Cultural Assumptions Research Articles

"Broadening Perspectives Activities" Improve LGBTQ+ Student Experiences and Religious Students' Content Comprehension.

Curricular content in undergraduate biology courses has been historically hetero and cisnormative due to various cultural stigmas, biases, and discrimination. Such curricula may be partially responsible for why LGBTQ+ students in STEM are less likely to complete their degrees than their non-LGBTQ+ counterparts. We developed Broadening Perspective Activities (BPAs) to expand the representation of marginalized perspectives in the curriculum of an online, upper-division, undergraduate animal behavior course, focusing on topics relating to sex, gender, and sexuality. We used a quasiexperimental design to assess the impact of the BPAs on student perceptions of course concepts and on their sense of belonging in biology. We found that LGBTQ+ students entered the course with a better understanding of many animal behavior concepts that are influenced by cultural biases associated with sex, gender, and sexuality. However, LGBTQ+ students who took the course with the BPAs demonstrated a greater sense of belonging in biology at the end of the term compared with LGBTQ+ students in the course without BPAs. We also show that religious students demonstrated improved comprehension of many concepts related to sex, gender, and sexuality after taking the course with BPAs, with no negative impacts on their sense of belonging.

Signatures of selection with cultural interference

Human evolution is intricately linked with culture, which permeates almost all facets of human life from health and reproduction, to the environments in which we live. Nevertheless, our understanding of the ways in which stably transmitted, evolutionarily relevant human cultural traits might interact with the human genome is incomplete, and methods to detect such interactions are limited. Here, we describe some rules of cultural transmission which could pertain to both humans and cultural nonhuman animals that could lead to the formation and maintenance of stable associations between cultural and genetic traits. Next, we show that, in the presence of such associations, a process analogous to genetic hitchhiking is possible in gene–culture systems. These could leave signatures in the human genome similar to, and perhaps indistinguishable from, those left by selection on genetic traits. Finally, we model selective interference between cultural and genetic traits. We show that selective interference between a cultural trait under selection and a genetic trait under selection can reduce the efficacy of natural selection in the human genome, both in terms of the probability of fixation of beneficial alleles and the dynamics of selective sweeps. We then show that the efficiency of selection at genetic loci can, however, be increased in the presence of strong cultural transmission biases. This implies that the signatures of gene–culture interactions in genetic data may be complex and wide-ranging in gene–culture coevolutionary systems.

O CRESCIMENTO DAS MULHERES EM CARGOS DE LIDERANÇA NA ÚLTIMA DÉCADA EM PERNAMBUCO

The article discusses the growth of female leadership in Pernambuco in recent years, driven by public policies and business initiatives. From projects like #TáComElas, which train women for leadership positions, to the inclusion of women in executive roles in large companies, there is a positive movement towards gender equality. However, wage disparity persists, with women earning on average 78% of men's salaries in similar positions. The theoretical foundation explores the historical and cultural context of women's integration into the workforce, the role of public policies and private initiatives promoting female leadership, and the challenges women still face, such as cultural biases and difficulties balancing personal and professional life. Studies indicate that women's participation in leadership roles is on the rise, but challenges remain. Practical examples, such as those of Laís Xavier and Taciana Medeiros, highlight the relevance and impact of female leadership in the state. The methodology includes exploratory research based on journalistic reports and interviews with women in leadership positions. The interviewees share their career paths, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and the constant pursuit of growth. Lastly, the case study presents the experiences of two businesswomen from Pernambuco, Elaine Ferreira and Juliana Werner, who discuss their success stories and the challenges they face in their respective fields.

Navigating the labyrinth: exploring the experiences of Roma families with child protection services

This article presents findings regarding the experiences of Roma families interacting with child protection services. Using a mixed-methods approach grounded in critical realism, the research team explored the complex dynamics that shape these interactions. The study adopts a critical stance on child welfare, moving beyond dominant individualistic and risk-averse narratives to emphasise the need for contextualising child protection within a broader socio-economic and cultural landscape. Findings reveal that Roma families engaging with child protection services must navigate a labyrinthine institutional environment rooted in Anglocentric values often ill-equipped to support minoritised populations. These interactions, deeply entrenched in socio-economic disparities and cultural biases, routinely place Roma families in adversarial positions with state agents. Rather than being isolated incidents, these systemic barriers exacerbate the already challenging circumstances faced by Roma families.

