcomes including turnover intention. The latter is different from what was hypothesized, however, a possible explanation is offered. In addition, a test of workplace spirituality perception differences between the two countries was conducted. The result indicates that people from both countries perceive workplace spirituality differently. Last but not least I'd like to thank all of my friends that I met through the Ph.D. studies. Friendship will be there forever. Thank you Ruth, Pete, Chaiwat, Murad and all my peers who were always willing to help. ABSTRACT .

The study investigates selected features of communication degree programs at small, private liberal arts colleges in the Midwest and South. Topics covered include how communication programs at such colleges are organized at the departmental level, what courses are most commonly offered in small-college communication programs, and what course enrollment limits are typical for such programs. Our findings suggest that communication programs are now commonly found at such institutions, with most housed in academic units that refer to communication in the unit name. Beyond relatively widespread commitments to restricting course enrollments, these programs are generally marked by great diversity in their course offerings and apparent foci.

Objective: Drawing on two different populations, Israeli police and Hungarian civilians, the present study assessed the ability of individuals with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to generalize previous learning to novel situations. Past neuroimaging studies have demonstrated diminished medial temporal lobe (MTL) activation and/or reduced hippocampal volume in individuals with PTSD. Our earlier computational models of cortico-hippocampal function and subsequent experimental tests of these models in MTL-impaired clinical populations argue that even mild hippocampal dysfunction may result in subtle impairments in generalization. Therefore, we predicted that individuals with PTSD would show impaired generalization. Method: We compared the performance of five groups from two countries, including 19 Israeli police with PTSD and 22 traumaexposed police without PTSD, and 22 Hungarian civilians with PTSD, 25 trauma-exposed civilians without PTSD, and 25 individuals without PTSD unexposed to the same trauma. Participants were tested on a two-phase learning paradigm, the Acquired Equivalence Task, which measures the ability to generalize past learning to novel situations. Results: We found that both PTSD and non-PTSD participants were capable of learning the initial stimulus-outcome associations, F(4, 108) ϭ 1.79, p ϭ .14. However, as predicted, only individuals with PTSD showed a selective deficit in generalization of this learning to novel situations (F(4, 108) ϭ 8.35, p Ͻ .001, Partial 2 ϭ 0.26). Conclusions: Individuals with PTSD show a selective impairment in generalization of past learning

Using data obtained from 4004 participants across eight countries (Canada, India, Japan, Korea, Poland, Slovakia, Uganda, and the U.S.), the factorial reliability, validity and structural/measurement invariance of a 30-item version of Expressions of Spirituality Inventory (ESI-R) was evaluated. The ESI-R measures a five factor model of spirituality developed through the conjoint factor analysis of several extant measures of spiritual constructs. Exploratory factor analyses of pooled data provided evidence that the five ESI-R factors are reliable. Confirmatory analyses comparing four and five factor models revealed that the five dimensional model demonstrates superior goodness-of-fit with all cultural samples and suggest that the ESI-R may be viewed as structurally invariant. Measurement invariance, however, was not supported as manifested in significant differences in item and dimension scores and in significantly poorer fit when factor loadings were constrained to equality across all samples. Exploratory analyses with a second adjective measure of spirituality using American, Indian, and Ugandan samples identified three replicable factors which correlated with ESI-R dimensions in a manner supportive of convergent validity. The paper concludes with a discussion of the meaning of the findings and directions needed for future research.

The meanings of several target neuropsychological variables, including measures of executive functioning, were examined using contextual analysis across a sample of English-speakers and a sample of Spanish-speakers. Results of the contextual analysis, which examined the contributions of the latent constructs of memory, psychomotor speed, visual spatial ability, and knowledge and comprehension, to the target neuropsychological variables indicate that each of the target variables likely reflects the unique contribution of several reference abilities. These findings provide evidence that the neuropsychological variables are multi-dimensional. The patterns of relations were similar across the samples of English and Spanish speakers. (JINS, 2012, 18, 223–233)

In this study we focus on the role of students as co-designers of digital resources for learning mathematics. Students with the use of c-book technology construct in collaboration with their teachers units of narrative blended with artifacts and constructions designed with digital tools for mathematics education, acting as designers. We see the design phase as a learning process for students, searching for new mathematical meanings that emerge around the concept of co-variation. For our analysis we use the lens of Documentational Approach as a means of a deeper understanding of the learning process.

