Multicultural Groups Research Articles

International and intercultural training on the use of Art Therapy for Dementia Care

Abstract In 2023 more than 55 million people had dementia worldwide, with nearly 10 million new cases every year. Currently art therapy has been widely adopted in the assistance of people with dementia because of the positive outcomes in terms of reducing depressive and behavioural symptoms and of improving the patients’ overall quality of life. In literature there was a knowledge gap on social and health professionals’ training for being able to effectively use art therapy in relation with different origins of people with dementia in a multi-ethnic world. This research aimed to assess the impact of promoting joint international and intercultural training session for social workers and health professionals’ students. The used methodology was a prospective research-intervention study with the conductions of two seasonal schools (Florence - Italy in July and Ankara - Tukey in October 2023) on the use of art therapy in the different stages of dementia disease within the Erasmus+ Project DementiaCare (2021-1-TR01-KA220-HED-000027648). Each seasonal school was attended by 25 students from Italy (5), Portugal (5), Slovenia (5), and Turkey (10) to ensure an international and intercultural approach. Pre- and post- test results showed the increased knowledge of students on the theoretical notions on dementia care and art therapy. Positive opinion on the projects developed by mixed group of students (with representants of the 5 involved universities) manifested the enforcement of their relational competences and skills mutually adapting their way of doing and communication register to the multi-ethnic and multi-cultural group’s needs. Evidence showed how mutual knowledge among social and health professionals with different cultures and their joint training allowed these professionals to be able to provide an integrated and effective assistance to every patient with dementia, personalizing assistance according with their different traditions and historical memories. Key messages • Art therapy has been adopted as non-pharmacological approach in dementia care to mitigate progression of symptoms’ severity, serving as alternative tool for self-expression for patients. • Conducting joint international and intercultural training sessions for social and health professionals in art therapy enabled them to develop a respectful, multi-ethical approach to dementia care.

Enhancing Language Learning and Intergroup Empathy through Multi-User Interactions and Simulations in a Virtual World

In an increasingly globalized world, the development of language skills and intercultural empathy has become crucial for effective communication and collaboration across diverse societies. Virtual worlds offer a unique and immersive environment to address these needs through innovative educational approaches. This study explores the impact of multi-user interactions, group work, and simulations within virtual worlds on language learning and the development of intergroup empathy. Two distinct research projects were conducted, involving 241 participants aged 19–45. The language learning study engaged 116 participants in diverse interactive experiences, while the intercultural study had 125 participants collaborating in multicultural groups and participating in perspective-taking simulations. Both studies employed qualitative data collection methods, including surveys, interviews, and observations. The findings suggest that the combination of networking strategies, collaborative learning, and simulations within virtual worlds contributes to improvements in learners’ language proficiency, confidence, and empathy towards diverse social groups. Participants reported increased motivation and engagement, which was attributed to the immersive and interactive nature of the virtual environments. These studies highlight the importance of collaboration and reflection in facilitating language acquisition and intercultural understanding. Technical challenges were identified as potential barriers to implementation. The results demonstrate the potential of virtual worlds to enhance language education and foster empathy in diverse societies, offering valuable insights for educators and researchers. However, the findings may be limited by the specific contexts and sample sizes of these studies, warranting further research to explore the generalizability and long-term impact of virtual world interventions and not exaggerate the main conclusions.

Perceived cultural humility in supervision group and trainees' cultural responsiveness self-efficacy.

Trainees often express anxieties when working with clients from different sociocultural backgrounds. Group supervision can provide a space to address such concerns, including managing culturally related countertransference and understanding sociocultural factors in issues faced by clients. This process requires critical consciousness and discussion of trainees' and clients' cultural identities. This study built on research highlighting the positive role of cultural humility in individual supervision and group therapy to examine cultural humility in group supervision and its contribution to trainees' self-efficacy in adapting therapy and managing relationship conflicts with a range of clients (i.e., cultural responsiveness self-efficacy), via sociocultural awareness and minimal cultural concealment about themselves and their clients. Ninety-one master's level counseling trainees in Hong Kong from 18 supervision groups in two training programs completed measures of cultural humility, cultural concealment, sociocultural awareness, and cultural responsiveness self-efficacy. Multilevel modeling indicated that, at the within-trainee level, higher group cultural humility was associated with higher sociocultural awareness and lower cultural concealment about themselves and their clients. Greater sociocultural awareness, but not cultural concealment, was, in turn, linked to higher cultural responsiveness self-efficacy. At the between-trainee level, higher group cultural humility correlated with lower trainee cultural concealment, but not sociocultural awareness, which was associated with cultural responsiveness self-efficacy, although no mediation was observed. This study underscores the value of cultural humility in the context of group supervision. Implications for multicultural group supervision are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Spanish translation of the Expert Recommendations for Implementing Change (ERIC) compilation

