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This scoping review provides an overview of cancer interventions implemented with Arab Americans across the cancer control continuum, including an examination of outcomes and implementation processes. The search strategy included database searching and reviewing reference lists and forward citations to identify articles describing interventions with Arab adults living in the US, with no restrictions on date of publication or research methodology. The review included 23 papers describing 12 unique cancer interventions. Most interventions focused on individual-level determinants of breast and cervical cancer screening; used non-quasi-experimental research designs to evaluate intervention effectiveness; and demonstrated improvements in short-term cancer screening knowledge. Implementation processes were less commonly described. Most interventions were culturally and linguistically tailored to communities of focus; were delivered in educational sessions in community settings; engaged with the community mostly for recruitment and implementation; and were funded by foundation grants. Suggestions for research and intervention development are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2020 a petition from students and recent graduates of dance/movement therapy (DMT) programs was sent to the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association (ADTA). This petition brought forward concerns and critical questioning of movement observation frames, including a desire to bring a critical and anti-oppressive lens to the access of all bodies within larger psychological theories, DMT theories, and movement observation systems. The petition included a request for a "true" and "comprehensive" history of Rudolf Laban. The Education Committee of the ADTA charged one of three working groups to examine Laban's history. This paper is the culmination of the history working groups' exploration. It focuses on how histories are constructed and raises questions about the truth and comprehensiveness of any single account. It is divided into two sections. Laban's controversial period in Germany (1919–1937) is highlighted first with a comparison of the historical narratives constructed by different scholars. The second part briefly describes the last two decades of Laban's life (1938–1958) when he expanded his work outside of dance. It follows that no single story, including the ones constructed by this committee, can claim to be "true" and "comprehensive" histories. This history working group recommends integrating a full history of Laban in the teaching of dance therapy courses, engaging in intentional discussions about the cultural limitations of the system due to how it was developed, integrating and encouraging research by non-European dance therapists, and purposefully encouraging and sustaining diverse student bodies to continue the diversification of the DMT field. Decentering characteristics of the dominant culture will not be a quick fix, but a journey which requires the acknowledgement of Laban's contributions to the discipline, while holding him accountable for his choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Christian Smith's paper 'The Incoherence of 'Culture' in American Sociology' is a valuable provocation that can prompt us to reflect on the role of concepts and on the role of agreement on the definition of concepts in scientific research. In this comment paper, I raise questions about Smith's empirical expectation that sociologists should agree on a concept of culture based on debates in the sociology of science. I also suggest that in terms of the future agenda for the sociology of culture, we should distinguish between dialogue and clarification on the one hand, which I agree is needed, and standardization on the other hand, which seems incompatible with open-minded empirical research. Rather than work on agreement on what culture is, we might work on clarifying relevant distinctions among dimensions of culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has repeatedly shown the positive effects of early diagnosis and intervention in improving the quality of life and symptom trajectory of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Immigrant and racial/ethnic minority children are diagnosed with ASD at significantly older ages, and have access to interventions later than their White peers. Recent efforts to address diagnostic disparities have focused on universal ASD screening in pediatric primary care. However, little is known about immigrant families' experiences with ASD screening and with navigating subsequent referrals after receiving a positive ASD screen. In the current study, we explored cultural influences on: mothers' perceptions of child development and disability, communication with pediatric healthcare providers, and perceived benefits of Early Intervention services. We interviewed 26 mothers (14 US-born and 12 immigrant—representing twelve different nationalities) of children who screened positively for ASD in primary care but did not receive an ASD diagnosis after a formal evaluation (i.e., false positive ASD screen). Mothers completed semi-structured qualitative interviews that explored their perceptions of child development, experiences with the ASD screening and developmental evaluation process, and experiences with developmental services. Data were stratified by U.S. nativity and analyzed using applied thematic analysis. Immigrant mothers described different ways of monitoring child development than US-born mothers, and described a mismatch between their own views and the child development frameworks used in the U.S. Due to this mismatch, immigrant parents may be less likely to raise concerns to their pediatricians, and therefore may particularly benefit from routine screening. This paper uses data from a supplemental study to a larger clinical trial. The clinical trial registration number is NCT02359084. Highlights: Immigrant families view child development as a process that unfolds uniquely for each child, therefore, monitoring development through milestones can be a new idea for culturally diverse families. Immigrant children with elevated risk for ASD may be at higher risk for later identification of developmental delays if they are not screened at their well-child visits. Culturally and linguistically accessible explanations of child development and disabilities can help immigrant families throughout the ASD screening process. Immigrant families emphasize benefiting from family