Introduction: While there is substantial evidence on the negative repercussions of study-related stressors on university students' mental health and well-being, comparably less is known about a specific adaptive response to stressors in higher education: students' thriving, that is, the experience of vitality and learning under challenging circumstances. Given the lack of comparative research on students' adaptive outcomes in diverse cultural contexts, we examined coping resources (i.e., academic self-efficacy, ASE; social belonging, SB) as predictors of female and male students' thriving in an individualistic culture (i.e., Germany, n = 259), and compared it to two collectivistic cultures (i.e., Indonesia, n = 839; United Arab Emirates, UAE, n = 230). We further investigated the role of organizationbased self-esteem (OBSE) as a potential mediator between students' coping resources and thriving. Methods and Results: Multiple-group moderated mediation analyses showed that OBSE served as a mediator between SB and thriving in all three countries, irrespective of students' gender. ASE directly catalyzed thriving among female and male students in Indonesia, only among female students in the UAE, but not in Germany. SB directly contributed to female and male students' thriving in Germany and Indonesia. Discussion: Our findings point to the universal decisive role of OBSE in enabling students in different cultures to transform coping resources into experiences of thriving when facing study-related stressors.

Objective: To cross-culturally adapt and validate Singapore English and Chinese versions of the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) in patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA) in Singapore. Methods: Singapore English and Chinese versions were cross-culturally adapted from the source English KOOS following standard guidelines (including cognitive debriefing). Patients were asked to complete identical questionnaires containing the KOOS, Short Form 36 Health Survey, and EQ-5D twice within 6 days. Reliability was assessed using Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), dimensionality using item-to-domain correlations and convergent and divergent construct validity using 14 and 13 a priori hypotheses, respectively. Results: Singapore English and Chinese KOOS versions were well accepted by patients in pilot testing and were therefore administered to a consecutive sample of 127 English and 131 Chinese-speaking Singaporeans with knee OA. Cronbach's alpha exceeded 0.7 for all domains except for Chinese pain and symptoms domains. ICC exceeded 0.7 for all domains except for English sport and recreation and Chinese kneerelated QoL domains. Hypothesized item-to-domain correlations (Spearman's r ! 0.4) were observed for 38 items in English and 29 in Chinese versions. Convergent construct validity was supported by the presence of hypothesized moderate/strong correlations (r ¼ 0.37e0.65) for 13 and 11 a priori hypotheses in the English and Chinese KOOS, respectively. Divergent construct validity was supported by the presence of weak correlations (r ¼ 0.02e0.34) for 12 and 11 a priori hypotheses in the English and Chinese KOOS, respectively. The Singapore English and Chinese KOOS were well accepted and demonstrated acceptable reliability and validity in Asian patients with knee OA in Singapore.

Background:The Venezuelan Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth is the first assessment of information related to physical activity in Venezuela. It provides a compilation of existing information throughout the country and assesses how well it is doing at promoting opportunities for children and youth. The aim of this article is to summarize the information available.Methods:Thirteen physical activity indicators were graded by a committee of experts using letters A to F (A, the highest, to F, the lowest) based on national surveys, peer review studies, and policy documents.Results:Some indicators report incomplete information or a lack of data. Overweight and Obesity were classified as A; Body Composition and Nongovernmental Organization Policies as B; Municipal Level Policies as C; and Overall Physical Activity Levels and National Level Policies as D.Conclusions:63% of children and youth have low physical activity levels. Venezuela needs to undergo a process of art...

