Knowledge Of Cultural Differences Research Articles

Idea-based and image-based linguacultures

Abstract In order to investigate whether or not cultural cognitive differences between Western and East Asian countries should be taken seriously we compared the empirical results from studies of perception and cognition involving primarily American and Chinese people to linguistic data from exactly the same areas in American English and Mandarin Chinese. What we found were systematic language parallels to the perceptual and cognitive differences found in empirical studies. Our linguistic analysis did not only reveal that the differences should be taken seriously, but also that it seems to be possible to trace them back to different perspectives involved: The Anglo-American culture has an idea-based perspective, while the Mandarin Chinese culture has an image-based perspective to what appears to be a common basis for both Americans and Chinese in all other respects. The difference in perspective is, for instance, reflected in the two very different writing systems.

MODERN TECHNOLOGY AND ITS EFFECT ON MODERNIZING BEDOUIN COMMUNITIES FIELD STUDY IN MARSA MATROUH

ABSTRACT This study aims to identify the variables resulting from the use of modern communication technology and its effect in modernizing the Bedouin community. The researcher used the descriptive approach and blogging because it is the closest approach to achieving the research objectives. The study was descriptive and the data were collected using some anthropological methods, a personal interview tool and questionnaire. This study aims to identify the variables resulting from the use of modern communication technology and its effect in modernizing the Bedouin community. The researcher used the descriptive approach and blogging because it is the closest approach to achieving the research objectives. The study was descriptive and the data were collected using some anthropological methods, a personal interview tool and questionnaire. The researchers used the theory of functional constructivism and the theory of Daniel Lerner and some other theories of modern sociology that explain the impact of modern modern technology on the pattern of relationships and these are the most appropriate approaches to the present study as the use of modern technology that carries many of the programs employed by man in his service, including communication programs It is one of the most important means of mass communication that allows individuals, communities, minorities and the majority to express their views and support it in all ways of expression and thus affect the nature of social relations and also allow the transfer and exchange Knowledge of different cultures. The study resulted in a set of results including: - Most of the 79.5% of the Bedouin have mobile phones and a social media account and spend a lot of time using the Internet - The most important changes associated with the use of modern technology is the nature of social relations - One of the most important variables resulting from the use of modern technology is the waste of time and weak social relations. - The results also indicate the presence of 79% of the holders of telephone and computer users in the Badia community and follow-up multiple television programs and this is evident in uniform for both men and women and some of the phrases used to keep them away from their culture. The study concluded with a number of recommendations including: Using modern technology and staying away from the programs that promoted the cultures of the West that are incompatible with Eastern Arab customs and traditions Raising awareness of the importance of using modern technology especially social networking sites and the damages that can occur

Factors Influencing Low Prevalence of Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Among US Hispanic/Latino Children.

Hispanic/Latino (H/L) children have lower prevalence of neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) than other groups. The explanations for this are complex, but may be related to nativity, language barriers, and lack of access to and utilization of healthcare. Previous research focused on how these factors affect children with NDD, but little research has jointly examined whether these factors predict NDD. This study examines whether social and environmental factors explain low prevalence of NDD in this population. This study uses nationally representative Integrated Public Use Microdata Series National Health Interview Survey data (N = 200,622) and multivariate logistic regression analysis to compare NDD prevalence in white and H/L children (average age of 10.2), and examines whether nativity, healthcare access, healthcare utilization, and language barriers explain this disability disparity. Findings reveal that the H/L NDD disparity is not explained by differences in access to or utilization of healthcare, or as a result of language differences that may create barriers to NDD diagnosis. While H/L children whose sampled adult was born in the USA have lower rates of NDD than whites, H/Ls whose sampled adult were not born in the USA have even lower probability of NDD than H/Ls who were born in the USA. These findings may be a result of cultural differences in knowledge or understanding of what constitutes a disability or the result of differential treatment within the healthcare system among H/Ls. The findings underscore the importance of accessible and culturally appropriate health and clinical care interventions among H/L communities.

Does Exposure to Foreign Culture Influence Creativity? Maybe It's Not Only Due to Concept Expansion.