BackgroundMost implementation science resources (e.g., taxonomies) are published in English. Linguistic inaccessibility creates a barrier to the conduct of implementation research among non-English-speaking populations, so translation of resources is needed. Translation into Spanish can facilitate widespread reach, given the large proportion of Spanish speakers around the world. This research aimed to systematically translate the Expert Recommendations for Implementation Change (ERIC) compilation into Spanish as an exemplar for the linguistic translation process.MethodsUsing the World Health Organization guidelines, this work translated the ERIC compilation strategy names, short definitions, and thematic clusters through a three-step process: 1) forward translation into Spanish by a native Spanish-speaking implementation scientist, 2) back-translation into English by a bilingual global health researcher, and 3) piloting via virtual focus group discussions with bilingual researchers not conducting implementation research. To achieve a generalizable translation, recruitment targeted a multicultural group of Spanish-speaking researchers. At the conclusion of each step, the transdisciplinary research team (N = 7) met to discuss discrepancies and refine translations. The Spanish version of the ERIC compilation was finalized through group consensus. Reflections from research team meetings and focus group discussions were synthesized qualitatively.ResultsGiven that dialectical nuances exist between Spanish-speaking regions, efforts prioritized universally accepted terminology. Team discussions focused on difficult translations, word choice, and clarity of concepts. Seven researchers participated in two focus groups, where discussion surrounded clarity of concepts, alternative word choice for Spanish translations, linguistic formality, grammar, and conciseness. Translation difficulties highlighted lack of precision in implementation science terminology, and the lack of conceptual clarity of words underscored limitations in the application of the compilation.ConclusionsThe work demonstrated the feasibility of translating implementation science resources. As one of the first systematic efforts to translate implementation resources, this study can serve as a model for additional efforts, including translation into other languages and the expansion to conceptual modifications. Further, this work yielded insights into the need to provide conceptual clarity in implementation science terminology. Importantly, the development of Spanish resources will increase access to conduct implementation research among Spanish-speaking populations.

CLIL teacher online professional development in translanguaging and trans-semiotizing: a pedagogy of multiliteracies

ABSTRACT Theories of translanguaging and trans-semiotizing have gained relevance in the design of learning in CLIL classrooms. However, while many studies have shown the benefits of these pedagogies, scarce research has explored CLIL teacher professional development (PD) in this field. In this paper, I intend to measure the effectiveness of an online pedagogy of multiliteracies, which embraces translanguaging and trans-semiotizing, to enhance CLIL teachers’ semiotic awareness to design learning experiences that improve students’ comprehension. The study was conducted on a multicultural group of 200 CLIL teachers from Spain, Colombia and Ecuador. They worked with primary and secondary students in multilingual contexts where a Spanish dialect, or a co-official, an indigenous or a Creole language was the L1, and English the L2. The data were collected from two sources, an initial survey and a final essay. The content analysis of the dataset revealed that the learning intervention positively influenced teachers’ pre-existing beliefs and PD. They showed a more accurate conceptualisation of translanguaging and trans-semiotizing, were more aware of their multimodal literacy practices to make new content comprehensible in CLIL classrooms, and identified potential improvements in their communication processes related to the two concepts.

Enhancing Communication Between Sonographers and Patients in Diverse Cultural Settings via Digital Human Role-Playing

Effective communication skills are essential for sonographers to build trust, to explain examination procedures to the patient in non-technical terms, to alleviate anxiety and gain patient consent and collaboration, and to provide information at a pace suitable for the patient. In order to communicate effectively, the sonographer needs to be able to communicate empathetically, adjusting their communication style to meet the needs of different audiences. This is particularly challenging when working with a diverse and multicultural group of patients where the risk of misinterpretation is higher. Students are provided with the opportunity to practice dialogues with virtual patients that are able to interact as real human beings, communicating concerns, emotions, and moods both at a verbal and non-verbal level. Coaching through digital humans accelerates learning from experience without the risks associated with learning in the field.

