Cultural Background Of Participants Research Articles

Qualitative study exploring the design of a patient-reported symptom-based risk stratification system for suspected head and neck cancer referrals: protocol for work packages 1 and 2 within the EVEREST-HN programme

IntroductionBetween 2009/2010 and 2019/2020, England witnessed an increase in suspected head and neck cancer (sHNC) referrals from 140 to 404 patients per 100 000 population. 1 in 10 patients are...

Participation in a rehabilitation program based on adapted physical activities in Norway: a qualitative study of experiences of immigrant parents and their children with disabilities

Purpose By exploring immigrant families’ experiences of participating in a three-week rehabilitation program focused on adapted physical activity in Norway, this study investigated how beneficial, culturally adapted, and accessible the services were from the families’ perspectives. Methods A hermeneutic design with semi-structured interviews supplemented by participant observation was applied. Inductive thematic analysis was conducted. Results Three themes were identified: “learning through participating,” “sharing the same experience,” and “gaps in service delivery.” By participating in physical activities together with their children, parents became aware of their children’s capabilities and interests, as well as the available resources. Parents also socialized and exchanged experiences and information with each other. Children learned new skills, became aware of their preferences and capabilities, built friendships, and improved their social skills. However, a lack of cultural adaptation, such as insufficient information, as well as the location of the rehabilitation center, language barriers, and exclusion of siblings affected accessibility of the services to immigrant families. Conclusions Although the beneficial aspects of the services were demonstrated, the cultural adaptation and accessibility of the services were limited. Providing flexible and culturally adapted services that meet immigrant families’ needs may improve the accessibility of rehabilitation services to immigrant families. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION Making information available to immigrant families, mapping their resources and needs well before the intervention may improve the accessibility of the services for these families. Rehabilitation professionals need to consider families’ perceptions of their own role through the goal-setting process when engaging with families from cultural backgrounds different from their own. When planning the intervention, grounding physical activities in the diverse cultural background of participants may increase immigrant families’ sense of belonging and inclusion, and thereby facilitate interaction between families regardless of cultural differences.

Influence of cultural factors on freehand gesture design

Abstract In the design of gesture-based user interfaces, gesture elicitation methods are often used to obtain gesture preferences of end users. User choices of gestures can be affected by various factors, such as their cultural backgrounds. Considering cultural factors in designing gesture-based interfaces is important to systems that target for users from different cultures. However, so little empirical research has been conducted on the impact of cultures on gesture commands. This paper reports a study with a series of three experiments on the gesture preferences for tasks in three different application domains with participants from two cultures. We find that some gesture choices are strongly influenced by the cultural background of participants. We discuss the characteristics of those gestures that exhibit cultural dependence and those tasks that do not. We also provide some design guidelines for freehand gesture-based interfaces.

Nutrient Intake Differences Among Ethnic Groups and Risks of Depression

The cultural background of participants has not been considered in studies of dietary intake and depression, even though food choices are affected by culture. This study aims to examine the dietary patterns of people from diverse backgrounds and the correlation of diet and risk of depression. Relationships between depression and nutrient intake were analyzed with 4747 adult respondents from NHANES data. Multiple regressions were used with depression as dependent variable. Nutrient intake pattern differed among ethnic groups. After considering demographic factors, total fat and protein intake ratio to energy were associated with depressive symptoms among Hispanic respondents. Among White, dietary fiber and sugar were associated with depressive symptoms, and among Black, energy was associated with depressive symptoms. Total sugar and dietary fiber were associated with depressive symptoms among Asian. The relationship between depressive symptoms and nutrient intake varied based on the cultural background of participants.

Investigation into passing behavior at passing zones to validate and extend the use of driving simulators in two-lane roads safety analysis

A passing maneuver allows drivers to maintain their desired speed on two-lane highways. However, it entails a high risk of collision with vehicles travelling in the opposite direction. Investigating drivers’ behavior while performing passing maneuvers could provide helpful information on the factors that influence this process. Driving simulators have become important tools for driving behavior research studies as they are safe, facilitate the controlled use of experimental variables, and generate detailed output data. It remains to be seen whether simulator results can be considered representative of real-life driving conditions. With respect to passing maneuvers, no study has made a comprehensive and direct comparison between drivers’ passing behavior in the field and driver behavior observed in a simulated environment.In this validation study, a fixed-base interactive simulator was used to collect data from fifty-four participants (eighteen Iranians and thirty-six Italians) involved in several traffic scenarios on a two-lane rural highway segment (obtained by varying the speed of opposing vehicles, lead vehicles and headways in the opposite direction). A 3D model and its environmental characteristics were realized from the real segment which had previously been surveyed with drones to collect videos and derive data on real passing maneuvers.The results for the two-sided K–S test revealed no statistically significant difference in the accepted gap, effective accepted gap, perception reaction time, and time to collision variables between the field and the simulator at the 95 % confidence level. However, when conducting a one-sided K–S test, some statistical directional differences were found in the cases of the accepted gap and perception reaction time variables, which exhibited lower values in the field compared to the simulator again at the 95 % confidence level. Although the passing duration was statistically higher in the simulator than in the field, the shape of the two distributions was not statistically different. Analysis showed that differences in the passing duration are due to the lower passing vehicle speed and lower speed difference with the simulator than in the field, which are caused by truncating headways in the subject direction in the simulator. The cultural background of participants did not result in any discernible difference in passing behavior. The results would support a more extensive use of driving simulators in future passing behavior studies.

