Cross-cultural Information Research Articles

Testing the psychometric properties of the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) in Turkish university students and community samples

Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ) has been extensively used to assess coping styles in the clinical or non-clinical context. The present study investigates the psychometric properties of WCQ in Turkish culture and attempts to get its shorter version by using three separate and independent samples (two groups of university students and one community sample). The constructive study was conducted with a sample of full-time university students (N = 472) and it indicated that the most relevant factor structure was seven-factor model. The factors were planful problem-solving, seeking refuge in supernatural forces, keep to self, seeking social support, seeking refuge in fate, escape/avoidance and accepting responsibility. After that, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to test the adequacy of these factors with two different samples. Study 1 was conducted with a sample of university students (N = 485) and Study 2 was conducted with a sample of community (N = 416). Results demonstrated that seven-factor solution revealed better results in both samples in terms of goodness of fit indexes in confirmatory factor analysis. The results of reliability and validity analysis revealed that psychometric properties of WCQ were acceptable. In addition to getting shorter version of WCQ, the present study enhances cross-cultural information that increases awareness about the coping styles in a non-western culture.

Proposing a Knowledge Amphora Model for Transition towards Mobile Government

As an important project for Turkey to achieve Information/Knowledge Society Strategic Goals, the e-Government Gateway currently focuses on the delivery of public services via a single portal on the Internet. In later stages, other channels such as mobile devices will be available for use, underlying a transition towards mobile and ubiquitous government services. In order to provide a supportive base for this transition, the authors develop a modeling of knowledge amphora (@), and link this conceptual model with the e-government gateway. Based on Knowledge Science concepts such as ubiquity, ba (physical, virtual, mental place for relationship-building and knowledge-creation), ma (time-space in-between-ness), reflection and refraction, the modeling of Knowledge Amphora incorporates the interactions @ the Internet and mobile devices that contribute to cross-cultural information transfer and knowledge creation. The paper presents recent electronic and mobile government developments of E-Government Gateway Project in Turkey as an application example of this philosophical and theoretical modeling. The contributed Ubiquitous Participation Platform for Policy Making (UbiPOL) project aims to develop a ubiquitous platform allowing citizens to be involved in policy making processes (PMPs). The resulting work is a practical case study as that develops new m-government operations.

Different Jobs Need Different Cultures

Team performance is affected by cultural values; in this paper we propose that cultural differences have different influences in distinct job-fields. The implications are based upon a survey of software development teams in the game software industry. We focus on the game software industry as it represents an under-researched field, and the game software development teams are truly international work teams and are predestinated for cross-cultural research. Based upon cross-cultural information systems and teamwork literature, we develop a conceptual model with the constructs of cultural values, cultural intelligence, mindfulness, teamwork quality, and team performance and tested it on a sample of 179 game developers. The results show that cultural values have an influence on team performance and more important these values differ in the job- fields.

Personality, intelligence, and longevity: A cross-cultural perspective

Cross-cultural information about national IQ, national personality, and longevity was obtained. Longevity was positively associated with neuroticism and national IQ and negatively associated with conscientiousness and agreeableness. The negative effects were mediated by income inequality: low conscientiousness and agreeableness were associated with high income inequality (strongly associated with poor longevity). The effect of national IQ on longevity remained strong when GDP percapita, income inequality, and individualism were partialed out. This effect probably occurs in part because countries with high national IQ have higher literacy rates and higher levels of health literacy.