Multicultural experience refers to those experiences gained through individuals' contact with other cultures. This study focused on exploring whether knowledge of different cultures can improve creative performance-and also how multicultural experiences influenced this performance through changes in individual's physiological mechanisms. Study 1 explored the influence of different cultural priming on creative story-writing tasks. Eighty-nine Chinese college students were randomly assigned to 4 conditions: sole American culture, dual cultures, sole Chinese culture or control condition, and made to watch 45 min slides with cultural elements—including pictures, music and videos,—and then they were asked to complete the creative story-writing task. The results showed that American culture priming group's score was significantly higher than the control condition with regards to the uniqueness and novelty of the creative story-writing task. Study 2 was aimed at exploring the relationship between physiological arousal levels induced by different cultural and creative performance. We divided the whole experiment into five stages,—including the baseline, picture, listening to music, watching video, and completing creative tasks. Through Biofeedback measurement, we recorded the physiological indexes of participants in different groups in every stage, including skin conductance, thermal, electroencephalographic, and heart rate. The results showed that contacting with foreign cultures would increase individuals' physiological arousal level and brain activity, which contributed to the following creative task.

Learning about midwifery in another country from a distance: Evaluation of a virtual classroom learning session

BackgroundStudying abroad promotes cultural awareness and understanding of different healthcare settings and practices but family or financial constraints prevent some students from taking advantage of these opportunities. We developed a virtual classroom learning session to give Danish and Irish midwifery students an opportunity to explore midwifery and maternity care in another country. ObjectivesTo evaluate the content of midwifery students' chat room discussions about the differences in maternity and midwifery care during an international online learning session, and their opinions of the session. Participants27 Danish and 37 Irish undergraduate direct entry midwifery students. MethodsContent analysis of students' chat room discussions and post-session survey. FindingsStudents engaged enthusiastically in the chat room discussions throughout the session. Almost all of the interactivity was between students themselves, and questions raised by students from one country were answered by students in the other country. Discussions centred on the lecture content, rates of interventions and birth outcomes, but developed into broader issues relating to one-to-one midwifery care during labour, factors that facilitate normal birth, national data availability, staffing levels, and financial and cultural aspects of having children at earlier or later ages.In the survey, students described the session as awakening curiosity and a fun way to learn. They found it ‘cool’ to talk with real students from another country, a memorable way of discussing differences between the two maternity care systems and expanding knowledge. Negative comments related to technological problems. ConclusionAn international virtual classroom learning session can give midwifery students insights into midwifery elsewhere, stimulate curiosity and be an engaging way to learn. Our students' experiences show that it can offer a real, engaging and positive learning experience and enrich students' knowledge of cultural differences.

Novelty and Usefulness Trade-Off: Cultural Cognitive Differences and Creative Idea Evaluation

Creativity and innovation have become critical organizational capabilities in today’s global environment, and leveraging creative potential of employees across various cultural contexts has become increasingly important. Although recognized among researchers, cross-cultural differences in creativity are not yet well understood. We contribute to this line of research by constructing a theoretical model that focuses on cultural differences in cognition (i.e., holistic vs. analytic thinking) that affect the evaluation of creative ideas. The cultural cognition perspective allows us to theorize about the interrelationship between an idea’s novelty and its usefulness. We propose that to the extent there is a trade-off between an idea’s novelty and usefulness, cultural differences in cognition will systematically influence the trade-off relationship such that Easterners will perceive a stronger trade-off between novelty and usefulness as compared with their Western counterparts. Such effects of cultural cognition, however, can be reduced by contextual factors of multicultural exposure, cognitive team diversity, and organizational climate for innovation. Our cultural cognition perspective complements the extant cultural value and social norms perspectives on cross-cultural differences in creativity and innovation.

Diversidad de especies naturalizadas del género Opuntia (Cactaceae) utilizadas por los pobladores del norte de Córdoba (Argentina).

La agricultura comprendida como el cultivo y la domesticación de plantas constituye una práctica orientada por el conocimiento botánico de las diferentes culturas. El estudio de la diversidad de plantas cultivadas y domesticadas por un pueblo resulta útil para aproximarse a la comprensión de los intereses subyacentes en torno a las mismas. En Argentina, y en particular en Córdoba, son escasos los trabajos etnobotánicos acerca de las relaciones establecidas entre grupos humanos y las cactáceas, por lo cual en este trabajo se realizó una investigación etnobotánica con los pobladores criollos del norte de la provincia. La metodología utilizada consistió en entrevistas abiertas y semiestructuradas, recorridos por el área de estudio y recolección de material de herbario. Se obtuvo como resultado la identificación de siete etnovariedades diferentes denominadas “tunas” actualmente cultivadas y en proceso de domesticación,de las cuales 6 corresponden a la especie botánica Opuntia ficus-indica (4 a la forma ficus-indica: “Amarilla”, “Cordobesa”, “Italiana” y “Salteña”; y 2 a la forma amyclaea : “Colorada” y “Blanca”), y una a la especie Opuntia robusta (“Cuaresma”). Se registraron los usos de las mismas. A partir de los resultados se registra por primera vez para Córdoba la presencia de O. robusta.