“We are not invited”: Australian focus group results on how to improve ethnic diversity in trials

ObjectivesLack of ethnic diversity in trials may contribute to health disparities and to inequity in health outcomes. The primary objective was to investigate the experiences and perspectives of ethnically diverse populations about how to improve ethnic diversity in trials. Study Design and SettingQualitative data were collected via 16 focus groups with participants from 21 ethnically diverse communities in Australia. Data collection took place between August and September 2022 in community-based settings in six capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Darwin, and one rural town: Bordertown (South Australia). ResultsOne hundred and fifty-eight purposively sampled adults (aged 18–85, 49% women) participated in groups speaking Tamil, Greek, Punjabi, Italian, Mandarin, Cantonese, Karin, Vietnamese, Nepalese, and Arabic; or English-language groups (comprising Fijian, Filipino, African, and two multicultural groups). Only 10 participants had previously taken part in medical research including three in trials. There was support for medical research, including trials; however, most participants had never been invited to participate. To increase ethnic diversity in trial populations, participants recommended recruitment via partnering with communities, translating trial materials and making them culturally accessible using audiovisual ways, promoting retention by minimizing participant burden, establishing trust and rapport between participants and researchers, and sharing individual results. Participants were reluctant to join studies on taboo topics in their communities (eg, sexual health) or in which physical specimens (eg, blood) were needed. Participants said these barriers could be mitigated by communicating about the topic in more culturally cognizant and safe ways, explaining how data would be securely stored, and reinforcing the benefit of medical research to humanity. ConclusionParticipants recognized the principal benefits of trials and other medical research, were prepared to take part, and offered suggestions on recruitment, consent, data collection mechanisms, and retention to enable this to occur. Researchers should consider these community insights when designing and conducting trials; and government, regulators, funders, and publishers should allow for greater innovation and flexibility in their processes to enable ethnic diversity in trials to improve.

E-헬스 리터러시의 국내 연구 동향 분석

This study was conducted to understand the trends in domestic research on e-Health literacy which is considered a key strategy for achieving health equity, and to propose future practical research directions related to e-Health literacy. The research methodology employed a scoping review based on the methodological framework of Arskey & O'Malley. Six electronic databases were utilized to target domestic research published until June 2023, and 63 studies were analysed. The results indicated an increasing trend in domestic research on e-Health literacy since 2010, with a focus on quantitative research designs and studies targeting the adult population. E-Health literacy was predominantly measured using a modified version of Norman & Skinner's eHEALS. The most frequently cited related variables included age, educational level, and economic status. Health behaviors were confirmed as a major outcome variable influenced by e-Health literacy. To promote health behavior and health equity, future research should focus on e-Health literacy capabilities and health information vulnerable populations such as the elderly and multicultural groups.

A Comprehensive Literature Review of Global Leadership Styles: Assessing Universality and Impact on Workforce Motivation

In the contemporary landscape of global business, the dynamics of leadership within multicultural organizations have become increasingly complex. The emergence of globalization has brought new workplace realities that require a better understanding of how to lead and motivate groups to maximize the quality of multicultural group work. While the concept of leadership is inherently universal, transcending borders, and epochs, the diversity of cultures and settings prompts exploration into distinct leadership traits and approaches. This prompts the fundamental question of whether leadership styles possess universal applicability and how the leadership styles can serve as motivating factors in multicultural settings. The study delves into an extensive literature to unravel the intricacies of leadership embedded in various models. It explores the global, cultural, and social contexts within different leadership models considering the global, cultural, behavioral, and contextual dimensions, questioning the extent to which universal leadership principles can be applied in a global context. The interplay of diverse cultures and settings requires a thoughtful consideration of unique leadership approaches. By examining the complexity of leadership, the study contributes to the ongoing discourse on the adaptability and universality of leadership principles in multicultural organizations, emphasizing that leadership is not merely a conceptual framework but a lived reality.

Intermediate Transcultural Space (ITCS) An intergenerational and multicultural approach to violence and trauma in New Caledonia

This article reports findings from four group experiments in New Caledonia. They have as a common denominator: the ‘Intermediate Transcultural Space’ as inspired by Winnicott (1971) that all feature the themes of violence, the influence of culture and support group therapy. They all take place over a period of 10 years of practice. I continued to develop each of these group formats until I eventually arrived at an intergenerational, multicultural group for adolescents with a record of violence and criminal offences who fell within the remit of the French Child and Youth Judicial Protection Service along with the Kanak Custody Senate. The group offers an accessible landing stage that allows the young people to move forward along the long road of restoring self-esteem, and transforming their trauma and violent behaviour.