True Crime Podcasting as Participatory Journalism: A Digital Ethnography of Collaborative Case Solving

True crime podcasts invite their listeners to crowdsource investigations online, solving cases that have fallen through the cracks of the criminal justice system. Through a cultural criminologist lens, this digital ethnography examines The Vanished podcast as a case study of how true crime listeners engage with solving cases in digital community spaces. Previous studies have dismissed true crime fans as pseudo police acting as digital vigilantes. Podcasting communities provide an important public service, working as participatory journalists to investigate the story and report the truth. Rather than depending on law enforcement permission to organize, online crime-investigation communities leverage the Internet’s function as an organizing agent for mobilization beyond the parameters of conventional social structures and formal government agencies. Findings reveal a six-step process of case collaboration between podcast producers, active listeners, and family and friends of missing persons. Other communities can apply this unique system to successfully investigate crime, suggesting implications for individuals within marginalized groups less likely to find justice through the formal legal system.

Gender and educational patterns in the demand and supply of grandparent childcare in Australia

AbstractGrandparents are an important source of childcare worldwide, but international patterns vary. We examine how demographic characteristics of parents, and of grandparents, factor into grandparent care provision considering the cultural assumptions and policy settings Australian families live within. Using the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, we identify determinants of both the demand for and the supply of grandparent childcare in Australia (4266 grandparents and 9822 parents). Results suggest that grandmothers and mothers, as much or more than fathers and mothers, balance their reciprocal participation in employment and childcare. University‐educated grandmothers are more likely to provide regular childcare (at least once a week) and university‐educated mothers are more likely to draw upon it, inconsistent with research in other countries. It appears grandparents are stepping in as both “mother savers” and “system savers,” suggesting a need for more public policy support for Australian working mothers to capitalise on their increasingly high educational attainment.

AI and language change: The case of the hallucinating spellchecker

Key points The formal written register of the English language is subject to change from AI enhanced spellchecking, grammar and style tools. The proprietary AI algorithms are poorly understood and under‐researched. There is potential for cultural biases, unclear memorisation predictors and variability in reproducibility leading to poorly written and grammatically incorrect English. There is room for further study, most likely in an interdisciplinary setting involving linguists and computer scientists, with an attempt to reverse engineer the AI algorithms.

School administrators’ and teachers’ pedagogical responses to demographic change based on their meaning-making of multicultural students in South Korea

ABSTRACT Public schools in South Korea have faced unprecedented changes because of demographic shifts, particularly the influx and growth of three types of ‘multicultural students’: children of married migrant women, foreign workers, and North Korean refugees. In this situation, teachers are challenged to implement educational policies and a standardised national curriculum for those unfamiliar with the Korean language, culture, and education system. This study, conducted between Fall 2022 and Summer 2023, involved interviews with 16 elementary and secondary school administrators and teachers from urban and rural regions. It revealed that teachers’ perceptions and biases about multicultural students significantly influenced their educational practices, resulting from interpretive processes and problematic framing. The data indicate that teachers’ meaning-making and pedagogical responses to multicultural students are insufficient for systematically addressing the structural inequalities and social injustices faced by these students. Ultimately, these teachers’ responses and practices fell short of providing equitable education that South Korea’s multicultural education policies aim for. The study concluded that comprehensive teacher training in cultural competence and bias awareness is essential for bridging the gap between policy and practice. It recommends the development of reflective practices, continuous professional development, and the creation of supportive school environments to enhance multicultural education’s effectiveness.

Toward a liberatory counseling and psychotherapy theories pedagogy and curriculum.

Psychotherapy theories have long been criticized for their White western cultural assumptions (Katz, 1985; Sue et al., 2024). With the growing call to decolonize psychology (e.g., Singh, 2020), we re-envisioned a psychotherapy theories curriculum from a liberation psychology framework (Martín-Baró, 1994). This framework contextualizes and historicizes people's lived experiences and highlights the ways in which oppressed communities have survived and resisted. A liberatory pedagogy for teaching psychotherapy theories involves critical consciousness (concientización; Freire, 1970), which allows students and instructors to bring a critical lens as they learn and discuss theories of counseling and psychotherapy; reflexivity, to locate themselves within the colonial, White supremacist and capitalist structures in which the classroom is situated; and somatic and affective engagement to decenter colonial rationality. The bookend approach (Wright et al., 2022) can be used to interrogate psychotherapy theories (a) as an overarching strategy for the entire course and (b) as a teaching strategy within each week's lesson on a specific theory. It is our hope that students will be equipped to re-envision psychotherapy and healing as located in our collective liberation from oppressive structures. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Can large language models be sensitive to culture suicide risk assessment?