HIV rapid testing in the framework of an STI prevention project on a cohort of vulnerable Italians and immigrants

ABSTRACTIntroduction: Uptake of HIV tests is a challenging issue in vulnerable populations including immigrants, normally using standard diagnostic tools. Objectives of this study were to evaluate the acceptability of HIV rapid test; estimate the percentage of newly HIV diagnoses and evaluate knowledge, attitudes and perception (KAP) about HIV/AIDS and other STIs in a specific set of immigrants and vulnerable population in Rome (Italy). Methods: All immigrant and Italian people, aged 16–70 years, attending the infectious disease outpatient clinic of the National Institute for Health, Migration and Poverty (INMP) in Rome (Italy), during the period December 2012 to December 2013 were enrolled. HIV rapid testing was provided for free and patients were asked to fill in a questionnaire evaluating KAP about HIV/STIs. All patients with risky sexual behaviours or with a recent diagnosis of STIs were invited to come back after 3–6 months and a post-counselling questionnaire was offered. Results: Out of the total sample, 99.2% (n = 825) accepted the “rapid test” and 10 new HIV diagnoses were found (1.22%; 95% CI 0.58%–2.22%). Three hundred and eighty-five participants (47%) answered the entry questionnaire and 58 (15%) completed the follow-up. Overall, we found high knowledge about HIV/AIDS; however, lower educational level and immigrant status were associated with poor knowledge about HIV, other STIs and prevention methods. Immigrants have lower perception of sexual risk and higher prejudice than Italians. Conclusions: Our study showed high acceptance of rapid test in this specific vulnerable population and this allowed to identify new HIV diagnoses in unaware people. Socioeconomic inequalities observed in the KAP questionnaire suggest the need for actions to support the reduction of cultural differences in knowledge of HIV/AIDS and for policies aimed at improving access to health services and preventions programmes of marginalized populations.

East Asian religious tolerance versus Western monotheist prejudice: The role of (in)tolerance of contradiction

Accumulated research has shown that Western Christian religiosity often predicts prejudice toward various kinds of outgroups. On the contrary, initial recent evidence indicates that East Asian religiosity predicts tolerance of various outgroups—except atheists. To understand these differences, we investigated cognitive (intolerance of contradiction) and emotional (disgust) mechanisms possibly mediating the link between religiosity and prejudice versus tolerance. In Study 1 (295 Westerners of Christian tradition), high disgust contamination and, to some extent, intolerance of contradiction mediated the relationship between religiosity and prejudice against ethnic (Africans), religious (Muslims), moral (homosexuals), and convictional (atheists) outgroups. However, in Study 2 (196 Taiwanese of Buddhist or Taoist tradition), religiosity was unrelated to disgust, and predicted low intolerance of contradiction, and thus tolerance of the same religious, ethnic, and moral outgroups—but still not of atheists. Cultural differences in cognition and emotion seem to explain East–West differences in religious prejudice.

The Influence Of Cultural Thinking Style On Consumer Cognitive Complexity Underlying Wine Purchase Decisions

Drawing on the cultural priming paradigm, the purpose of this research is to investigate how cultural differences in cognition affect consumers’ hierarchical cognitive structures underlying wine purchase decision-making process. Means-end chain analyses of French and Korean wine consumers were conducted both at a chronic cultural difference level and at an experimental level in which either analytic or holistic thinking tendency is primed. The results show that the holistic thinking-primed consumers consider broader connections between the key perceptual elements of the means-end chain, resulting in more complex structures of interconnected motives than the analytic thinking-primed consumers. This study provides support for the dynamics of culture-specific thinking styles as the driver of cultural variations in wine consumers’ cognitive complexity in the decision-making process. Important practical implications for international food marketing managers stem from our cross-cultural findings.