Social Cohesion in Multicultural Groups, Case Study: Jouybareh District, Isfahan, Iran

Social Cohesion in Multicultural Groups, Case Study: Jouybareh District, Isfahan, Iran

A preliminary study of intensive transgender-specific cultural competency training: Implications for social workers and psychologists who work with rural transgender clients

Rural transgender individuals face heightened disparities relative to other transgender individuals. However, social workers and psychologists receive minimal training in transgender client care. The current study used one-way repeated measures ANOVAs to investigate the effectiveness of transgender-specific cultural competency training for social workers and psychologists working with rural clients to improve knowledge, awareness, and self-efficacy (i.e., competency) concerning transgender clients’ needs. Results indicated significant differences in the change of competency among participants assigned to a transgender-specific group compared to those assigned to a general multicultural group. Thematic analysis of participants’ responses to course evaluations also supported the course effectiveness.

Learning from peers’ diverse knowledge and experience. Findings from internationalising a course for medical students

ABSTRACT This study reports on the outcomes of internationalising a course on Nutrition for medical students. Two interventions towards internationalised learning experience included: 1) introducing new readings and activities that invited students to consider geographical and cultural factors of dietary recommendations and 2) asking students to suggest an intervention for a hypothetical patient with a nutritional problem through discussing the assigned case in purposefully mixed groups. Changes were made both in the group that predominantly consisted of home students (N = 18) and the group of international students (N = 21). The interventions encouraged an increase in student awareness of the cultural and geographical contexts of nutrition. Students learnt through sharing diverse knowledge and experience and recognised peer learning experience as useful and enjoyable. The innovation achieved more impact in the group of international students than in the group of home students, in which diversity and previous experience from learning in multicultural groups was low.

Household food waste and theory of planned behavior: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

The darker side of food behavior is that millions of tons of food have been shown the doors of garbage. Therefore, food waste behavior needs an eye to look upon. The purpose of this research is to inculcate the concept of systematic literature review along with meta-analysis in order to examine the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) with respect to food waste behavior. The methodology includes Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) that is conducted for the identification, screening, and inclusion of studies. In all, twenty-six independent studies with (N = 13373) met the inclusion criteria. For validating the related literature, random-effects meta-analysis has been applied for ascertaining the average correlation among the variables. More specifically, the present study also examines the sub-group analysis effect among TPB variables. The findings reveal that the strongest association was observed between Attitude and Intention followed by Subjective Norm(SN) and Intention(INT), Perceived Behavioral Control(PBC) and Intention, and Intention and Behavior. Furthermore, the subgroup analysis using multi-cultural groups explores the highest composite correlation in the case of other cultural groups that included countries like Canada. The outcomes of the present study seek to serve in the best interest of households, event management stakeholders, and food policy makers.

Plating for health: A cross-cultural study of the influence of aesthetics characteristics on food evaluation

The global increase in obesity rates has prompted the implementation of numerous nutritional policies and interventions aimed at improving dietary habits. This study proposes an innovative approach that can guide future research on promoting dietary health. Specifically, the present study investigates the impact of plating aesthetics on the evaluation of healthy and unhealthy foods by consumers from Eastern and Western cultural backgrounds. The study collected valid data from 181 Chinese participants and 177 participants from the USA. The results indicated that both Easterners and Westerners agreed that the healthy foods plated with classical aesthetics appeared healthier than those plated with expressive aesthetics. Furthermore, for healthy foods, Western participants expected classical aesthetics plating as tastier than expressive plating, whereas Eastern participants expected expressive aesthetics plating to be tastier than classical plating. In conclusion, the results suggest that the type of plating aesthetics can influence consumers’ evaluation of different foods, and this evaluation differs depending on cultural background. Thus, aesthetic plating may be an ally in the worldwide promotion of healthy eating when combining healthy food with an aesthetic plating design that maximizes food enjoyment for multicultural groups.

APAF awards reflect MH awareness among multicultural groups

Recognizing local organizations for innovative efforts to raise awareness of mental illness in underserved and multicultural communities was the crux of the annual awards presented by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) at the APA's annual meeting last month.