This article systematically reviews word recognition research in foreign language (FL) reading. Word recognition, one of the lower-level processes, is widely acknowledged as the most frequent cognitive activity involved in reading. Word recognition research in first language (L1) reading in various languages abounds. Compared with a considerable number of L1 word recognition studies, word recognition has only received minimal attention in FL reading research. The issues in word recognition research in FL reading are much more complicated than those in L1 reading, as FL reading involves more than one language. A number of factors have been taken into consideration for FL word recognition research, and these factors have produced four major foci: (1) learners' L1 orthographic backgrounds, (2) FL experience, (3) FL print input properties, and (4) the relationship between word recognition and reading outcomes (e.g., reading comprehension). The article first explains processes in word recognition and summarizes major findings in L1 word recognition research which lay the foundation for FL word recognition research, and then reviews existing studies with the above four foci in FL reading. The review reveals limitations in the extant research and points out directions for future research and offers some practical implications in relation to teaching.

This study focuses on the design of a novel genre of e-books incorporating dynamic constructionist artefacts-widgets that aim to induce mathematical creativity allowing students to interact with their content in significant ways (called 'c-books', c for creativity). The design of the c-books is addressed through collectives of educational professionals with a diversity of expertise. The analysis of the design process of a c-book on Curvature shows that the interactions fostered by the socio-technical environment allowed diverse practitioners to learn from, work with and collaborate across their boundaries supported by collectively evolving artefacts as boundary objects. The end-product of this social creative process, the c-book on Curvature, evolved through the constant versioning of a narrative intertwined with malleable dynamic constructionist artefacts.

This paper examines the debate between Universal Grammar and Usage-Based Linguistics. Drawing on works by Chomsky, Bybee, Evans and Levinson, and others, it argues that language is best understood as a complex adaptive system shaped by usage, interaction, and culture. The paper concludes that usage-based approaches provide a more accurate account of language acquisition than Universal Grammar.

ABSTRACTAim  The concurrent, construct and discriminative validity of the World Health Organization&#39;s Alcohol, Smoking and Substance Involvement Screening Test (ASSIST) were examined in a multi‐site international study.Participants  One thousand and 47 participants, recruited from drug treatment (n = 350) and primary health care (PHC) settings (n = 697), were administered a battery of instruments.Measurements  Measures included the ASSIST; the Addiction Severity Index‐Lite (ASI‐Lite); the Severity of Dependence Scale (SDS); the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI‐Plus); the Rating of Injection Site Condition (RISC); the Drug Abuse Screening Test (DAST); the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT); the Revised Fagerstrom Tolerance Questionnaire (RTQ); and the Maudsley Addiction Profile (MAP).Findings  Concurrent validity was demonstrated by significant correlations between ASSIST scores and scores from the ASI‐Lite (r = 0.76–0.88), SDS (r = 0.59), AUDIT ...

The need for a culturally sensitive instrument to assess quality of life (QOL) of patients in international oncology clinical trials has been well documented. This study was designed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the traditional Chinese translation (TCHI) of the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Bone Marrow Transplant (FACT-BMT) Version 4. The FACT-BMT consists of the FACT-General and treatment-specific concerns of bone marrow transplantation. The Chinese translation follows the standard Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy (FACIT) translation methodology. Bilingual teams from the United States and Hong Kong reviewed the translation to develop a provisional TCHI FACT-BMT, which was then pre-tested by interviewing 20 native Chinesespeaking BMT patients in Hong Kong. The pre-test results indicated good content coverage and overall comprehensibility. A refined translation, taking into account patient comments, was validated by 134 BMT patients in Hong Kong. The results indicated the high internal consistency of the TCHI FACT-BMT scales, with Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranging from 0.71 (emotional well-being) to 0.92 (FACT-BMT total). The FACT-BMT also demonstrated good construct validity when correlated with SF-36 Health Survey scales. The QOL of Chinese BMT patients can now be evaluated using a well-validated international QOL instrument in their own language.

Indicators of family care for development are essential for ascertaining whether families are providing their children with an environment that leads to positive developmental outcomes. This project aimed to develop indicators from a set of items, measuring family care practices and resources important for caregiving, for use in epidemiologic surveys in developing countries. A mixed method (quantitative and qualitative) design was used for item selection and evaluation. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted to examine the validity of candidate items in several country samples. Qualitative methods included the use of global expert panels to identify and evaluate the performance of each candidate item as well as in-country focus groups to test the content validity of the items. The quantitative methods included analyses of item-response distributions, using bivariate techniques. The selected items measured two family care practices (support for learning/stimulating environment and limit-setting techniques) and caregiving resources (adequacy of the alternate caregiver when the mother worked). Six play-activity items, indicative of support for learning/stimulating environment, were included in the core module of UNICEF's Multiple Cluster Indictor Survey 3. The other items were included in optional modules. This project provided, for the first time, a globally-relevant set of items for assessing family care practices and resources in epidemiological surveys. These items have multiple uses, including national monitoring and cross-country comparisons of the status of family care for development used globally. The obtained information will reinforce attention to efforts to improve the support for development of children.