Child support and mixed-status families an analysis using the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study

A large body of literature documents the importance of child support for children’s wellbeing, though little is known about the child support behaviors of mixed-status families, a large and rapidly growing population in the United States. In this paper, we use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study to investigate the impact of citizenship status on formal and informal child support transfers among a nationally representative sample of parents who have citizen children. Probit regression models and propensity score matching (PSM) estimators show that mixed-status families are significantly less likely to have child support orders and child support receipt compared to their citizen counterparts. We found that mothers’ knowledge of the child support system increases the probability of establishing paternity. However, cultural differences in knowledge of and perception about the U.S. child support system between mixed-status families and citizen families do not have an impact on the probability of getting a child support order, child support receipt, or in-kind child support. Rather, institutional factors such as collaborations between welfare agencies and child support enforcement agencies as well as state child support enforcement efforts have a significant impact on formal child support outcomes. The results are robust against different model specifications, measure constructions, and use of datasets. These findings have important policy implications for policy makers and researchers interested in reducing child poverty in complex family structures and underscore the need to revisit child support policies for mixed-status families.

Mentorstvo tujim študentom zdravstvene nege: študija primera

Uvod: Multikulturalizem, globalizacija in internacionalizacija predstavljajo neizogiben dejavnik razvoja, ki so mu izpostavljeni tako visokošolski prostor kot klinična okolja. Raziskave kažejo, da klinični mentorji nimajo dovolj multikulturnih kompetenc. Namen raziskave je bil proučiti izkušnje kliničnih mentorjev in visokošolskih učiteljev z mentorstvom tujim študentom.
 Metode: S kvalitativnim pristopom – študijo primera so bile raziskane izkušnje kliničnih mentorjev in visokošolskih učiteljev z mentorstvom tujim študentom zdravstvene nege enega od visokošolskih zavodov. Podatki so bili zbrani januarja 2014, s tehniko skupinskega intervjuja, uporabljen je bil polstrukturiran vprašalnik. V vzorec je bilo vključenih šest kliničnih mentorjev in visokošolskih učiteljev. Pogovori so bili transkribirani in besedilo podrobno analizirano s pristopom indukcije. 
 Rezultati: Odgovori so bili strnjeni v pet glavnih tem: kulturno zavedanje, poznavanje kultur, kulturne spretnosti, medkulturni stiki in želja po kulturni osveščenosti. Kategorije opisujejo izkušnje intervjuvancev v novih kulturah, posebnosti mentorstva, željo po kulturni osveščenosti in jezikovne ovire. V želji po kulturni osveščenosti ugotavljamo vpliv kulture na kakovost zagotavljanja zdravstvene nege, željo po novih znanjih in pozitiven odnos do internacionalizacije praktičnega usposabljanja.
 Diskusija in zaključek: Intervjuvanci navajajo, da je pomembno medsebojno spoštovanje različnih kultur. Izražajo željo po razumevanju drugačnosti, ne navajajo posebnih priprav na izmenjavo tujih študentov. Jezikovna ovira in strah se ob vsakodnevnem stiku s tujimi študenti zmanjša. Raziskava prispeva k boljšemu razumevanju razmer v procesu mentorstva tujih študentov zdravstvene nege.

How Culture Shapes the Reading of Fairy Tales: A Cross-Cultural Approach

Abstract A large body of research consistently found cultural differences in cognition between Westerners and East Asians. We undertook a study to explore whether culture-specific thinking models may influence how German and Chinese children understand fairy tales. By transferring the established theoretical framework of individualism versus collectivism from cultural psychology to literary studies, we hypothesize that readers in western Europe prefer an individualistic-oriented thinking model for character evaluation, adventurous attitude to plot development, as well as concrete time and spatial perception; by contrast, their counterparts in East Asia use social-oriented interpretation styles for character judgment, a self-restrained attitude towards plot development, and a symbolic time and spatial imagination. The method we used relies on questionnaires, item-based analysis and factor analysis to learn about the most salient dimensions for cross-cultural story comprehension. We found differences in all three dimensions of story comprehension, namely character evaluation, plot development, and time/space imagination. The results reveal how culture shapes the way we read and point to the important role of embedded schematic knowledge for story comprehension.