AbstractSuicide remains a pressing global public health issue. Previous studies have shown the promise of Generative Intelligent (GenAI) Large Language Models (LLMs) in assessing suicide risk in relation to professionals. But the considerations and risk factors that the models use to assess the risk remain as a black box. This study investigates if ChatGPT-3.5 and ChatGPT-4 integrate cultural factors in assessing suicide risks (probability of suicidal ideation, potential for suicide attempt, likelihood of severe suicide attempt, and risk of mortality from a suicidal act) by vignette methodology. The vignettes examined were of individuals from Greece and South Korea, representing countries with low and high suicide rates, respectively. The contribution of this research is to examine risk assessment from an international perspective, as large language models are expected to provide culturally-tailored responses. However, there is a concern regarding cultural biases and racism, making this study crucial. In the evaluation conducted via ChatGPT-4, only the risks associated with a severe suicide attempt and potential mortality from a suicidal act were rated higher for the South Korean characters than for their Greek counterparts. Furthermore, only within the ChatGPT-4 framework was male gender identified as a significant risk factor, leading to a heightened risk evaluation across all variables. ChatGPT models exhibit significant sensitivity to cultural nuances. ChatGPT-4, in particular, offers increased sensitivity and reduced bias, highlighting the importance of gender differences in suicide risk assessment. The findings suggest that, while ChatGPT-4 demonstrates an improved ability to account for cultural and gender-related factors in suicide risk assessment, there remain areas for enhancement, particularly in ensuring comprehensive and unbiased risk evaluations across diverse populations. These results underscore the potential of GenAI models to aid culturally sensitive mental health assessments, yet they also emphasize the need for ongoing refinement to mitigate inherent biases and enhance their clinical utility.

Cultural Perceptions of Language Development in a Population Sample of 54-Month-Old Children From Aotearoa New Zealand.

There is a dearth of information on cultural perceptions of children's language development for ethnic minorities in New Zealand to guide service provision. The current study explored differences across ethnicities in mothers' report of language concern and child language scores within a complex cultural, social, educational, and political context. Data from the antenatal and 54-month waves of Growing Up in New Zealand were utilized. At the 54-month wave interviews, 5,053 mothers were asked if language concerns had been raised and to rate their child's main language proficiency along with other measures. Logistic regression models (including influencing variables) indicated Chinese, Indian, and other Asian mothers were less likely to report language concern, whereas Māori, Pacific, other Asian, and Middle Eastern, Latin American, and African children were more likely to score low on the language measure. Higher maternal education was associated with higher child main language scores, but not with language concerns. Child multilingualism was not associated with low language scores, and these mothers were less likely to raise concern. This study demonstrated differences by ethnicity in mothers' language concern and child main language scores, which are likely to affect access to speech-language pathology services, as these typically rely on parent concern being expressed. Cultural bias in the language measure may also be present. Further research is needed to ask ethnic communities their views on culturally appropriate ways to identify children with communication needs and to develop culturally safe services.

Cultural exchange: A case study of Huizhou architecture Yin Yu Tang reassembly in the United States

In 1997, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) acquired the Yin Yu Tang (Hall of Plentiful Shelter), a historic Huizhou building situated in Xiuning County, Anhui province, China. This structure is a significant example of China’s Huizhou architectural heritage. It was shipped to the United States, and underwent meticulous reconstruction at the museum’s premises in Salem, Massachusetts. The objectives of this research were 1) to scrutinize the transplantation of architectural heritage within the Yin Yu Tang project, as well as its related cultural and traditional aspects; 2) to describe how Yin Yu Tang was "revitalized" in a new socio-cultural environment by providing an in-depth interpretation of Yin Yu Tang in a multicultural context; and 3) to examine the essential position of Yin Yu Tang in the overseas dissemination of traditional Huizhou architecture. This study adopts research methods in architectural culturology to conduct an analytical study, gathering information from existing documents in the United States and collecting data through interviews with key individuals in China. It is clearly shown that the "transplantation" of the Yin Yu Tang provides a valuable cross-cultural opportunity for the American public to gain insights into Chinese culture, architecture, customs, and family routines. It also encourages reflection on the importance of preserving historic buildings, not only from an architectural standpoint but also in terms of adapting to evolving values through the lens of architectural culture.