Opvoedgedrag onderzoeken bij ouders met verschillende culturele achtergronden

Abstract Studying Parenting Practices in Parents with Different Cultural Backgrounds: Methodological Difficulties and Practical Recommendations Studying parents with different cultural backgrounds improves our understanding of differences and similarities in parenting and child development. This helps us to refine theories, which, at present, are mostly based on research among “western” parents. Measuring parenting practices in parents of different cultural backgrounds, however, is complex because most measures do not explicitly take cultural differences into account. First, parents’ cultural background might influence the extent to which measurements are affected by biases. Second, parents of different cultural backgrounds do not always express concepts similarly. As a consequence, operationalizations of such concepts might not be accurate for parents of different cultural backgrounds. This paper discusses the challenges that researchers face when studying parenting practices in parents with different cultural backgrounds. We also offer practical recommendations to overcome these challenges: (1) carefully consider the fit between measures and the cultural background of participants; (2) evaluate the accuracy of the measurements by using multiple measures; (3) increase validity by distinguishing between items that measure parenting styles and items that measure parenting behaviors; and (4) combine qualitative and quantitative research to improve interpretation of quantitative findings. We discuss how careful integration of these strategies can help improve the cultural sensitivity of parenting measures.

Gender and culture: do they matter for norms?

ABSTRACTIn a natural experiment, we observed that the influence of a norm depended upon the gender and cultural background of participants. Both gender and cultural background contributed to the effect of peer pressure that partly controlled against the act of cheating among participants as they completed a group task. Furthermore, both factors served to describe the characteristics of hardworking individuals in the group. We therefore conclude that the effectiveness of a norm in a group is expected to depend upon the presence of hardworking individuals therein.

Culturally-Biased Voting in the Eurovision Song Contest: Do National Contests Differ?

The economic literature on the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) establishes empirical evidence for culturally-biased voting, more precisely also biases based on geographical closeness, political relations, ethnical and linguistic affinity. The Bundesvision Song Contest (BSC), a similar contest with principally the same rules but organized on the national level in Germany, offers a unique opportunity to compare international voting bias patterns to national voting bias patterns. Thus, this paper presents an innovative analysis by comparatively analyzing the ESC´s historical data from 1998 to 2013 and the BSC´s data from its beginning in 2005 until 2013 with the same econometric methodology. Our results show that voting biases do not only matter in international contests but also occur in similarly-organized national contests with roughly similar magnitude and quality – despite the cultural background of participants and voters being much more homogenous.

Culturally biased voting in the Eurovision Song Contest: Do national contests differ?

The economic literature on the Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) establishes empirical evidence for culturally biased voting, more precisely also biases based on geographical closeness, political relations, ethnical and linguistic affinity. The Bundesvision Song Contest (BSC), a similar contest with principally the same rules but organized on the national level in Germany, offers a unique opportunity to compare international voting bias patterns to national voting bias patterns. Thus, this paper presents an innovative analysis by comparatively analyzing the ESC’s historical data from 1998 to 2014 and the BSC’s data from its beginning in 2005 until 2014 with the same econometric methodology. Our results show that voting biases do not only matter in international contests but also occur in similarly organized national contests with roughly similar magnitude and quality—despite the cultural background of participants and voters being much more homogenous.

Cultural background shapes spatial reference frame proclivity

Spatial navigation is an essential human skill that is influenced by several factors. The present study investigates how gender, age, and cultural background account for differences in reference frame proclivity and performance in a virtual navigation task. Using an online navigation study, we recorded reaction times, error rates (confusion of turning axis), and reference frame proclivity (egocentric vs. allocentric reference frame) of 1823 participants. Reaction times significantly varied with gender and age, but were only marginally influenced by the cultural background of participants. Error rates were in line with these results and exhibited a significant influence of gender and culture, but not age. Participants’ cultural background significantly influenced reference frame selection; the majority of North-Americans preferred an allocentric strategy, while Latin-Americans preferred an egocentric navigation strategy. European and Asian groups were in between these two extremes. Neither the factor of age nor the factor of gender had a direct impact on participants’ navigation strategies. The strong effects of cultural background on navigation strategies without the influence of gender or age underlines the importance of socialized spatial cognitive processes and argues for socio-economic analysis in studies investigating human navigation.