A framework for analysing the local authorities tourism planning in Ireland: A socio-cultural perspective

Tourism inevitably takes people to new places while broadening their perception and knowledge of different cultures and environments. This informative process is an important function of the tourism industry. This study reports on results that form part a postgraduate research thesis, on the levels of planning for the socio-cultural impacts of tourism by local uuthorities in Ireland. Drawing on the theme of sustainable planning for tourism, the authors discuss the concept of socio-cultural sustainability as conveyed by current literature. In addition, the authors investigated every Irish Local Authority County Development Plan (CDP’s), utilising a content analysis approach to identify the level of planning for the socio-cultural impacts of tourism in 2014. CDP’s were found to lack any integration of sustainable tourism indicators, along with any codes of conduct for best practice. Also few local authorities were found to be supporting or implementing tourism certification schemes. All of which local authorities could use to improve their tourism plans from a socio-cultural perspective.

Culture and gambling fallacies.

Euro-Canadians and Chinese typically hold different theories about change; Euro-Canadians often engage in linear thinking whereas Chinese often engage in non-linear thinking. The present research investigated the effects of culture-specific theories of change in two related gambling fallacies: the gambler’s fallacy (GF; the belief that one is due for a win after a run of losses) and the hot-hand fallacy (HHF; the belief that one’s winning streak is likely to continue). In Study 1, participants predicted the outcome of a coin toss following a sequence of tosses. Study 2 involved predicting and betting on the outcome of a basketball player’s shot following a sequence of shots. In Study 1, Asians (mainly Chinese) were significantly more likely than Euro-Canadians to believe that they would win (correctly predict the coin toss) after a series of losses (a non-linear thinking pattern), suggesting greater susceptibility to the gambler’s fallacy. In Study 2, Euro-Canadians were more likely than Chinese to predict outcomes consistent with a basketball player’s streaks (a linear thinking pattern), suggesting greater susceptibility to the hot hand fallacy. By illustrating the role of cultural differences in cognition, these findings contribute to our understanding of why certain cultural groups, such as Chinese, are more susceptible to gambling.

Factors affecting nursing cultural competency in private hospitals at Bangkok, Thailand

Background: Cultural competency is particularly important in healthcare industry nowadays, where cultural beliefs have a significant impact on care access, treatment choices, effectiveness of nursing care, and other aspects of patient care. This study aimed to explore the level of cultural competency and the factors affecting the cultural competency of nurses, from two medium-size private hospitals in Bangkok, Thailand with similarity in therapeutic specialties and other characteristics in three categories: multi-cultural knowledge, attitude towards different cultures and cultural practice in nurses. Methods: This was cross sectional study by interviewing 166 nurses in two hospitals of Bangkok in December 2014. The samples were selected using proportional simple random sampling (SRS) method. The data was collected using a validated, piloted and reliable self-administered questionnaire and analyzed in SPSS 16.0 using descriptive statistics, regression and Chi-square analyses. Results: The analysis showed that the overall level of cultural competency of nurses was classified as low to moderate (75.9% of all nurses scored low multicultural knowledge competency while 63.3% and 71.7% of all nurses scored moderate attitude towards different cultures and cultural practice respectively). It was found that knowledge of different cultures was affected by responsibility, age and level of confidence of the nurses ( p < .05) while attitude towards different cultures was affected by work shift, level of confidence and marital status of the nurses ( p < .05). Further study showed that the level of confidence in communication and nursing care towards foreign patients and the level of attitude towards foreign patients significantly associated with the quality of cultural practice ( p < .05). It was found that level of confidence and attitude had positive correlation with the cultural practice. Conclusions: Study has concluded that the good quality of cultural practice was primarily driven by the positive confidence and attitude while the expedience factors, level of knowledge and other background marginally affected the quality of cultural practice.

English Language in the Development of a Tolerant Person of the Student in a Multi-Ethnic Educational Environment of the University (For Example, Kazan Federal University)

Integration into the world community confronts the Russian education system purpose - education of the individual, having planetary thinking, able to see themselves not only as the representative of the native culture, living in a particular country, but also a citizen of the world, perceiving himself as the carrier and its foreign-language cultures. An important component of the socio-political development of multicultural education is the desire of both Russia and other countries integrate into the global European socio-cultural and educational space, while retaining their national identity. These processes contribute to the transformation of both Europe and Russia as a multilingual space where different languages have equal rights. There is an urgent social need for the organization of purposeful work on the formation of a tolerant person of the student, the system combines knowledge of different cultures, the desire and the willingness to intercultural Polylog. This era of social order urgently requires development of the younger generation of universal values, acculturation of other nations, which increases the motivation to learn foreign languages, associated with the desire to establish and develop contacts with foreign countries. It is English as a language of international communication acts as the major means to realize this idea in a multi-ethnic educational environment of the university. The article presents the results of a study conducted at the Kazan Federal University.

