Culture-specific Aspects Research Articles

The Value of Intertextuality in Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners and Naipaul’s The Mimic Men

Studies on comparative literature have been fragmentary concentrating on one or two aspects of the thematic concerns of novels without emphasizing the concepts of divergent and convergent intertextuality. This paper aims to revisit Selvon’s The Lonely Londoners re-reading it in dialogue with Naipaul’s novel The Mimic Men. The selected novels are controversial. Criticism deployed on all fronts conveys the pluralities and oppositions that are in fact the novels’ hallmarks. Yet, the aspects criticized attest to, and confirm, the authors’ taking of the less trodden track. The comparative analysis within the scope of this paper will show that Naipaul’s and Selvon’s fictional representations of creolized Trinidadian and English societies highlight specific cultural and linguistic aspects and that intertextuality is either convergent or divergent. For instance, the structure of Naipaul’s text takes as much from Caribbean orature and the wake of Caribbean plantation culture. However, Selvon’s novel takes the form of flashbacks. Naipaul innovates and transforms Selvon’s structure to generate a Caribbean context, par excellence. Traces of Selvon’s style are present in Naipaul’s corrosive voice of representing Caribbean identity. Naipaul brings to an apotheosis the creative force already illustrated in the remarkable works of Selvon. This paper aims to track these traces and foreground the idea that texts can speak to each other. More significantly, this paper assesses the main characters’ fates to re-question the status of creoles, a status deliberately put between parentheses, denying them the right to voice their hybrid identities. Above all, the close textual reading of Galahad’s and Singh’s stories is meant to value the trope of intertextuality.

Determinants of Weight-Related Behaviors in Male Saudi University Students: A Qualitative Approach Using Focus Group Discussions.

Obesity is a serious public health concern in the Gulf States. Students are exposed to many unhealthy weight-related behaviors due to college life. However, research that gives insight into regional and culture-specific aspects and determinants of weight-related behaviors in students is lacking. The purpose of this study was to explore the potential determinants of weight change, eating behaviors, physical activity, sedentary behaviors, and sleep behaviors in Saudi university students. Five semi-structured focus group discussions guided by Social Cognitive Theory were conducted, consisting of 33 male university students 20 to 22 years old. The data were transcribed, coded, and organized according to themes. The students reported weight gain due to personal, social, and environmental factors related to university lifestyle, such as unhealthy eating behaviors, low physical activity, high sedentary behaviors, and inadequate sleep. Both eating behaviors and physical activity shared similar personal aspects found in other studies, such as knowledge, stress, lack of time, and lack of motivation. However, there were some unique social and environmental factors in the region, such as the social norms, cultural aspects, weather conditions, passive transport dependency, and khat consumption, compared with studies worldwide. Such differences are key factors to developing effective interventions in the future.

Titkok, megfigyelés és töredékek: a kortárs dokumentumfilmek a posztszocialista Európa regionális brandjére vonatkozó kihívásai

A shared characteristic of the new generation of contemporary documentary filmmakers from post-socialist Europe is their strategic appropriation of recognizable narrative tropes broadly associated with Eastern Europe. Appropriating these tropes allows filmmakers to brand their works as authentic representations of the region and increases the probability of securing international funding, distribution, and viewership. However, many filmmakers remain cognizant and critical of these stereotypes, and find ways to destabilize them over the course of their films. Directors such as Bojina Panayotova, Mila Turajlić, and Lisbeth Kovacic have mobilized common themes such as surveillance and spying, secrets, and divided spaces and identities within their self-reflexive, first person and polyvocal films in order to propel their narratives forward while also deconstructing rigid conceptualizations of post-socialist European identities. They offer promising examples of how post-socialist European documentary filmmakers can address the specific historical, political, and cultural aspects of the region while refusing immutable articulations of national or regional identities.