This qualitative study delves into the under-researched link between age-related stereotypes and the growing indiscipline observed among Ghanaian youth. Employing in-depth interviews with both older adults and young people, the research explores how perceptions of aging shape intergenerational dynamics and contribute to a decline in respect for authority figures. Moving beyond surface-level attitudes, the study unpacks the lived experiences of participants, uncovering the narratives and justifications that underpin indiscipline. Through thematic analysis, the research sheds light on the complex interplay between ageism, social norms, and disciplinary expectations within Ghanaian society. This investigation has the potential to disrupt entrenched stereotypes, fostering a deeper understanding of the factors that contribute to youth behaviour. The findings can inform interventions that promote intergenerational respect, encourage responsible behaviour, and pave the way for a more harmonious Ghanaian society.

The staff of the NRC has been developing three regulatory guidance documents for license renewal: the Generic Aging Lessons Learned (GALL) report, Standard Review Plan for License Renewal (SRP-LR), and Regulatory Guide (RG) for Standard Format and Content for Applications to Renew Nuclear Power Plant Operating Licenses. These documents are designed to streamline the license renewal review process by providing clear guidance for license renewal applicants and the NRC staff in preparing and reviewing license renewal applications. The GALL report systematically catalogs aging effects on structures and components; identifies the relevant existing plant programs; and evaluates the existing programs against the attributes considered necessary for an aging management program to be acceptable for license renewal. The GALL report also provides guidance for the augmentation of existing plant programs for license renewal. The revised SRP-LR allows an applicant to reference the GALL report to preclude further NRC staff evaluation if the plant's existing programs meet the criteria described in the GALL report. During the review process, the NRC staff will focus primarily on existing programs that should be augmented or new programs developed specifically for license renewal. The Regulatory Guide is expected to endorse the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) guideline, NEI 95-10, Revision 2, entitled "Industry Guideline for Implementing the Requirements of 10 CFR Part 54 -The License Renewal Rule," which provides guidance for preparing a license renewal application. This paper will provide an introduction to the GALL report, SRP-LR, Regulatory Guide, and NEI 95-10 to show how these documents are interrelated and how they will be used to streamline the license renewal review process. This topic will be of interest to domestic power utilities considering license renewal and international ICONE participants seeking state-of-the-art information about license renewal in the United States.

Background:The first Active Healthy Kids Spanish Report Card aims to gather the most robust information about physical activity (PA) and sedentary behavior of children and adolescents.Methods:A Research Working Group of experts on PA and sport sciences was convened. A comprehensive data search, based on a review of the literature, dissertations, gray literature, and experts’ nonpublished data, was conducted to identify the best sources to grade each indicator following the procedures and methodology outlined by the Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card model.Results:Overall PA (based on objective and self-reported methods) was graded as D-, Organized Sports Participation as B, Active Play as C+, Active Transportation as C, Sedentary Behavior as D, School as C, and Family and Peers as Incomplete, Community and the Built Environment as Incomplete, and Government as Incomplete.Conclusions:Spanish children and adolescents showed low levels of adherence to PA and sedentary behavior guid...