The two faces of Janus? Anxiety and enjoyment in the foreign language classroom

The present study investigates Foreign Language Enjoyment (FLE) and Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety (FLCA) in the classroom. Participants were 1746 current FL learners from around the world. We used a measure of FLE, based on Likert scale ratings of 21 items (Dewaele & MacIntyre, 2014), and a measure of FLCA based on 8 items extracted from the FLCAS (Horwitz, Horwitz, & Cope, 1986). Statistical analyses revealed that levels of FLE were significantly higher than those of FLCA. FLE and FLCA were linked to a number of independent variables: participants’ perception of their relative level of proficiency within the FL classroom, number of languages known, education level, number of FLs under study, age group and general level of the FL (ranging from lower-intermediate to advanced). Female participants reported both more FLE and more FLCA. Cultural background of participants also had a significant effect on their scores. Participants’ views on episodes of enjoyment in the FL class revealed the importance of teachers’ professional and emotional skills and of a supportive peer group. Many participants mentioned the moment at which they realised that their long effort in mastering an aspect of the FL paid off.

Psychology's ghosts: the crisis in the profession and the way back

This book is the product of years of thought and a profound concern for the state of contemporary psychology. Jerome Kagan, a theorist and leading researcher, examines popular practices and assumptions held by many psychologists. He uncovers a variety of problems that, troublingly, are largely ignored by investigators and clinicians. Yet solutions are available, Kagan maintains, and his reasoned suggestions point the way to a better understanding of the mind and mental illness. Kagan identifies four problems in contemporary psychology: the indifference to the setting in which observations are gathered, including the age, class, and cultural background of participants and the procedure that provides the evidence (he questions, for example, the assumption that similar verbal reports of well-being reflect similar psychological states); the habit of basing inferences on single measures rather than patterns of measures (even though every action, reply, or biological response can result from more than one set of conditions); the defining of mental illnesses by symptoms independent of their origin; and the treatment of mental disorders with drugs and forms of psychotherapy that are nonspecific to the diagnosed illness. The author's candid discussion will inspire the debate that is needed in a discipline seeking to fulfill its promises.

Contextualising early Childhood Education

A critical and constructive postrnodern perspective can be a useful tool for contextualising the field of early childhood education. One way this can be done is by situating the seven studies that appear in this issue of AJEC through multiple social, cultural, political, historical, local and global contexts. In doing so, the relationships between these issues are highlighted. Additionally, the ways in which the researchers, participants, settings, data collection strategies, and findings are connected amongst these studies becomes evident. This approach, which does not necessarily imply that the articles should be read in a linear fashion, is about intentionally framing ideas in ways that might generate different understandings about what we do in early childhood and why we do it. The articles found within this edition of AJEC focus on social issues that are commonly debated and discussed in early childhood education. These issues include poverty, sex education, childcare quality, personal and social skills, repeated viewings of videos, and regulatory frameworks. These issues become more problematic and complex when viewed from various contexts. In doing so, these studies and their findings take on a different set of meanings--making it possible to see how the field of early childhood education is connected, and raising new questions about teaching, learning, and researching, The cultural contexts of early childhood education and how they influence research is apparent in Lai's preliminary study. However, if this study of teachers' perceptions of sex education in Hong Kong preschools were conducted with teachers from South Africa, the United States or Ireland, would it reveal similar findings? Likewise, da Silva and Wise's study is firmly located within the cultural context of families. This study of parent perspectives on childcare quality focuses on the cultural background of participants as a potential source of difference among parents. King and Boardman's study of teachers' and parents' insights into the importance of personal and social skills for young children beginning kindergarten is situated within the context of preschool. By locating this study before formal schooling, readiness becomes an important issue for both parents and teachers. Also, by highlighting the different contexts of parents and teachers it becomes possible to see how these participants view the role of early childhood education. Framing these studies within a professional context illuminates how particular topics or experiences are considered to be either 'appropriate' or 'inappropriate' for young children. …

Migration, ageing and mental health: an ethnographic study on perceptions of life satisfaction, anxiety and depression in older Somali men in east London

This ethnographic study was carried out in the aftermath of an epidemiological investigation, the first of its kind, on the health and social status of Somalis aged 60 years and over living in Tower Hamlets, east London. The main aims of the study are to explore views on mental health and well‐being and identify sources of stress and support so as to gain greater understanding of background factors of life satisfaction and depression in ‘first‐generation’ older Somali migrants in Tower Hamlets (males). Face‐to‐face interviews were conducted among 28 males in Somali with the help of a bilingual interpreter from the same age, sex and cultural background of participants. Several factors were perceived to decrease life satisfaction and increase vulnerability to depression in male Somalis, in particular low family support in the face of increasing physical disability, loneliness, inadequate access to community services and inability to return home. Social isolation, low level of control over one's life, helplessness and social degradation – ageism, perceived racial/religious discrimination and, to a lesser extent, racial harassment – were common themes identified in people who said to be depressed. Family support was the main buffer against depression; other coping resources were represented by religious practices and reliance on Somali peers. Avoidance coping seemed to encompass denial of depression in participants who had low mood. The study revealed multiple reasons for ill‐being, in particular in people who had high expectations about medical and social care. Low levels of distress were found in Somalis who felt supported by their families. There is a need for social workers and other health professionals to advance discussions of mental‐health issues in the community and for service providers to promote greater access to culturally relevant medical and social services for Somali elders in Tower Hamlets and strengthen their informal support networks.