HEALTHCARE INTERPRETING: FILLING THE TRAINING GAP TO ACHIEVE REQUIRED COMPETENCES

At a time when societies are becoming more demographically diverse, the employment of professional interpreters to facilitate communication between healthcare practitioners and patients is of great benefit to both patients and the healthcare system. However, as an emerging profession, the definition of the professionalism of practitioners is not very clear, and there are gaps in the training they receive. Taking this into account, this article is mainly divided into two sections. Firstly, we analyse the models about interpreting competence made by different researchers, find their respective characteristics, and integrate them to obtain a model of competence applicable to healthcare interpreting. Secondly, we take Spain as an example of a recent immigration country with a long history of interpreting training. Based on the above mentioned competence model we have analysed syllabi of all formal training courses on interpretation and those representative informal training ones to explore whether they can meet student training needs regarding the requirements of stakeholders. The research results show that due to the limited diversity of language combinations, there is a shortage in thematic knowledge, terminology referring to specific cultural aspects corresponding to each language and the development of corresponding strategic competence. Furthermore, the development of the healthcare (thematic) subcompetence seems to be still an unfinished business. In order to fill these gaps, we have put forward recommendations to the establishment of a complete training system for the long run, as well as a fast-reacting and more feasible option that can be implemented at an earlier stage. Keywords: healthcare interpreting, interpreting competence, training gap

Co nas łączy, a co dzieli? Stereotyp domu w języku polskim, serbskim i rosyjskim

The artricle compares the concept of home/house in Polish, Serbian, and Russian. It is a continuation of research carried out by the authors within the EUROJOS project and the volume on home/house of the Axiological Lexicon of Slavs and their Neighbours. The analysis aims to identify the common conceptual base, as well as the culture-specific aspects that distinguish each of the languacultures under scrutiny. The relevant cultural concepts in the three languacultures share a common base image but are distinguished through their culture-specific characteristics. That base is universal: rather than being limited to the Slavic context, it can be found in other languages, sometimes very distant ones. In Polish, Serbian, and Russian, home is above all viewed as a non-material, social, and functional value, as a community of people that share it, one that provides the sense of security and unconditional acceptance. Common features are also found in the network of relationships triggered by each cultural concept in question, such as the notion of family. The culture-specific content, in turn, derives from different historical and cultural conditions: those contribute to the peculiarities of the Polish patriotic manor, the Serbian Kosovo, or the Russian communal apartments. These specific cultural concepts reflect changes in the culture, mentality, and worldview in each languaculture.

CULTURAL CONTENTS IN SPEAKING MATERIALS AND ACTIVITIES FOR TENTH-GRADERS

EFL textbooks should be valued based on their visual illustration and based on their cultural background and goals of EFL learning. The study aimed to report the results of a textbook analysis to identify which type of culture and what themes of culture were introduced in the tenth graders of Indonesian senior high school. Theory of cultures proposed by Cortazzi Jin (1999) and Chen Lee (2004) were adapted for examining specific aspects of culture under formal culture and aspects of life culture. The analysis revealed that the percentage of source culture (45,7%) and unidentified culture (42,9%) is the same in the textbook. The textbook was dominated by source culture content among identified cultural content, while international culture (5,7%) and target culture (5,7%) contained a small percentage. It was also found out that among the 19 cultural themes under formal culture and aspects of life culture, the researcher found four themes such as lifestyle, gestures, and holiday under aspects of life culture and only history under formal culture. The predominant theme was aspects of life culture of lifestyle.

Knowledge sharing among academics: why organizational narcissism in higher education matters?

PurposeThis paper aims to analyse the effects of organizational narcissism on four knowledge-sharing aspects among academics: publications, personal interactions, organizational communication and network interaction.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses a sample of 288 research groups from public and private universities in Colombia. The study used structural equations by the partial least squares method (PLS).FindingsThe results indicate that organizational narcissism has a positive and significant influence on the four knowledge-sharing aspects analysed. The greatest effect of organizational narcissism is generated in organizational communication, followed by personal interactions, network interaction and publications.Originality/valueThis work contributes to developing the emerging theoretical perspective which gives greater attention to the analysis of organizational behaviours considered strategic given their potential to dynamize knowledge sharing as opposed to focusing on how publications are affected by fragments or specific aspects of organizational culture. The findings show organizational narcissism is one of such strategic behaviours. Moreover, the study sheds light on the controversy between positions for and against organizational narcissism, and the results contradict previous studies that highlight the negative repercussions of this organizational behaviour on publications. In addition, our work provides a perspective that allows for a broader view in evaluating the actual extent of the impact of organizational narcissism, which is not exclusively limited to the publication dimension. In this way, the research horizons of organizational narcissism are also expanded, as regrettably it was long seen as a phenomenon that occurred almost exclusively in the business context.