Over the past 15 years, children and adults around the world have been asked if Heinz should steal a drug to save his dying wife, if Njoroge should disobey the rules to help a lost child, or some other similar moral dilemma. These crosscultural studies have been undertaken to test Lawrence Kohlberg's theory, which posits a universal model of moral development. This review identifies the major empirical assumptions underlying Kohlberg's claim for cross-cultural universality, including culturally diverse samplings, universal moral questions, invariant stage sequence, full range of stages, and general applicability of the stages. It then reviews the cross-cultural research literature, much of which has not been previously published, and evaluates the support for each assumption. In addition to providing striking support for the underlying assumptions, the 45 studies examined here also identify some major caveats regarding the range and general applicability of the stages across cultures. In particular, biases in favor of complex urban societies and middle-class populations are identified. Based on these findings, the conclusion presents an alternative to Kohlberg's perspective on the relation between culture and moral development. Lawrence Kohlberg's stage model of moral development, briefly summarized in Table , has attracted a great deal of positive attention from psychologists and educators. Not surprisingly, however, his work has also inspired considerable criticism and revisionism (cf. Gibbs, 1977;. The aspect of Kohlberg's theory that has been most difficult for many social scientists to accept is the claim that the development of moral reasoning about the social environment follows a universal invariant sequence, toward the same universal ethical principles, in all cultural settings (cf.

How do aphasics deal with the rich inflectional marking available in agglutinative languages like Hungarian? For the Hungarian noun alone, aphasics have to deal with over 15 basic case markings and dozens of possible combinations of these basic markings. Using the picture description task of , this study examined the use of inflectional markings in nine Broca's and five Wemicke's aphasic speakers of Hungarian. The analysis focused on subject, direct object, indirect object, and locative nominal arguments. Compared to normals, both groups had a much higher rate of omission of all argument types. Subject ellipsis was particularly strong, as it is in normal Hungarian. There was a tendency for Broca's to omit the indirect object and for Wernicke's to omit the direct object. Across argument types, Wemicke's had a much higher level of pronoun usage than did Broca's. Broca's also showed a very high level of article omission. Compared to similar data reported by Slobin (this issue) for Turkish, the Hungarian aphasics showed an elevated level of omission of case markings. Addition errors were quite rare, but there were 14 substitutions of one case marking for another. These errors all involved the substitution of some close semantic competitor. There were no errors in the basic rules for vowel harmony or morpheme order. Overall the results paint a picture of a group of individuals whose grammatical abilities are damaged and noisy, but still largely functional. Neither the view of Broca's as agrammatic nor the view of Wemicke's as paragrammatic was strongly supported.

Many anthropologists and economists contend that humans are characterized by strong, universal, other-regarding equality preferences with deep evolutionary roots. Certain contemporary forager groups are indeed characterized by endemic foodsharing and proscriptions against resource monopolization. Some view these “egalitarian” practices as the consequence
of an intrinsic desire for fairness. The present study tests this using a one-player “give-or-take” experiment that better emulates the realities of forager sharing ecologies than previous giving experiments. We asked 117 Hadza participants in private to redistribute food resources between themselves and another camp member in response to both advantageous
and disadvantageous endowments. Although few participants were wholly self-interested, most did not seek equitable distributions. Instead, most participants tolerated inequality when it benefited them but were intolerant of inequality when it benefited others. Even when given advantageous endowments, only a minority (40.9%) chose to give, while a substantial fraction (30%) exacerbated inequality by taking more. Moreover, when given disadvantageous endowments, many participants took more than was necessary to achieve equality. The modal decision across tasks was to take
everything. We also observed sex and age differences, with men and younger individuals being more likely to share advantageous endowments. These results suggest that intrinsic, private other-regarding fairness preferences need not underlie widespread forager food-sharing, which could be maintained by self-interest enforced by others (i.e., “demand
sharing”) or by extrinsically maintained norms of fairness. Further, we find that individuals with greater exposure to cultures outside Hadzaland were more tolerant of unfavourable inequality, suggesting that marketization might promote not only greater material inequality but also stronger norms of tolerance toward disadvantageous inequality.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the patterns of positive, negative and general psychopathology symptoms on the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale among a variety of schizophrenia patients. METHODS The cross-sectional study was conducted at the Institute of Behavioural Sciences, Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, in 2016-17, and comprised schizophrenia patients aged 18-52 years registered with the institute regardless of gender, socioeconomic class, marital status and severity of the diseases. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale was administered after one month of psychotropic medication. SPSS 21 was used for data analysis. RESULTS :Of the 104 patients, 62(59.6%) were males; 42(40.4%) were single; 45(43.3%) were married; 17(16.3%) were divorced/separated; 31(29.8%), belonged to low social class; 35(33.7%) to middle; and 38(36.5%) to upper class. Patients&#39; scores were significantly different between in door and out-door patients (p&lt;0.05); between patients who had come ...

