Influence Of Traditional Beliefs Research Articles

Afrika: ispol'zovanie okkul'tnyh praktik v hode grazhdanskih vojn i konfliktov

The paper considers the influence of traditional beliefs on political processes and the nature of military operations during armed conflicts in contemporary Africa. The authors’ attention is focused on the administration of magic rituals and rites of initiation and immunization to members of tribal militias and rebel groups, aimed at maintaining their cohesion, commitment, fearlessness and, ultimately, achieving military success.

Awareness challenges of mental health disorder and dementia facing stigmatisation and discrimination: a systematic literature review from Sub-Sahara Africa.

BackgroundMental health disorders (MHD) are leading causes of disabilities. Awareness of MHD in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is crucial to both health care professionals and general community if those affected by MHD are to be allowed to live in dignity and be socially included, rather than being treated as outcasts or witches, as is presently the case. Therefore, this review aims to map and summarise the extent to which awareness of MHD and dementia in SSA challenges stigmatisation issues.MethodsA systematic review was conducted using electronic databases (PubMed, CINAHL, PsycINFO). A content analysis of selected studies was performed. Findings on awareness challenges and stigmatisation were identified and categorised.ResultsA total of 230 publications were screened, 25 were selected for this review. The results demonstrate strong supernatural beliefs influencing peoples’ perceptions of diseases. These perceptions promote stigmatising attitudes towards people with MHD and dementia. The education level correlated with stigmatising attitudes, whereby higher educated people were less likely to distance themselves socially from people with MHD and from people living with dementia (PwD). Astonishingly, even people educated in health issues (eg, nurses, medical practitioners) tended to have strong beliefs in supernatural causations of diseases, like witchcraft, and hold negative attitudes towards MHD and PwD.ConclusionsThis review provides some evidence on the influence of traditional beliefs on MHDs in SSA. Those beliefs are powerful and exist in all segments in SSA-communities, promoting superstitious perceptions on diseases and stigmatisation. Awareness and education campaigns on MHD are absolutely mandatory to reduce stigmatisation.

Influence of Traditional Beliefs on Agricultural Activities of Women in Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State

The study investigated the traditional beliefs in Ogbia, and how they influence the agricultural activities of women in the area. It determined the nature and forms of these traditional beliefs, and their influence on the women involved in agriculture. A sample of 200 women were randomly selected from ten communities . The instrument for data collection was a 24 item questionnaire, titled, the influence of traditional beliefs on agricultural activities of women in Ogbia, its face validity was done by two experts in the field of community development, while a reliability coefficient of 0.75 was established using Cronbach Alpha test. 200 copies of it, were distributed to elicit responses from the respondents, while 187 copies were received and used for data analysis, using percentage and mean. The study, revealed that. Ogbia women are very religious: 85.03% and 14.97% are Christians and traditional worshipers respectively. It discovered that most women are into farming mainly to feed the family. It was also found that, traditional beliefs in Ogbia, prevent women from growing certain crops ,fishing in “certain” lakes, processing of some crops , farming on days regarded as sacred and taking part in some farm activities like land preparation. . The study revealed a significant negative relationship between traditional beliefs and agricultural activities of women. It was recommended that women’s access to production resources such as land, credit and appropriate technologies, be improved so as to enhance their capacity in food production among others.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY LEADERS’ PERSPECTIVES ON CHILD HEALTH AND MORTALITY AND INEQUITY ISSUES IN RURAL EASTERN INDONESIA

Since 2001 a decentralization policy has increased the responsibility placed on local government for improving child health in Indonesia. This paper explores local government and community leaders' perspectives on child health in a rural district in Indonesia, using a qualitative approach. Focus group discussions were held in May 2013. The issues probed relate to health personnel skills and motivation, service availability, the influence of traditional beliefs, and health care and gender inequity. The participants identify weak leadership, inefficient health management and inadequate child health budgets as important issues. The lack of health staff in rural areas is seen as the reason for promoting the use of traditional birth attendants. Midwifery graduates and village midwives are perceived as lacking motivation to work in rural areas. Some local traditions are seen as detrimental to child health. Husbands provide little support to their wives. These results highlight the need for a harmonization and alignment of the efforts of local government agencies and local community leaders to address child health care and gender inequity issues.

The influence of traditional beliefs on Vietnamese college lecturers’ perceptions of face

In an East Asian context heavily influenced by Confucian ideas on principles for living and behaving, ‘face’ plays a significant role in Vietnamese people’s thinking and behaviour. In the context of education, Vietnamese teachers’ concerns of saving face in classrooms have been implicitly taken for granted but not yet seriously examined in academic research. The paper addresses this gap in the research literature by presenting the results of interviews with 15 lecturers in a Vietnamese Teacher Training College. It is argued that the concepts of face and saving face are significant to the participants and their ideas of saving face are largely influenced by traditional Confucian standards in education. In particular, teachers are believed to save face by upholding the belief that they represent an unquestionable source of knowledge, maintaining a ‘noble distant image’ in relations with their students, and receiving respectful behaviours from their students. These beliefs could be one source of resistance to educational reforms regarding interactive pedagogies in Vietnamese higher education. It is argued that teachers’ concerns of saving face in Vietnamese classrooms deserve more attention from educational planners and researchers.

The influence of traditions on motivated collective actions: A focus on Native land reclamation.

The current study examined the influence of traditional cultural beliefs on participation in actions aimed at fending off a threat to a sociocultural group. Specifically, the study (N 157) focused on actions aimed to reclaim land taken from Native communities. Results revealed that support for traditional beliefs was associated with an increase in the perceived value of the outcomes of collective actions, which in turn was associated with a more favourable attitude toward these actions and intentions to engage in them. The influence of traditional beliefs was independent of the degree of group identification. The study also drew on an indigenous approach, using the Native symbol of the medicine wheel to explore how individuals saw themselves in relation to the land claim. The theoretical implications of the results for research on collective action, along with their implications for the study of Native identity and for the social issue of land reclamation, are discussed.

Perception of illness and the use of health care givers among cervical cancer patients at Songkla Nagarind Hospital; A study in southern Thailand

Cervical cancer is one of the leading causes of death among women in Thailand. It also has been observed that women who suffered from the illness seek care from various types of care givers including doctors, herbalists, and spiritual mediums. This article has two major aims. The first aim is to describe the types of healers from whom women seek care. The second aim is to explain women's perception of the illness regarding etiology, time and onset of symptoms, pathophysiology, course of illness, and treatment. One hundred and twenty women who sought treatment at Songkla Nagarind Hospital, a teaching hospital in southern Thailand, were interviewed. An interview schedule that consisted of both open-ended and close-ended questions was designed and used in the in-depth interview. Results showed that most women who suffered from cervical cancer illness at the hospital were from low socioeconomic levels. Approximately 50% of the women received care from both western-trained care givers and other types of care givers such as those who were traditionally trained and themselves. The number of care givers ranged from one to eight persons. The average number of care givers was four per woman. The initial symptom for the women in the study was abnormal vaginal discharge. The cervical cancer caused physical and psychological problems. Seventy percent of the women recognized they would die if the illness was not treated. Most women had a positive attitude about the illness if they were treated. About 80% perceived that they would be cured regardless of the method of treatment used.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

6. The Caribbean

BOURGUIGNON and DAVIDSON each discuss possession states, the one for Haiti, the other for Cuba. In their discussions they indicate that a more refined theory for such states is developing. From Martinique, the BOGHENS depict the influence of traditional beliefs on symptomatology and treatment.