navigation and logistical support during the developmental evaluation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the determinants of stated individual support towards environmental action. The analysis is realized by means of an original Partial Least Squares Path model of Environmental Awareness-Social Capital-Action and it is based on survey data provided in the fifth wave of the World Values Survey (2005–2009) regarding 34.612 individuals from 42 different countries. Besides the global estimates obtained on the whole set of countries, the paper proposes a subsample analysis for developed and developing countries, as well as country analyses for four major economies: China, India, Germany and the United States. We find that environmental awareness and trust in not-for-profit organizations are important determinants of individual action in support of environmentally friendly policies. In general, trust in science and technology does not crowd-out individual support towards the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses the pooled data from 2005 to 2009 American Community Survey to analyze the economic benefits associated with bilingualism for adult men born in the United States. Bilingualism among the native born is defined as speaking a language at home other than or in addition to English. Native born bilingualism is rare; only 6.5% report a non-English language, and of those 71% report Spanish. Most of the native-born bilinguals report speaking English “very well” (85%), with most of the others speaking it “well” (10%). Other variables the same, overall bilinguals earn 4.7% less than monolingual English speakers, but the earnings differential varies sharply by the language spoken. Those who speak Native American languages, Pennsylvania Dutch and Yiddish have very low earnings due to a tendency to live in geographic or cultural enclaves. Spanish speakers earn 20% less than the monolingual English speakers overall, and other variables the same, have statistically significant 7% lower earnings. On the other hand, those who speak certain Western European and East Asian languages and Hebrew earn significantly more than monolingual English speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hispanics are the largest U.S. immigrant group and Mexican Americans are the largest U.S. Hispanic population. Hispanics, particularly Mexican Americans, are among the highest risk groups for obesity, placing them at increased risk for cardiovascular disease and certain types of cancer. Obesity lifestyle interventions incorporating Motivational Interviewing techniques and specific adaptations for the population of interest can have a significant impact on reducing health risks. This paper presents a community-engaged, culturally-sensitive nutrition and dietary counseling intervention conducted between 2016 and 2018 at the Consulate General of Mexico in New York City and reports preliminary findings regarding participant satisfaction and self-reported changes in eating and exercise habits. In addition, it describes the community and academic partners' roles and processes in program development, discusses strengths and challenges posed by a multi-sector partnership and describes adaptations made using the Behavioral Model for Vulnerable Populations to increase the program's sustainability and potential for scalability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a commentary on Christian Smith's 'The Conceptual Incoherence of 'Culture' in American Cultural Sociology.' This paper accepts Smith's finding of conceptual incoherence at the disciplinary level and argues that it is a symptom of empiricism in American sociology. The paper suggests we employ conceptual analysis as practiced by analytical philosophy and proceeds to show how the use of that methodology can resolve the problem regarding the meaning of culture. In the end, the paper defends a conception of culture along the lines of Archer's (1996) intelligibilia, interpreted as action and its products bearing social reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines the current ethical guidelines for electronic therapy services, and the sufficiency and implications of these guidelines in a culturally diverse population as found in the United States. The paper limits the discussion of ethical deliberations to: what is considered adequate competency to practice mental health therapy electronically; the disclosure and identity verification requirements; confidentiality issues when different social norms exist; the social responsibility of public institutions or individuals; and issues that relate to miscommunication due to different cultural or educational backgrounds. It concludes that since E-Therapy helps to reach underserved populations and significantly reduces costs associated with mental health services, compliance with ethical guidelines must be enforced to benefit from the latest communication technologies. This paper is relevant for various professions related to psychology and psychotherapy, including pastors and pastoral counselors, because various forms of E-therapy are emerging in the 21st century and can serve as resources for 'E-pastoral counseling.' [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper examines cross-border mergers and acquisitions undertaken by U.S. companies to determine whether geographic distance directly affects these firms' governance decisions. • We find that U.S. firms tend to acquire higher stakes in geographically proximate targets than in remote ones. • The paper also investigates the moderating effect of geographic distance on cultural distance and political risk. We find that as these two hazards increase, acquirers prefer shared ownership for proximate deals, and full ownership for acquisitions of geographically distant targets. These findings indicate that the previously-reported effects of cultural distance and political risk on FDI are not absolute, but they are moderated by geographic distance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the speed of evolution (or lack thereof) of a range of values and beliefs of different generations of US immigrants, and interprets the evidence in the light of a model of socialization and identity choice. Convergence to the norm differs greatly across cultural attitudes. Moreover, results obtained studying higher generation immigrants differ from those found when the analysis is limited to the second generation and imply a lower degree of persistence than previously thought. Persistence is also country specific, in