Study on the Dilemma of Rural Women’s Access to Education in China and its Legal Protection

This paper explores the multidimensional challenges faced by rural women in China in accessing education, revealing the root causes of the intersection between urban-rural educational inequality and gender discrimination. While legal and policy reforms have led to some improvements—particularly in the realm of compulsory education, where enrollment rates for rural girls have increased—significant barriers remain, especially in higher education and vocational training. These challenges are rooted in various structural issues, including disparities in educational resources, cultural capital deficiencies, and the persistence of traditional gender roles, all of which disproportionately affect rural women. The paper offers an in-depth analysis of these factors, highlighting the inadequacies of current legal frameworks and the practical difficulties in their implementation. It proposes strategies to improve the situation, such as enhancing legal enforcement, increasing state investment in rural education, addressing societal and cultural biases through gender equality education, and expanding vocational and lifelong learning opportunities tailored to rural women’s needs. The findings suggest that only through a comprehensive approach—integrating legal, policy, and cultural initiatives—can rural women’s educational rights be effectively protected, leading to more equitable educational outcomes, reduced gender disparities, and fostering overall social progress in China.

Revising Gerty MacDowell’s Identity and Agency: An Intersectional Feminist Disability Perspective

Gerty MacDowell’s initial, albeit brief, appearance in James Joyce’s Ulysses has sparked debates regarding her identity and agency. In the critical literature, there are interpretations that characterize Gerty as a woman and disabled person whose actions conform to patriarchal beauty standards that objectify her. This paper argues for revising such readings by applying an intersectional feminist disability perspective attuned to the interconnections between her womanhood and disability. Rather than positing Gerty’s identities as inherently conflicting, I illustrate how her disability and feminine social position co-constitute and transform one another. Her self-care practices aimed at securing a husband, though partly conforming to norms, also foster confidence and counter pervasive cultural assumptions of disabled women as ugly, useless, and asexual. Gerty’s exhibition of sexual desire and pursuit of pleasure likewise contest views of disabled women as unsuitable for romance or unable to be agentic sexual subjects. Furthermore, conceptualizing agency beyond neoliberal notions of rational autonomy acting against all constraints upholds Gerty’s agentic power. She makes strategic use of available discourses and resources to expand her precarious options given material and ideological limitations. Overall, analyzing Gerty’s intersectional experience denaturalizes the reductive models of identity and agency that have dominated Ulysses criticism. Applying fresh perspectives opens new symbolic interpretations of embodied identity and sexuality.

Revealing Cultural Dynamics in WAIS-IV Performance: a Comparative Analysis of Age Cohorts in Taiwanese and U.S. Populations.

This study examined the relationship between culture and cognitive abilities by comparing WAIS-IV subtests, index scores, and Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (FSIQ) scores across various age groups in the Taiwanese and U.S. populations. The Taiwanese and U.S. versions of WAIS-IV are comprehensively compared, examining subtest items, psychometrics, and sample characteristics. Scaled scores are compared by extracting raw scores with a scaled score of 10 from each subtest scale in the Taiwanese version and applying U.S. age norms to acquire U.S. scaled scores. Despite the mean FSIQ score closely aligning with the U.S. sample, notable discrepancies are evident in the Taiwanese Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) score, potentially influenced by cultural fairness of the tests. Significant variations are observed among age cohorts in the Taiwanese sample, with younger individuals excelling in Processing Speed Index, Working Memory Index, Perceptual Reasoning Index, and FSIQ, while maintaining comparable VCI scores to their U.S. counterparts. Conversely, older cohorts demonstrate lower performance across various domains, except for visuospatial reasoning and organizational skills, compared to their U.S. counterparts. These subtest variations robustly correlate with educational disparities between the Taiwanese and U.S. samples. Despite the similarity in factor structures between the Taiwanese and U.S. versions of WAIS-IV, this study reveals cultural bias in both verbal and non-verbal subtests. The study highlights the intricate interplay among cognitive processing styles, cultural influences, and educational factors contributing to performance disparities.

Exploring Culture and Sustainability: Community Participation in Indigenous Tourism in Malaysia

Nowadays, Indigenous tourism contributes to the conservation of cultural heritage and further supports sustainable development for Indigenous communities, which ultimately increases socio-economic well-being. By providing unique cultural experiences, Indigenous tourism gives greater recognition and respect for the culture while also economically benefiting. This paper aims to examine how such dynamics operate in the context of Indigenous tourism from the viewpoint and experiences of Indigenous community members who participated in tourism initiatives. Identifying culture as one of the crucial parameters that determine successful outcomes in this field, this study intends to explore how people participate in sustainable development through tourism and close important gaps using a cultural lens. Numerous databases containing scholarly research, including the Emerald Insights, Science Direct, and Web of Science, have been used in this study. As a response to the ever-growing call for inclusive and respectful tourism, this study aims to contribute valuable insights and geographical relevance to defining policy change, practice modifications, or academic pursuits of Indigenous tourism. The result of this study will fill crucial empirical research gaps in terms of how cultural restoration, tourism management, and community participation can be optimized for sustainable development with nuanced voices that are necessary to drive policy change as well as practice modifications.