The purpose of this study was to identify dimensions of elder mistreatment in Chinese and Korean immigrant communities and to increase sociocultural understanding of such mistreatment by elucidating the complexities of abuse embedded in unique social and cultural contexts. In-depth interviews were conducted with 20 local professionals working primarily in Asian elderly advocacy, and six focus group discussions were conducted involving 60 community members in the San Francisco Bay area. Five dimensions of elder mistreatment were identified: psychological abuse, neglect by a trusted person, financial exploitation, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. In general, fewer Korean community member participants reported having observed physical or financial abuse than Chinese groups, but they reported greater knowledge of situations involving psychological abuse, neglect by a trusted person, and sexual abuse. The contexts of cultural influences and immigration and acculturation were salient themes that shaped participants' subjective perceptions and beliefs about elder abuse and hence help-seeking behaviors.

Canadian homicide rates have declined steadily since the mid-1970s, though this overall trend has been punctuated by temporal and regional fluctuations. It is almost consistently noted that young males are overrepresented in the interpersonal violence equation, and changes in this demographic can greatly affect homicide rates. Yet the ubiquity of the positive effect of age-composition has been questioned. Using fixed-effects analysis, this paper examines the relationship between young males and homicide rate changes over a thirty-year period. Results indicate that homicide rate changes in Canada are indeed a function of changing demographics; however, the relationship is complex, and socioeconomic factors both mitigate and exacerbate this relationship.

Objective: Translating, culturally adapting and validating an Italian version of the Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS-I) to allow its use with Italian-speaking patients with knee complaints. Design: The KOOS-I was developed by means of forwardebackward translation, a final review by an expert committee, and a test of the pre-final version to establish its correspondence with the original English version. The psychometric testing included analysis of dimensionality using item-scale correlation after correction for overlap, reliability by means of internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and testeretest reliability (Intraclass Correlation Coefficients), and construct validity using an a priori hypothesised Pearson correlations with a Numerical Rating Scale (NRS) and the Short-Form 36 Health Survey (SF-36). Results: The questionnaire was administered to 224 subjects with knee injuries and proved to be acceptable. Hypothesised item-to-domain correlations were observed for all of the items. The questionnaire showed good internal consistency (0.782e0.977), and a high level of testeretest reliability (0.850e0.949). Construct validity was supported by the confirmation of the a priori hypothesised correlations. Conclusions: The KOOS outcome measure was successfully translated into Italian, and proved to have good psychometric properties that replicated the results of existing versions. Its use is recommended for clinical and research purposes in patients with knee injuries.

In the present study, the authors examine the extent to which effects of individual religious involvement on self-assessed health are influenced by the religious context (i.e., religious involvement at the country level). The authors test their expectations using individual level data ( N = 127,257) on 28 countries from the European Social Surveys (2002–2008). Results of multilevel analyses show that individual religious attendance is positively related to self-assessed health in Europe. Protestants appear to feel healthier than Catholics. Moreover, modeling cross-level interactions demonstrates that religious denominations at the national level are influential: The health advantage of Protestants as compared to Catholics is greater as the percentage of Protestants in a country is higher, yet smaller as countries have a higher percentage of Catholics. The association between religious attendance and self-assessed health does not depend on the national level of religious attendance.

This study aims to make a cross-cultural investigation into tourists’ memorable experiences. A self-administrated survey was carried out between Turkish and British tourists visiting Didim, Turkey, in the summer of 2016. 247 valid questionnaires from Turkish tourists and 241 valid questionnaires from British tourists were collected. Seven dimensions of memorable tourism experiences-hedonism, refreshment, novelty, local culture, meaningfulness, knowledge and involvement - were identified through factor analysis in the study. The results also indicated that British tourists had found local culture more memorable in their travels than Turkish tourists. However, hedonism was the most memorable experience dimension for Turkish tourists. The practical and theoretical contributions of the study results are discussed.