the sense that the country of origin of one's ancestors matters for the pattern of generational convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at investigating comparatively the ethical orientation of information technology (IT) professionals in the Middle East and the United States. It tests for attitudes toward and awareness of ethically-related issues, namely intellectual property, privacy and other general ethical IT aspects. In addition, through a comparison between the two regions, this paper intends to examine whether differences in IT professional demographics and characteristics, including gender and academic level, have any impact on attitudes to business ethics. A t test is used to establish significant differences between the targeted samples, while an ANOVA F- test is conducted to determine significant differences among the sample countries on a group basis. The results show a general awareness of ethical issues concerning information technology, and no significant differences are found between the two samples. However, different ethical attitudes are reported among respondents in terms of their reactions to the targeted IT ethical aspects. On an individual sample basis, the results about gender support the claim that male and female respondents are different, while mixed results are revealed for the influence of academic level on attitudes towards IT ethics. For intellectual property, the results are significant regarding ethical attitude differences between Middle-Eastern professionals and their counterparts in the US, while no significance differences are reported in terms of privacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the convergence of culture, myths, and taboos surrounding reproductive health issues African immigrant women, living in the United States, learned during childhood in their countries of origin. We also discuss how mothers’ perceptions of reproductive health education (RHE) influenced the education of their own daughters aged 10-14 years. This was a qualitative descriptive study. Data were collected via interviews and demographic survey. The sample size was 20 African immigrant mothers living in a mid-sized city in the U.S. Interviews were transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data was analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Myths and taboos related to menstruation, sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and HIV/AIDS were reported by the women interviewed. Discussion of these issues was largely taboo, and most myths the mothers learned growing up pertained to sexual intercourse, pregnancy prevention, and pregnancy termination using non-hormonal ingested substances. Myths and taboos about sexual issues are widespread in Africa and are propagated to control sexual behavior, especially that of unmarried people, particularly women. By examining these myths and taboos, we are able to somewhat contextualize the mothers’ immigrant experience regarding RHE. Although myths were reported, the majority of mothers did not appear to believe them. The most significant taboo reported was sexual intercourse. This in turn led to mothers’ overemphasis on abstinence for their daughters. It is also noteworthy that this sample contained mainly African women who overall were highly educated, spoke English, and could adequately navigate life in the U.S. It is unclear what the results would be if we were to examine African immigrant women with less achievements in these areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Somali refugees are resettling in large numbers in the US, but little is known about the Somali Bantu, an ethnic minority within this population. Refugee youth mental health is linked to the functioning of the larger family unit. Understanding how the process of culturally adjusting to life after resettlement relates to family functioning can help identify what kind of interventions might strengthen families and lead to better mental health outcomes for youth. This paper seeks to address the following research questions: (1) How do different groups of Somali Bantu refugees describe their experiences of culturally adapting to life in the US?; and (2) How, if at all, do processes of cultural adaptation in a new country affect Somali Bantu family functioning? We conducted 14 focus groups with a total of 81 Somali Bantu refugees in New England. Authors analyzed focus groups using principles of thematic analysis to develop codes and an overarching theoretical model about the relationship between cultural adaptation, parent-child relationships, and family functioning. Views and expectations of parent-child relationships were compared between Somali Bantu youth and adults. Cultural negotiation was dependent upon broader sociocultural contexts in the United States that were most salient to the experience of the individual. Adult and youth participants had conflicting views around negotiating Somali Bantu culture, which often led to strained parent-child relationships. In contrast, youth sibling relationships were strengthened, as they turned to each other for support in navigating the process of cultural adaptation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indian Americans now constitute the nation's second largest foreign-born population group in the United States (U.S.). Concerning Indian American youth, there is a paucity of information about their experiences in the U.S., particularly with respect to cultural stress and model minority stress, and whether these stressors have an impact on their mental health. This article describes the dual experiences of Indian American youth in the Indian and American cultures and discusses two theoretical frameworks (cultural stress and model minority stress) that illuminate dynamics influencing the lives of these youth. We illustrate three core pathways (independent, synergistic and indirect) by which cultural stress and model minority stress can influence the mental health of Indian American youth. Social workers and other behavioral health providers can assist Indian American youth by examining their own biases related to the model minority stereotype, helping school personnel assess the impact of this stereotype, and remembering that Indian American youth are not a monolith. Researchers need to disaggregate data on Asian Americans to gather accurate statistics on the Indian American population and refine model-minority-stereotype assessment instruments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Community policing (COP) represents