Psychometric evaluation of the Mainland Chinese version of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale

Background The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) has been validated in many countries, but not in Mainland China. Objectives This study investigated the reliability and validity of the Mainland Chinese version of the EPDS. Design A three-stage design was used for this study. Stage I consisted of a multi-stepped process of forward and backward translation, using a panel of six experts to test content validity. Stage II established the psychometric properties of the EPDS by examining the convergent, discriminant and construct validity, internal consistency and stability of the scale. Stage III established its sensitivity, specificity and the optimal cutoff score of the EPDS according the DSM-IV-TR criteria using the Structured Clinical Interview. Setting Three regional public hospitals in Chengdu. Participants A convenience sample was composed of 312 and 451 pregnant women at 28–36 weeks’ gestation. Method Translation and back-translation of the original English instrument and content validation by an expert panel. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was carried out to evaluate the global functioning of the scale. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) and standard SF-12 Health Survey (SF-12) were used to investigate the convergent, discriminant and construct validity. The Cronbach's alpha reliability coefficient, split-half reliability and test–retest reliability were used to examine the internal consistency and stability of the scale. Results The translation process was rigorously conducted to ensure that equivalence was established. Content validity was confirmed by a satisfactory level of agreement with a content validity index (CVI) of 0.93. The area under curve (AUC) was 85.6% and the logistic estimate for the threshold score was 9.5 (sensitivity, 80.0%; specificity, 83.03%) for clinical depression. Convergent and construct validity was supported and discriminant validity suggested that the EPDS successfully discriminated among the non-depressed, mildly and clinically depressed groups. The split-half reliability of the EPDS was 0.76, Cronbach's alpha was 0.79 and test–retest reliability was 0.85. Conclusions Based on the results of this psychometric testing, the Mainland Chinese version of the EPDS is considered ready for use in the routine screening of pregnant women. It is hoped that with this type of cross-cultural information, the universality of the constructs of the instrument can be reliably demonstrated.

The Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale Form a (Das-A) in a Community Sample

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the DAS-A in a sample of 308 Chinese adults in Hong Kong. The reliability of the DAS-A and its relevant sub-scales was measured using internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and Guttman split-half reliability. Principal components analysis was performed to assess construct validity. Discriminant validity of the DAS-A was performed by examining whether the DAS-A could discriminate between the depressed and the non-depressed subjects in this study. The split-half reliability of the DAS-A was found to be r = 0.87; Cronbach's alpha was 0.945; and item-total correlations ranged between 0.36 and 0.75. Factor analysis revealed three factors that were similar to those that were found in other studies: Performance Evaluation, Need for Approval, and Anaclitic Self-Esteem. Discriminant validity suggested that the DAS-A discriminated successfully between the non-depressed and the depressed groups. Nevertheless, some differences were noticed in the relative strength of the factors and in the distribution of the scale items into the three factors. It was hoped that with this type of cross-cultural information, the universality of the constructs of the DAS-A could be reliably demonstrated.

Cross-cultural information leaflets

This article reflects on the development of leaflets in Urdu to support families in weaning children from milk to solids. Limitations in the translation process are highlighted and the importance of determining clients' needs is emphasised.

Cross-cultural information leaflets

Cross-cultural information leaflets

The importance of situating culture in cross-cultural it management

An approach to understanding cross-cultural information technology (IT) management issues that focuses on the implicit aspects of culture is described and applied. It is based upon a theoretical framework called situating culture which acknowledges that cultural understanding is locally situated, grounded in actual behaviors, and embedded in everyday, socially negotiated work practices. To show how this theoretical framework can be used in cross-cultural IT management, it is applied to an examination of the interplay among multiple contextual influences-the national cultures of the host and home countries, the IT industry culture, and the organizational culture of a particular firm-in examples of the cross-cultural IT workplace drawn from the published literature. Management implications of applying the situating culture approach in the cross-cultural IT workplace are then provided.

Information Seeking and Avoiding in Health Contexts

Information management is an important component of coping with illness and illness-related uncertainty. Normative theory and research on information seeking and avoiding in health contexts can help explain why some information management activities are more adaptive than others. Challenges and dilemmas of information management include relational demands (e.g., the need to coordinate the behaviors and goals of the participants) and contextual features (e.g., cross-cultural considerations or channels available for information seeking and providing). Issues that need to be addressed in a normative approach include (a) how information management goals can be accomplished while still accounting for other goals (e.g., identity management or relational maintenance), (b) what roles interpreters can play to facilitate effective cross-cultural information exchange (e.g., as cultural informants), and (c) how information seekers can best manage conflicting or overwhelming information when confronted with messages from multiple channels.