Group Dynamics in Multicultural Group Counseling

Group dynamics are important in multicultural group counseling. Group leaders can create an inclusive and supportive environment for group members to broaden their understanding of diversity, and improve collective psychological well-being. This research is qualitative research where researchers are directly involved in group counseling activities. Members of the group consist of 10 people of various ethnicities. Data were taken through interview and observation techniques and analyzed using inductive analysis techniques. The results showed that group dynamics in multicultural group counseling can be carried out at the early stage, transition stage, activity stage, and termination stage. Group leaders must improve their multicultural ability to overcome obstacles in the implementation of multicultural group counseling by adding insight related to cultural values and diversity of light games that can accommodate the cultural diversity of group members.

Exploring the Relationship between Learning Strategies Used in Language Learning

Learning a language has never been an easy task for most learners and students performance greater differ in a single classroom despite being taught by the same teacher and expose to the same materials. Therefore, the main issue for this could possibly be due to the students’ own learning strategies that is causing them to excel or underperform in language learning. In the context of a Malaysian classroom, this needs to be understood as academicians are dealing with a multi-cultural group of students from various economical background that would definitely have an impact on how the learn a language. Therefore, this study aims to learn and answer the general question of how students’ learning strategies affect the process of how they learn languages. More specifically, this quantitative study is done to explore motivation factors for learning among undergraduates students from Universities in Malaysia. A purposive sample of 129 participants responded to the survey which was distributed via Google form. The results indicate that metacognitive self-regulation can positively impact learning by helping individuals monitor and adjust their learning strategies, identify areas where they need to improve their understanding, and set goals to guide their study activities. This finding is important as it can assist academicians to understand why some students are not performing in language learning and design a more systematic checklist for the students to monitor their own learning process.

Perspectives in AE: Employing Positive Priming in Civic Integration Classes for Adult Immigrants

Positive priming encourages adult immigrant students to become more involved in their learning activities and increases their chances of success in their host society. The use of priming effects in teaching adult immigrants, however, is not sufficiently explored in the educational literature. This article therefore fills this gap by presenting a pedagogical strategy consisting in using positive priming activities in civic integration classes to develop a positive mental attitude in students. The paper explains how the effect of positive priming can be achieved by engaging adult students in sharing their positive impressions and experiences in the host society. The practical strategies discussed were tested in multicultural groups composed of men and women and they can be used by educators to animate civic integration courses as well as instructors working with adult students in other programs.

Value foundations of the multiple self and reflexive choice as student’s resources in stress resistance and adaptation in multicultural groups

Introduction. The present research is dedicated to an urgent problem of investigating the stress experience and adaptation by students studying in a multicultural environment of modern universities. In the course of studying the resources for stress resistance and adaptation, the authors analysed Chinese and Russian students’ value priorities and value realisation based on the concept of multiple self. The relevance of the chosen approach is based on the existence of intrapersonal value conflict experienced by students studying in the multicultural university environment and interaction with representatives of other cultures.Aim. The current research aims to conduct cross-cultural analysis of values of the multiple self and the reflective choice of Chinese students in the context of stress experience and adaption to stressfulsituations in a new culture, and students from Russia studying in the environment of multicultural interaction.Methodology and research methods. The authors used a comparative analysis of the significance of values and their realisation among representatives of different cultures in the situation of experiencing stress and adaptation to stressful situations in the multicultural educational environment.Results and scientific novelty. The study allowed the authors to analyse the factors of successful adaptation to a different culture on the sample of Chinese and Russian students studying in the same multicultural environment. The research revealed values specific for students from different culture groups with a high level of adaptation to the multicultural environment of a modern university: health, art, career, power, education for students from China, freedom and friendship for students from Russia. Cultural-specific differences were found in the successful realisation of personal value standards in the field of love (more achievable for the group of Chinese students) and freedom (more achievable for Russian students). Cultural groups with varying degrees of adaptation to the multicultural environment of the university were identified and analysed. The obtained results on specifics of students’ adaptation to the multicultural educational environment could be used as the basis for a differential approach to further cross-cultural studies.Practical significance. The analysed specifics of the reflection on the value priorities from different substructures of the multiple self and the established differences in the realisation of personal value standards of students from China and Russia can be used in the consulting practice of cultural adaptation centres.