officers' expectations of police work that revolves around specific order maintenance chores that take place within the community. It is generally assumed that police officers are cognizant of the community policing type activities occurring in police organizations where COP is either formally or informally adopted. However, very little research has been done to examine whether or not police officers in other countries are engaging in similar COP type activities without the organizational endorsement or official implementation of community policing as it is known in the U.S. and elsewhere. The aim of this paper is twofold. First, we compare law enforcement officers' attitudes toward their conceptions of police work with specific attention to order maintenance and community oriented type police activities in two countries, Turkey (no formal COP programs) and the U.S. (formal and informal COP programs). Secondly, we examine to what extent police organizational and environmental factors in these two countries influence officers' conceptions of community-oriented policing activities. Findings suggest that, relative to Turkey, U.S. police officers have a favorable disposition toward COP type activities, suggesting name does matter. However, findings in both countries also suggest that officers' orientation to police work that is reflective of the police operational philosophy, and the organizational and environmental factors are better predictors of COP type activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whistleblowing involves present or former organization members reporting illegal, unethical or illegitimate activities under the control of organization leaders to parties who are willing and able to take action to correct the wrongdoing. A major shortcoming of prior whistleblowing research concerns the fact that there has been a tendency to examine whistleblowing from a culturally-bound perspective without looking at cultural and international differences. The present paper attempts to extend whistleblowing research into the international arena. This study will consider the differences in culture and societal structures between a United States sample of managers and a Chinese sample of managers with respect to differences in individual, organizational, and moral perception whistleblowing tendencies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper locates the concept of learning among real-life human experiences and events. Functioning as a sign, a meaningful event can be understood in terms of a cultural extra-linguistic “text.” Reading and interpreting diverse cultural “texts” are equivalent to constructing and learning critical symbolic lessons embedded in a continuous process of our experiential, both intellectual and ethical, growth. The paper employs Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abjection and her method of semanalysis as a synthesis of philosophy, psychoanalysis and semiotics. Extending semiotic analysis to the level of informal education, the paper asserts that real-life events, such as the destruction of the Twin Towers on September 11, can become a means towards constructing the cultural pedagogy of hope paramount to sustaining a global society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaders and managers of today's multinational corporations face a plethora of problems and issues directly attributable to the fact that they are operating in an international context. With worksites, plants and/or customers based in another country, or even several countries, representing a vast spectrum of cultural differences, international trade and offshore operations, coupled with increased globalisation in respect to political, social and economic realities, contribute to new dilemmas that these leaders must deal with. Not the least of these being a Code of Ethics and ethical decision making. This paper examines the differences in culture between a group of managers from the United States and similar group from Croatia using Hofstede's theory of International Cultures. The study explores how these cultural dimensions may help in our understanding of the differences in reported whistleblowing. The authors then postulate four hypotheses regarding various aspects of whistleblowing. These Hypotheses were than tested using a survey administered to a sample of U.S.A. and Croatian managers. Finally, the paper discusses the findings and practical implications for contemporary managers in the international arena. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies voluntary public good provision in the laboratory, in a cross-cultural experiment conducted in the United States and Japan. Our environment differs from the standard voluntary contribution mechanism because subjects first decide whether or not to participate in providing this non-excludable public good. This participation decision is conveyed to the other subject prior to the subjects' contribution decisions. We find that only the American data are consistent with the evolutionary-stable-strategy Nash equilibrium predictions, and that behavior is significantly different across countries. Japanese subjects are more likely to act spitefully in the early periods of the experiment, even though our design changes subject pairings each period so that no two subjects ever interact twice. Surprisingly, this spiteful behavior eventually leads to more efficient public good contributions for Japanese subjects than for American subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overweight and obesity are associated with significant health problems and rates of obesity are high among Latino men. This paper describes the design, rationale and participant characteristics of the key demographic variables assessed in an NIH-funded study (R21-CA143636) addressing culture and several obesity-related variables (diet, physical activity, and body image) among Mexican and Puerto Rican men using a community-based participatory research framework. Participants completed objective measures (height, weight, body fat, hip, waist), a health and culture interview, a diet questionnaire, and used an accelerometer to measure their level of physical activity. A total of 203 participants completed the measures and the health and culture interview and 193 completed all study components. Puerto Ricans were older than Mexicans ( p < .0001) and there were significant differences in marital status ( p < .05), country of birth ( p < .05), smoking ( p < .05) and work status ( p < .001). There were no significant differences in