Virtual Multiple Mini Interviews: Implementation and evaluation for undergraduate medical, dental, and oral health degrees

Introduction The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) is a widely used method for evaluating non-cognitive skills of applicants to health professions training programs. The COVID-19 pandemic prompted a swift transition to virtual MMIs (vMMIs), with initial indications of their feasibility and acceptability. This novel study describes the implementation and evaluation of a large-scale vMMI model for selection into undergraduate medical, dental, and oral health degrees within an Australian university. Methods A vMMI process was implemented in November 2022, comprising onsite interviewers (n = 450) and remote applicants (n = 1001). Using the online platform Zoom, applicants rotated through six to eight 10-min virtual stations. Acceptability of the virtual process was evaluated using online surveys, completed by interviewers (n = 396) and applicants (n = 255). Results Overall, interviewers (98%) and applicants (96%) reported the vMMI as a positive experience, citing clear information, suitable interview questions, Zoom use, diversity of interviewers, and lack of gender and cultural bias as strengths of the process. Challenges included difficulties with rapport building and the disturbance of background noise. Conclusions A large-scale vMMI for three health programs was successfully implemented and positively evaluated. As the uptake of virtual interviews are likely to increase, this study can provide guidance for institutions planning to implement comparable vMMI processes.

Community Mobilisation for Human Sample Collection in Sensitive Communities: Experiences from Granular Mapping of Schistosomiasis and Soil-Transmitted Helminths in Ekiti State, South West, Nigeria

Community mobilisation is a vital process for raising awareness and increasing participation in healthcare interventions, research, and programmes that require human sample collection and mass management. In this report, we present the community mobilisation approach undertaken for the implementation of the operational mapping and assessment of granular schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminths in Ekiti State, Nigeria. The mobilisation was conducted in 177 communities/wards of the 16 local government areas. A total of 15,340 urine and stool samples were collected in 34 days. The efficacy and success of the strategy were evaluated through the following three performance metrics: community compliance rate, the participant response rate at the community level, and the overall compliance response rate of the four most sensitive LGAs. Community compliance was 93.7% as sample collection was denied in nine communities and two other communities demanded the return of the collected samples despite our mobilisation effort because of cultural bias and myths that connect the collection of stool and urine samples to ritual activities in the local context. The participant response rate at the community level was 86.7%. Three of the four sensitive LGAs (based on previous assessment programmes) demonstrated satisfactory compliance rates of 100%, while a response rate of 64.0% was computed for one of the LGAs. We believe our approach contributed to effective community mobilisation and awareness and that the developed model has the potential to improve participation rates in large healthcare assessments and intervention programmes.

An anthropological critique of psychiatric rating scales

SUMMARY This article discusses sceptical arguments about measurement scales. Measurement scales are part of a promising agenda of openness, transparency and patient and public involvement (PPI) in medical research, but have received critical, sometimes hostile attention from anthropologists. This is because scales repackage localised cultural assumptions about distress as something universal and pan-human and have the capacity to reshape people's interior lives in unhelpful, possibly harmful ways. We take as an example the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9). Use of the PHQ-9 is currently mandated by major funders. But its history suggests flawed PPI and a lack of openness. The article suggests a constructive role for anthropology in mental health research, using ethnographic evidence and theory to show how, although they have their uses, mental health scales should not be regarded as inert or harmless.

On Being a Good Worker, a Good Mother, a Good Carer: Women Journalists, Motherhood, and Caregiving

ABSTRACT This paper examines the relationship between journalism, caregiving, and family-building, focusing on women journalists in Portugal. Drawing on a critical thematic analysis of thirty interviews, it explores an analytic framework that includes cultural, structural, and agentic dimensions of career limitations, organised in three overarching themes. The first examines how women journalists experience work constraints stemming from traditional cultural ideals where women are still the main caregivers and work cultures that perpetuate a male perspective on professional routines. The second theme explores the mismatch between work and care responsibilities that arises from prevailing family structures and work processes. The third theme centres on how women journalists respond to constraints by making choices and developing strategies. Journalists’ reflexive deliberations about career decisions, employment conditions, family life and cultural assumptions underpinning parenthood demonstrate the complex interrelationship between cultural and working structures, organisational materiality, and agency. Together, these dimensions replicate patterns that make journalism more inhospitable for women. A central point in this research is that while a systemic gender bias exists beyond the sector, workplace inequalities are particularly consequential for journalism and democracy.