Competitive analysis of cross cultural information search behavior

The aim of this study was to investigate German, French, and British travelers’ information search behavior. This study used the data collected from a series of in-flight surveys on German, British, and French travelers to the US between January and December 1997. To visualize tourists’ information research behavior, a correspondence analysis was employed. The results from correspondence analysis revealed two-dimensional solutions: the first was labeled as business/leisure dimension, and the second was identified as dependent/independent information search behavior. In addition, four distinct market segments based on the information search behavior emerged from the analysis. In conclusion, future study in respect to cross-cultural choice behaviors was advocated.

Using Repertory Grids to Conduct Cross-Cultural Information Systems Research

As more business is being conducted internationally and corporations establishthemselves globally, the impact of cross-cultural aspects becomes an important research issue. The need to conduct cross-cultural research is perhaps even more important in the relatively newly emerging and quickly changing information systems (IS)field. This article presents issues relating to qualitative research, emic versus etic approaches, and describes a structured, yet flexible, qualitative research interviewing technique, which decreases the potential for bias on the part of the researcher. The grounded theory technique presented in this article is based on Kelly's Repertory Grid (RepGrid), which concentrates on “laddering,” or the further elaboration of elicited constructs, to obtain detailed researchparticipant comments about an aspect within the domain of discourse. The technique provides structure to a “one-to-one” interview. But, at the same time, RepGrids allow sufficient flexibility for the research participants to be able to express their own interpretation about a particular topic. This article includes a brief outline of a series of research projects that employed the RepGrid technique to examine similarities and differences in the way in which “excellent” systems analysts are viewed in two different cultures. Also included is a discussion of the technique's applicability for qualitative researchin general and cross-cultural studies specifically. The article concludes by suggesting ways in which the RepGrid technique addresses some of the major methodological issues in cross-cultural research.

Weaning and infant mortality: Evaluating the skeletal evidence

Studies of prehistoric patterns of health and disease focus on interpretations of the evidence from hard tissue remains of past peoples. These interpretations are based on observations of living peoples and the sources of stress which may be expected to leave a record in their bones and teeth. One presumed source of stress that has received wide attention in the recent literature is weaning. The process of weaning is often associated with elevated risks of infant mortality and morbidity because infants no longer receive passive immunity from their mothers, and they are exposed to new sources of infection through the weaning diet. The process of weaning has also been tied to the duration of the contraceptive effects of nursing and the return of fecundity, which in turn provides information about birth spacing and population growth. Recently some of the basic assumptions about nursing and weaning, and their effects on morbidity, mortality and population growth, have been challenged, based on new technical and cross-cultural information. It is clear from the demographic literature that some studies based on skeletal samples tend to be too simplistic in terms of the causes of infant morbidity and mortality. This paper reviews current research which relates weaning and infant mortality to health and reproduction in past populations and evaluates studies of enamel hypoplasia and bone chemistry for reconstructing infant feeding practices in the past. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Gender and National Differences in Attitudes toward Same-Gender Touch

Women have been reported to be more positive about same-gender touch, but cross-cultural information about this touch is limited. Male and female students from Chile (n = 26), Spain (n = 61), Malaysia (n = 32), and the US (n = 77) completed a same-gender touch scale. As in past studies, US women had more positive scores than US men. Malaysians had more negative scores than the other three groups. Spanish and US students had more positive scores than Chilean students. National differences in attitudes toward particular types of touch were also noted. The need for new methods for examining cross-cultural differences in touch was discussed.

GENDER AND NATIONAL DIFFERENCES IN ATTITUDES TOWARD SAME-GENDER TOUCH

Women have been reported to be more positive about same-gender touch, but cross-cultural information about this touch is limited. Male and female students from Chile (n = 26), Spain (n = 61), Malaysia (n = 32), and the US (n = 77) completed a same-gender touch scale. As in past studies, US women had more positive scores than US men. Malaysians had more negative scores than the other three groups. Spanish and US students had more positive scores than Chilean students. National differences in attitudes toward particular types of touch were also noted. The need for new methods for examining cross-cultural differences in touch was discussed.