religion, education, health insurance, Body Mass Index, body fat, hip and waist measurements, and the language preference of the interview. Results have implications for the development of a future intervention that incorporates the role of cultural factors into a community participatory obesity intervention for Latino men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous people of the world have used the services of medicine men and traditional healers from time immemorial. According to the World Health Organization, 80 % of the world's populations consult traditional healers. With an emerging globalization of health services in the world, there is a need for western mental health practitioners to learn and understand the practices of indigenous healers across the globe. This paper will not only highlight the similarities and differences between Yoruba traditional healers of Western Nigeria and Native American and First Nation Canadian traditional healers, but it will also allow practitioners to gain clearer perspectives of indigenous clients from Yoruba land and those from the United States of America and Canada. This ultimately will inform culturally sensitive clinical practice with these populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To reduce current HIV disparities among African American youth, it is imperative to find effective ways to extend the reach of evidence-based HIV prevention. One promising community resource to support this effort is faith-based organizations (FBOs), a credible and respected resource in the African American community. This paper describes the experiences, perceptions, and challenges that African American FBOs and faith leaders face in engaging in adolescent HIV prevention and highlights facilitators and barriers to implementing HIV prevention in African American FBOs. The findings suggest that African American FBOs and faith-based leaders are uniquely positioned to be instrumental resources in reducing African American youth HIV disparities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural and cultural barriers have led to limited access to and use of mental health services among immigrants in the United States (U.S.). This study provided a systematic review of factors associated with help-seeking attitudes, intentions, and behaviors among immigrants who are living in the U.S. This systematic review was performed using Medline, CINAHL, APA PsycInfo, Global Health, and Web of Science. Qualitative and quantitative studies examining mental help-seeking among immigrants in the U.S. were included. 954 records were identified through a search of databases. After removing duplicates and screening by title and abstract, a total of 104 articles were eligible for full-text review and a total of 19 studies were included. Immigrants are more reluctant to seek help from professional mental health services due to barriers such as stigma, cultural beliefs, lack of English language proficiency, and lack of trust in health care providers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residents of the United States and China have responded very differently to the implementation of COVID-19 preventive measures. This study introduces the uncertainty reduction theory and the need for cognitive closure (NFC) framework into the context of a public health crisis and compares models across the United States and China. Specifically, we collected survey data to examine how NFC, trust in government, and attitudes toward preventive measures predicted pandemic compliance behaviors, depressive symptoms, and life satisfaction among 745 college students (399 from China and 346 from the United States). Chinese participants trusted their government more, believed COVID preventive measures to be more beneficial, and reported more pandemic compliance and fewer depressive symptoms than U.S. participants. Trust in government and attitudes towards preventive measures mediated the relationships between NFC and pandemic compliance behaviors among Chinese participants but not U.S. participants. NFC predicted better mental health outcomes among participants in China compared to U.S. participants. Trust in government mediated NFC and mental health outcomes among Chinese participants. Trust in government predicted better mental health (fewer depressive symptoms and more life satisfaction) in both the United States and China. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings for promoting mental health and pandemic compliance behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of 345 undergraduate business students from a medium-sized southeastern regional university and 164 undergraduates from a medium-sized university in the United Arab Emirates found that 71 % of all respondents admitted to academic misconduct in a recent 1-year period, a percentage similar to McCabe's () finding that an average of 70 % of undergraduate students admitted to recent academic misconduct. Business students from the Middle East were significantly less likely to perceive various academic misconduct behaviors as forms of serious cheating compared to business students from the US. Hofstede's () cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism and Ajzen's (Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 50, 179-211, ) theory of planned behavior are discussed as likely explanations of reported academic misconduct differences between the two countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reviews a body of data that identifies underlying influences that have contributed to an evolving change in American Psychiatry toward a more positive and receptive stance toward religion and spirituality over the past three decades. This development, surprising in light of the remedicalization of psychiatry and its predominantly neuro-biological orientation, is attributed to five foundational ideas that have helped to leverage this change. These are significance of culture, creative power of ritual, psychic function of belief, neuro-biology of spirituality, and relevance of recovery narratives. The impact of these factors for psychiatric assessment and treatment is described, as well as the contribution of the Oskar Pfister legacy and award to the ongoing dialogue between religion and psychiatry. Adapted from the American Psychiatric Association's 2011 Oskar Pfister Lecture in Religion and Psychiatry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the extent of domestic violence and sociocultural factors (isolation, social support, acculturation, and patriarchy) associated