Games and Fieldwork in Agriculture: A Systematic Review of the 21st Century in Economics and Social Science

Games are particularly relevant for field research in agriculture, where alternative experimental designs can be costly and unfeasible. Games are also popular for non-experimental purposes such as recreating learning experiences and facilitating dialogue with local communities. After a systematic review of the literature, we found that the volume of published studies employing coordination and cooperation games increased during the 2000–2020 period. In recent years, more attention has been given to the areas of natural resource management, conservation, and ecology, particularly in regions important to agricultural sustainability. Other games, such as trust and risk games, have come to be regarded as standards of artefactual and framed field experiments in agriculture. Regardless of their scope, most games’ results are subject to criticism for their internal and external validity. In particular, a significant portion of the games reviewed here reveal recruitment biases towards women and provide few opportunities for continued impact assessment. However, games’ validity should be judged on a case-by-case basis. Specific cultural aspects of games might reflect the real context, and generalizing games’ conclusions to different settings is often constrained by cost and utility. Overall, games in agriculture could benefit from more significant, frequent, and inclusive experiments and data—all possibilities offered by digital technology. Present-day physical distance restrictions may accelerate this shift. New technologies and engaging mediums to approach farmers might present a turning point for integrating experimental and non-experimental games for agriculture in the 21st century.

The experience of psychosis and recovery from consumers' perspectives: An integrative literature review.

INTRODUCTION: Psychosis is a distressing disorder. Consumers' perspectives about their experiences of psychosis and recovery are essential aspects of mental health nursing. To review contemporary evidence related to consumers' experiences of and recovery from psychosis. An integrative review was the method used; six databases were systematically searched. Of the 157 articles screened, 14 met the inclusion criteria and were assessed for quality using Joanna Briggs Institute Appraisal tools. Data were compared, classified and integrated. Findings revealed that consumers' experiences of psychosis included issues with self-expression and language, psychosocial problems and stigma. Also, consumers' experiences associated with their recovery were reported, and this included their perspectives on the enablers and barriers that they encountered. Consumer's experiences of and recovery from psychosis provide an essential basis for managing and working with people experiencing psychosis. Further research identifying the potential effects of gender and culture into consumers' lived experiences is required. Exploring the experience of someone with psychosis will help nurses to understand the impacts of this condition. This understanding can guide nurses to apply recovery-oriented practices. Specific aspects of psychosis experience, including gender and culture, should inform nurses' practices towards recovery.

Sense of community in poverty contexts in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico: A transcultural study.

The aim of this article is to analyze the sense of community of three communities in conditions of poverty in Brazil, Colombia and Mexico. The general sample was composed of 533 people: 124 from Bogotá (Colombia), 200 from Mérida (Mexico), and 209 from Porto Alegre (Brazil). The scale applied was the Sense of Community Index, performing variance analysis, and multivariate analysis of variance. The results conclude that there are significant differences between the general averages of the Sense of Community Index between the countries, observing the largest differences between the samples of Brazil and Mexico. The interaction between the factors has significant differences, particularly in the factors of influence and emotional connection in account of specific cultural aspects in each country and community. The sense of community derives from the encounter of transcultural and contextual aspects linked to poverty.

Degree of Adaptation of Jerusalem Palestinian Students at Israeli Academic Colleges

Several international and local studies have indicated that Arab students face specific difficulties in adapting to and integrating into Israeli colleges. This research aims to identify and analyze the adaptation difficulties faced by Palestinian students in academic colleges in Israel. The research sample consists of Palestinian freshmen from different schools and neighborhoods in East Jerusalem who are studying at a college in West Jerusalem. In-depth interviews were used to document and analyze the experiences and challenges of these students on campus. The interviews revealed a number of factors that impede students’ adaptation and their academic success, and they can be grouped under the concepts of culture shock, language barriers, isolation, and transportation. To deal with these difficulties, students used different strategies such as piety, withdrawal, dependency, and distancing. Implementing specific programs to consider and address specific social and cultural aspects of Palestinian students’ difficulties may contribute to reducing the alienation and culture shock they face in college, such as introducing programs on life skills and treatment of others, hiring faculty who are capable of understanding the Palestinian cultural context and introducing qualified Arab staff in the administrative and service departments.

Educational Values in Human Rights Treaties: UN, European, and African International Law.

While human rights treaties provide a formidable set of principles on education and values, domestic Courts often tend to adjudicate claims in terms of local arguments for or against each particular educational practice. This article explores how international human rights law could inspire the interpretation of domestic law and educational practice, without neglecting specific cultural aspects. Firstly, the article reviews the sociological debate on values in education and shows its importance for the legal discussion. Secondly, some critical contestations of international cultural human rights are outlined, as well as certain arguments to justify the importance of this model. The study of international law follows: the UN, the European Court of Human Rights, and three relevant African Charters, as well as every reference to education made by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights and by the African Court is examined. Lastly, a comparative section reveals a certain cultural commonality inspired by the UN treaties, but also reflects some cultural and institutional differences between the European and the African regional systems.

Posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) across ten countries: Global validation of the PTG-PTD theoretical model

This study examined the relationships between posttraumatic growth (PTG) and posttraumatic depreciation (PTD) across 10 countries and assessed the factorial invariance of the standardized inventory assessing PTG and PTD, the PTGDI-X, the expansion of the PTGI-X (Tedeschi et al., 2017). We also investigated the roles of social and cognitive factors in PTG and PTD. Data were collected from participants who identified that their most stressful life experience met the definition of trauma in Australia, Germany, Italy, Japan, Nepal, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Turkey, and the US. The participants completed the PTGDI-X and inventories measuring posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, and predictor variables such as reexamination of core beliefs, centrality of the event, rumination, and disclosures. Results identified universal aspects such as equivalence of factor loadings of the PTGDI-X and the impact of positive/negative disclosure on PTG and PTD. Results also revealed culture-specific aspects, including the relationships between PTG and PTD, and different patterns of cognitive predictors for PTG and PTD. The current study offered the insight that, for the first time using international data, positive and negative post-trauma changes are not likely to be on opposing ends of one dimension, and it is essential to use the PTGDI-X to better understand both positive and negative aspects of post-traumatic experiences.

Opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency during adolescence in nine countries.

This study tested culture-general and culture-specific aspects of adolescent developmental processes by focusing on opportunities and peer support for aggressive and delinquent behavior, which could help account for cultural similarities and differences in problem behavior during adolescence. Adolescents from 12 cultural groups in 9 countries (China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States) provided data at ages 12, 14, and 15. Variance in opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency, as well as aggressive and delinquent behavior, was greater within than between cultures. Across cultural groups, opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency increased from early to mid-adolescence. Consistently across diverse cultural groups, opportunities and peer support for aggression and delinquency predicted subsequent aggressive and delinquent behavior, even after controlling for prior aggressive and delinquent behavior. The findings illustrate ways that international collaborative research can contribute to developmental science by embedding the study of development within cultural contexts.

Interdisciplinary challenges for elucidating human olfactory attractiveness.

Many species use chemicals to communicate. In humans, there is increasing evidence that chemicals conveyed by the body are extremely important in interpersonal relationships. However, many aspects of chemical communication remain to be explored to fully understand this function in humans. The aim of this article is to identify relevant challenges in this field, with a focus on human attractiveness in the context of reproduction, and to put forward roadmaps for future studies that will hopefully extend to a wider range of social interactions. The first challenge consists in not being limited to body (mal)odours from the axilla. Preliminary data on how the odour of the face and head is perceived are presented. Second, there is a crucial need to increase our knowledge of the chemical bases of human chemical communication. Third, cross-cultural approaches must not be overlooked, because they have a major input in understanding the universal and culture-specific aspects of chemical communication. Fourth, the influence of specific cultural practices such as contraceptive and fragrance use is likely to be prominent and, therefore, needs to be well described. The fifth and last challenge for research projects in this field is the integration of different disciplines such as behavioural sciences, social sciences, neurosciences and microbiology. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Olfactory communication in humans'.

Culture-Specific Aspects of Turn-taking: An Analysis of Conversations in a Saudi Context

The present study comparatively analyzed the culture-specific turn-taking strategies of native Saudi Arabic speakers and non-Saudi native English speakers. It employed the qualitative research design guided by conversation analysis technique of Tannen (2005) and the model of coding analysis of Miles and Huberman (1984). Data was collected from ten students through the use of interviews and actual conversation analysis. Results of the study showed that the English speakers believe in minimum overlapping and minimum gaping in the turn-taking. Thus, they follow a continuous conversation pattern without pause in turn-taking. On the contrary, Saudi Arabic speakers take more time in turn-taking due to the cultural aspect and interruption of linguistic knowledge. Analysis of the findings surfaced that cultural elements in turn-taking are universally accepted for an organized conversation that follows specific norms and rules of the productive discussion. Turn-taking understanding to the speakers stimulates their competency and eventually contributes to deal with business and other informal meetings in a more efficient way. Further, this study presents theoretical and practical implications to EFL learning in Saudi Arabia that helps in understanding turn-taking in the verbal conversation towards global communicative competence.