Psychometric properties of the problem solving inventory in a group of Turkish university students

The Problem Solving Inventory (PSI; Heppner & Petersen, 1982) is a widely used self-report measure of applied problem solving in the United States. This study examined the psychometric properties of the PSI in a Turkish cultural context, specifically with regard to normative, reliability, and validity information. Subjects were 244 Turkish university students (153 women, 71 men) who completed the Turkish version of the PSI, Beck Depression Inventory, and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The Turkish data provide additional psychometric support for the PSI and enhance the generalizability of some of the previous findings based on U.S. samples. Moreover, the Turkish data also suggest that the psychological construct of problem-solving appraisal may have some utility in understanding applied problem solving in the Turkish culture. Finally, the study provides cross-cultural information that increases our knowledge about the utility of problem-solving constructs across diverse environments, particularly with regard to an approach/avoidance dimension across problem-solving strategies.

History of Western sources on Japanese art

Learning about Japanese art has been difficult for Westerners. Limited access, language barriers, and cultural misunderstanding have been almost insurmountable obstacles. Knowledge of Japanese art in the West began over 150 years before the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853. Englebert Kaempfer (1657-1716), sent to Japan as a physician for the Dutch East India Company, befriended a young assistant who provided information for a book on Japanese life and history published in 1727. By 1850, more ethnographic information had been published in Europe. Catalogs of sales of Japanese art in Europe exist prior to 1850 and collection catalogs from major museums follow in the second half of that century. After the Meiji Restoration (1867) cultural exchange was possible and organizations for that purpose were formed. Diaries of 19th century travellers and important international fairs further expanded cross-cultural information. Okakura Kakuzo, a native of Japan, published in English about Japanese art and ultimately became Curator of the important collections of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. The advent of photography made visual images easily accessible to Westerners. Great collectors built up the holdings of major American museums. In the 20th century, materials written and published in Japan in English language have furthered understanding of Japanese culture. During the past twenty years, travelling exhibitions and scholarly catalogs have circulated in the West. Presently monographs, dissertations and translated scholarly texts are available. Unfortunately, there is little understanding in the West of the organization of Japanese art libraries and archives which contain primary source material of interest to art historians.

Activity and work during pregnancy and the postpartum period: A cross-cultural study of 202 societies

Cross-cultural information on 202 traditional societies was perused for data on customs surrounding the expected work load of pregnant and postpartum women. The most common single pattern of work activity during pregnancy was that of continuing full duties until the onset of labor. A bare majority of societies did encourage a lightening of work at some time during pregnancy. Postnatally, most societies did restrict maternal work activity; however, few suspended usual work duties for prolonged periods of time. About one half of societies expected a return to full duties within 2 weeks. Results suggest that the current American trend toward increased participation of women of childbearing age in the work force may be in keeping with the work loads of women in traditional societies.

A MODEL PROGRAM FOR TEACHING ADVANCED READING TO STUDENTS OF ENGLISH AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE

In the ideal language program for advanced foreign students, the reading component will not be an adjunct to the teaching of oral skills (since reading may be the most important skill to master) but will instead concentrate on reading for its own sake, and will not attempt to teach the reading skill directly (since no one really knows what reading is or how readers do it) but will instead provide instruction in the critical skills required at each level of the reading process and plenty of practice in reading itself. The model reading program posited here subdivides into an intensive program, comprising in‐class instruction, and an extensive program, which is mainly outside reading. (Speed reading constitutes an exception to this rule.) The intensive program is designed to increase the student's mastery of the syntax and lexicon of written English, and to provide him with vital crosscultural information and a brief introduction to English rhetoric. One technique recommended for both the teaching and testing of advanced reading is cloze procedure, which draws on all of the critical skills.