Search

Culture has long been recognized and conceptualized as an important and indispensable influencing factor in policy transfer. However, inadequate attention has been devoted to the study of culture in this area of scholarship. Using qualitative data, mainly from interviews with policy-makers and policy-takers in Vietnam, this paper examines the relevance of culture in Vietnam's merit-based policy transfer. It indicates how the conceptualization of culture is significant to policy transfer analysis. It also shows that culture at all levels—macro, meso, and micro—can influence both the policy transfer process and the outcomes. At the same time, it contends that despite this important role, culture acts more as a joint-influencing factor than a sole determinant in policy transfer. This paper argues that a multi-level and culture-sensitive approach to cultural analysis in policy transfer is a key to understand the dynamics of culture in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Objective: This paper discusses the influence of family and cultural backgrounds on South Asian student survivors’ understandings of dating relationships and help-seeking after experiencing dating violence. Methods: Six South Asian undergraduate women dating violence survivors participated in two thé talks (similar to semi structured interviews) and a photo-elicitation activity to share their experiences of dating violence and how they make meaning of these experiences. Findings: Through analysis guided by the tenets of Bhattacharya’s Par/Des(i) framework, this paper highlights two key findings: 1) the powerful role of cultural values in students’ conceptualizations of healthy and unhealthy relationships; and 2) the effect of familial and intergenerational experiences on students’ help-seeking behaviors. Conclusion: Findings highlight the need to incorporate considerations of family and culture in efforts to address and prevent dating violence in higher education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past three decades, there has been increased attention on the influence of culture on the teaching and learning of mathematics. Jews and Chinese both have a long history and a rich cultural heritage, and the populations in both communities are known to place high emphasis on education. Has this emphasis anything to do with the cultural heritage in these communities? This paper offers some observations on the essential features of the two cultures. Despite the contrast between the religious roots of the Jewish culture and the secular Chinese culture, the two cultures share some commonalities, including the emphasis on the collective and the reliance on the family and the clan in passing on cultural practices and values. Characteristics in the two cultures that are related to mathematics education are then examined. These include the early development of mathematics in the two cultures, the different traditions of education and academic studies, the collective culture, and the strong involvement of the family in children's education in the two communities. Implications for contemporary mathematics education in the two cultures and beyond, including what mathematics should children learn, what is the goal of mathematics education, and what role does the family play in students' learning, are then discussed. The paper serves to highlight the role played by culture in the development of mathematics and mathematics education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current evidence implicates educational pressures and reduced outdoor time as major causes of myopia. This paper examines the ongoing battle against the myopia epidemic in East Asia, including its cultural offshoots such as Singapore, where over 80% of young adults are myopic. East Asian societies share deeply rooted Confucian values that attach great importance to education and familial obligations, with heavy parental investment in education and the perception that academic excellence reflects filial piety. Coupled with a strong emphasis on standardised test results, East Asian children face intense educational pressures from a young age. Existing education-based myopia prevention strategies focus either on top-down school reforms to promote more outdoor time for students during school hours or on bottom-up awareness initiatives encouraging lifestyle changes. However, the entrenched Confucian worldview suggests that more extensive top-down reforms aimed at reducing competition in education, combined with widespread bottom-up awareness initiatives targeting the public—particularly parents, given their active involvement in children’s education outside of school—may be required to truly turn the tide on myopia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is a multi-dimensional process where the change for women and their progression is undeniable. Thus, the constant adaptation of women within the patriarchal norms and beliefs explains the paradigm shift of a given community. The paper reviews the changing community life of women often associated with urbanization in a newly emerged city, namely Rajarhat, India. Rajarhat has experienced a rapid change due to urbanization through huge land acquisition and spacial organization. The paper presents and discusses the shift from an agrarian society to secondary and tertiary sectors where women are benefitted from urban prosperity and bystood the wealthier urban neighbourhood. The paper also focuses on the disparities between domestic based women and the service based women as a part of the same community. The complex balance between these two groups apprehends the class differentiation, the day to day negotiations and the adjustment issues. Role expectations, cultural influences, and community transition in a changing urban context, are also covered. At the end, the paper identifies how women are adjusting to the community life with special emphasis on the challenges faced by them and the feasible need of professional interventions for the same. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Web 2.0 and Social Software revolutionize the knowledge exchange within and between organizations. This is one of the claims consultants and software vendors in the field have made. But have the promises been kept and has evidence been achieved so far, in particular for knowledge management in globally distributed settings? As a starting point, our paper introduces the field of Global Social Knowledge Management (GSKM). We see this area as one of the main research area for future research in the Knowledge Management domain. A variety of social software applications have already been seen promising and incorporated into the context of knowledge management (Avram 2006; Zheng and Zheng 2010; Levy 2009). One main assumption is that social software could bridge the traditional gap between human- and technology orientation (Avram 2006:1; Fiedler & Welpe 2011). However, there is so far only anecdotal evidence how these applications work in globally distributed organizational settings. Within this paper, we present the key issues for GSKM and elaborate on transferability of these aspects to differing contexts. The main research domains related to GSKM are Social Software and Global Knowledge Management. We present a brief review of state of the art research for these domains and focus in detail on Social Software supported knowledge activities. As one of the first efforts, we perform a mapping of Social Software to KM activities and major barriers. Additionally, we will illustrate through a case study how to contextualize the GSKM approach for educational application area. The paper is a starting point for discourse on this promising field, outlining the research field of globally distributed Social Softwaresupported Knowledge Management and discussing current research efforts on the main components. By this paper we intend to contribute towards a research agenda for Global Social Knowledge Management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of cultural and historical factors on educational policy transfer, drawing on an analysis of the curricular reforms made during the Soviet and US military occupation of the two Koreas. In South Korea, curricular changes were made, such as the introduction of the subject of social studies, in order to teach democratic procedures and concepts. In North Korea, a socialist–communist ideology was extensively promoted, along with an attraction to the Soviet Union as a model state to follow. In both contexts, the localization of the reforms was influenced by the authoritarian legacy of Confucianism and Japanese colonization, and the nationalism that had been fostered for the purpose of state formation. The Korean case indicates that while investigating the influence of culture on educational policy transfer, it is important to identify the unique characteristics of educational traditions and nationalism of a country, and to analyze how the newly transferred policies and ideas are received by local actors in their searches for meaning and power. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The paper develops a sociological model to explain collisions between two drivers or more. The “Social Accident” model presented here integrates empirical findings from prior studies and extant sociological theories. Sociological theory posits that social groups have unique cultural characteristics, which include a distinctive world view and ways of operating that influence its members. These cultural characteristics may cause drivers in different groups to interpret a given situation differently; therefore, they will make conflicting decisions that may possibly lead to road accidents. The proposed model may contribute to an understanding of the social mechanism related to interactions and communication among drivers by presenting new directions for understanding accidents and collisions. The paper concludes with suggestions for future research that will employ the model to assess its predictive and practical utility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine cultural factors that influence Hispanic male college students' intention to communicate with partners about contraception use.Participants: A sample of 239 self-identified Hispanic participants enrolled in at least 1 college course participated in this study in the spring 2014 semester.Methods: Students completed a 47-item paper survey. Data were analyzed with multiple regression and descriptive methods.Results: Participants with more siblings were more likely to intend to communicate with partners about contraception use than those with fewer siblings. Participants who received contraceptive information exclusively from fathers exhibited a more favorable attitude toward partner communication. Mother's education level was positively correlated with participants' contraceptive knowledge.Conclusions: These results emphasize the importance of support from family members to this sample's intentions to communicate with partners about contraceptive use. Parental involvement and male responsibility, in regards to contraceptive use, should be integrated into Hispanic-focused sexual health improvement efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Paper deals with the scientific identification of timbers utilised for the production of the sculptures preserved within the collection of the National Museum of the “Palazzo di Venezia” in Rome, Italy. After a brief description of the Museum and its sculpture collections, and, more specifically, the wooden sculpture collection which is the largest in Italy, the sampling of the artwork is discussed and described, together with the methodology used for the identification of wood species following the Italian standard UNI 11118:2004. The 12 identified timbers are listed together with their distribution within the cultural provenance of the sculptures. The discussion deals with the timber species utilised by the artists from the four cultural European provenances most represented within the collection: Italy, Alps, central-southern Germany and Lowlands around the Rhine delta. In the different Italian regions, several wood species were utilised and among them mostly poplar and limewood, while the alpine sculptors mostly used Swiss stone pine and the German artists, limewood. Finally in the Rhine delta, most of the sculptures were made out of deciduous oak. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Introduction: Although prior studies of road traffic accidents have found between-group differences in risk, little attention has been given to the encounter between drivers involved in severe collisions. Method: The present study empirically evaluates two different possible causes of "social accidents," which are defined as collisions between two or more drivers where some faulty social interaction might be assumed, and which are the most prevalent cause of road injuries. The analyses use merged Israeli collision records from 1983 to 2004 with data from two national censuses, thus providing an unprecedented empirical basis to study the social foundations of car accidents. The data are used to adjudicate between two alternative hypotheses: the heterogeneity hypothesis (socially different drivers tend to collide) versus the homogeneity hypothesis (socially similar drivers tend to collide). Results: Multivariate analyses provide preliminary support for the latter hypothesis. Given an accident, there are more collisions among drivers from the same broad educational group, and the factors that influence this correlation are independent of geography. The paper thus leads to the idea that severe collisions reflect a sociological or ecological process that is akin to acciphilia. Impact on Industry: The preliminary findings suggest that variation between drivers may be preferable to similarity, since apparently there is a greater tendency toward collisions between similar drivers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]