Leadership Ostracism Behaviors From the Target's Perspective: A Content and Behavioral Typology Model Derived From Interviews With Chinese Employees.

Leadership ostracism denotes a severe work stressor, potentially entailing more serious negative effects than other types of workplace ostracism. However, scholars have paid relatively little attention to ostracism carried out by leaders, leaving the phenomenon insufficiently accounted for in the literature. Hence, the present study aims to explore the content and typology of leadership ostracism behavior by in-depth interviews and inductive analyses based on grounded theory, in order to give a thorough presentation and description of the leadership ostracism concept as perceived and construed by Chinese subordinates. Respondents were invited using a snowball sampling technique, and the final sample consisted of 26 individuals employed in different Chinese firms. Based on the reported experience of the interviewees, 11 concrete leadership ostracism behaviors emerged from the data. Further analyses revealed a leadership ostracism behavioral typology model reflecting five core categories, i.e., general ignoring, neglect, exclusion, differential treatment, and undermining. These findings appear to partly replicate and partly expand on previous conceptualizations of workplace ostracism, indicating that leadership ostracism may reflect a distinct variant of the phenomenon, eligible to be studied in its own right. The present study also discusses certain culture-specific aspects of leadership ostracism that can be taken into consideration in future studies.

Determinants of Marital Flourishing among Married individuals: An Asian Perspective

Marital flourishing is a concept used to assess optimal quality of a marital relationship. Despite abundance of research to understand the factors underlying a happy and satisfying relationship, the determinant of a flourishing marital bonding remains limited. The present study focuses communal and emotional processes as possible causes underlying beneath a flourishing marital relationship. A data from 569 wives and 433 husbands from Pakistan was collected and analyzed through regression analysis. Findings demonstrated that expression of emotions negatively predicts relationship and individual dimension of marital flourishing. Moreover, positive communal orientation positively predicts individual dimension of flourishing. While, negative communal orientation negatively predicts relationship dimension of marital flourishing but positively predicts individual dimension of relationship flourishing. Gender wise analysis of the study variables exhibits that Asian wives are high in marital flourishing as compared to Asian husbands. Asian husbands show high level of negative emotional expressivity and negative communal orientation as compared to the Asian wives. The study signifies the determinants of marital flourishing thereby, highlighting the role of emotional and communal processes within Asian marriages. Findings of study are being discussed examining possible universal and culture-specific aspects of marital flourishing from indigenous Asian perspective.

Socio-cultural barriers to developing a regional entrepreneurial ecosystem

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to provide a contextual analysis that helps explain how socio-cultural factors are negatively impacting the evolution of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in a struggling regional economy.Design/methodology/approachA case study method is used to provide a detailed contextual analysis triangulating primary and secondary data.FindingsThis paper provides insight into a region impeded from embracing the benefits of innovation-driven entrepreneurship in fostering economic development. The authors show that socio-cultural factors may be inhibiting the region from having a functional entrepreneurial ecosystem that can support innovation. Specific aspects of culture and social capital weaknesses are identified and insight into the potential causes of these impediments were offered. As well, the paper shows how the fundamental nature of culture may be affecting other elements of the entrepreneurial ecosystem from maturing.Originality/valueThis paper adds to a small, but growing, body of literature that is illustrating the evolutionary nature of entrepreneurial ecosystems and the significant impact of socio-cultural attributes to that evolution. This paper responds to calls to investigate contexts in which innovation does not thrive and where economic challenges prevail. The value of this research paper is to provide conceptual contributions in a contextual analysis from which other researchers can draw comparisons, insights and inspiration for similar approaches. Despite the abundance of research discussing the importance of culture, there are very few actual case studies showing concrete examples of culture and its influence on a region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

La terminología de la gastronomía puertorriqueña: reflexiones en torno a su trasfondo y representación

Our investigation looks into the background behind the terminology used in five Puerto Rican cookbooks, published in two key periods in Puerto Rico’s history: the fifties, a period characterized by political changes in the island, and the first decade of the 21st century. Based on a terminological analysis that takes into account different levels of context, including the cultural context, the culinary domain, the textual production, and the use of the terms in the corpus, we arrive at some/several conclusions regarding the conceptualization of the culinary domain in Puerto Rico. Finally, we propose a terminological database that considers the culture-specific aspects of this terminology. In order to illustrate the various levels of context and how they are incorporated in our research, as well as how the information is represented in the database, we describe how these levels of context influence the configuration and representation of the terms in the ingredient category identified as viandas.