Cognitive processing, language typology, and variation.

Linguistic typological preferences have often been linked to cognitive processing preferences but often without recourse to typologically relevant experiments on cognitive processing. This article reviews experimental work on the possible parallels between preferences in cognitive processing and language typology. I summarize the main theoretical accounts of the processing-typology connection and show that typological distributions arise diachronically from preferred paths of language change, which may be affected by the degree to which alternative structures are preferred (e.g., easier) in acquisition or usage. The surveyed experimental evidence shows that considerable support exists for many linguistic universals to reflect preferences in cognitive processing. Artificial language learning experiments emerge as a promising method for researching the processing-typology connection, as long as its limitations are taken into account. I further show that social and cultural differences in cognition may have an effect on typological distributions and that to account for this variation a multidisciplinary approach to the processing-typology connection has to be developed. Lastly, since the body of experimental research does not adequately represent the linguistic diversity of the world's languages, it remains as an urgent task for the field to better account for this diversity in future work. WIREs Cogn Sci 2014, 5:477-487. doi: 10.1002/wcs.1294 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website. The author has declared no conflicts of interest for this article.

Using Mixed Methods to Examine Perceptions and Willingness to Participate in Bio-specimen Banking in Diverse Asian Americans.

On a large scale, bio-specimen banking offers researchers the ability to newly understand areas like community genetics and to apply new sampling technologies to housed samples. Understanding cultural differences in knowledge and perceptions of bio-specimen banking allows for addressing community concerns and facilitates dissemination of culturally relevant health education. Community-based participatory approaches (CBPA) provide opportunities to solicit community input and to build mechanisms for maximizing outcomes of potential interventions. As part of a larger CBPA project, Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese community members participated in eight focus groups on bio-specimen banking. Demographics and qualitative text were analyzed. The study results indicate that education and English proficiency were the most important predictors of knowledge of bio-specimen banking. Ethnic and age differences also were identified as predictors of knowledge in bivariate analyses. Participants discussed safety in bio-specimen sample collection procedures; processes of tissue removal, including spinal and blood draws; privacy protection; trust in healthcare providers; concerns about genetic research; importance of contributing to science; and family concerns. The diversity of Asian American populations requires that, to increase participation in bio-specimen banking, understanding and addressing community concerns requires health education efforts that improve knowledge of innovations in sampling and cultural tailoring of health education messages. Promotion messages should highlight scientific benefits including possibilities for tailoring medical treatment and new diagnoses. Issues of health information privacy and stigma for communities at risk for certain diseases remain community worries.

Ocular Disease, Knowledge and Technology Applications in Patients With Diabetes

An estimated 25.8 million children and adults in the United States, approximately 8.3% of the population, have diabetes. Diabetes prevalence varies by race and ethnicity. African Americans have the highest prevalence (12.6%), followed closely by Hispanics (11.8%), Asian Americans (8.4%) and whites (7.1%). The purpose of this article was to discuss the ocular complications of diabetes, the cultural and racial differences in diabetes knowledge and the role of telemedicine as a means to reach the undeserved who are at risk of complications. Information on the pathophysiology of ocular disease in patients with diabetes and the role of telemedicine in diabetes care was derived from a literature review. National Institutes of Health online resources were queried to present data on the racial and cultural understandings of diabetes and diabetes-related complications. The microvascular ocular complications of diabetes are discussed for retinopathy, cataracts, glaucoma and ocular surface disease. Racial and cultural differences in knowledge of recommended self-care practices are presented. These differences, in part, may explain health disparities and the increased risk of diabetes and its complications in rural minority communities. Finally, advances in telemedicine technology are discussed that show improvements in metabolic control and cardiovascular risk in adults with type 2 diabetes. Improving provider and patient understanding of diabetes complications may improve management and self-care practices that are important for diabetes control. Telemedicine may improve access to diabetes specialists and may improve self-management education and diabetes control particularly in rural and underserved communities.