with domestic violence among a community sample of 215 women of South Asian origin in the U.S. The sample is the largest to date in a study of domestic violence among South Asian women. Both paper and Web surveys were used. Of the sample, 38 % experienced some form of abuse in the past year. Isolation from spouse/partner and perceived social support predicted abuse. This information is vital in developing effective and culturally appropriate intervention methods for South Asian women victims of domestic violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores Mexican-American prospective teachers' use of culture-defined as social practices and shared experiences-as an instructional resource in mathematics. The setting is an after-school mathematics program for the children of Mexican heritage. Qualitative analysis of the prospective teachers' and children's interactions reveals that the nature of the mathematical activities affected how culture was used. When working on the 'binder activities,' prospective teachers used culture only in non-mathematical contexts. When working on the 'recipes project,' however, culture was used as a resource in mathematical contexts. Implications for the mathematics teacher preparation of Latinas/os are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While much social science literature has analyzed the cultural bases of social movement, activity, and the content of cultural production by social movements, relatively little has been written about the concrete social relations within which social movements do culture. This paper addresses the issue of what social movements are doing when they produce culture. Four dimensions of social relations within which culture is enacted are identified: the division of labor, the relations of power, tuning in, and embeddedness. A contrast between the how the People's Songsters Movement of the 1930s and 1940s and the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s used American folk music illustrates how variation in these dimensions affects the effects that cultural production had on social movement outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Suicide is a leading social problem among the adolescent American Indian community. This literature review examines the demographics of American Indian adolescents who attempt suicide, along with the effects it has on the entire family/community. This paper describes various programs used to address individuals, while correlating them to specific use within the American Indian population. The authors look at the effectiveness of the Adolescent Suicide Prevention Project, American Indian Life Skills Development Curriculum, and Zuni Life Skills Development, along with the draw-backs associated with the implementation of each program. The importance of incorporating culturally specific programs and addressing the issue at a community level in an attempt to enhance the well-being of at-risk American Indian Adolescents is emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural consonance is the degree to which individuals, in their own beliefs and behaviors, approximate widely shared cultural models. In previous research in Brazil and the United States we found that higher cultural consonance in the cultural domains of lifestyle and social support was associated with lower psychological distress. The aim of this paper is to expand on these results in two ways. First, the measurement of cultural consonance has been improved through a closer link of cultural domain analyses and survey research. Second, the number of domains in which cultural consonance has been examined has been expanded to include-along with lifestyle and social support-family life, national identity, and food. We found that cultural consonance in these five domains can be conceptualized as two latent variables of generalized cultural consonance, and that this generalized cultural consonance is associated with lower psychological distress. These results continue to support the usefulness of cultural consonance as a theoretical construct in the explanation of human social suffering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organizational culture allows workers in an organization to develop a shared understanding about events that occur within the organization. The US Army has developed its own culture, which allows it to pursue a variety of challenges that it must face. Today’s US Army relies heavily on citizen soldiers, consisting of the Army Reserve and the National Guard. These soldiers come from a different background than the active component soldiers, and as a result, interpret actions taken by the organization and its leaders differently, based on the subculture from which these soldiers come. The present paper examines the effects that culture and status have on perceptions of discrimination and fairness during a recent US military operation. An historical frame of reference of similar experiences in previous military operations is provided, and implications for organizations that employ both permanent and temporary workers are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the US, an increasingly popular local food movement is propelled along by structural arguments that highlight the inequity and unsustainablity of the current agri-food system and by individually based arguments that highlight personal health and well-being. Despite clear differences in their foci, the deeper values contained in each argument tend to be neglected or lost, while local innovations assume instrumental and largely market-based forms. By narrowing their focus to the rational and the economic, movement activists tend to overlook (or marginalize) the role of the sensual, the emotional, the expressive for maintaining layered sets of embodied relationships to food and to place. This paper seeks to show that cultural and nonrational elements are fundamental to local food discussions. It proceeds from the assumption that, without them as full partners, the movement cannot be sustained in any felt, practiced, or committed way. To this end, it discusses the concept of place and bodies in place, as well as the connections between the ecological and the cultural, the sensual and the scientific. It offers a new set of questions and conceptual tools with which advocates and activists may "ground," and thereby revalue and restore, the promise and practice of local food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to consider whether standards-based school reform is an acceptable strategy for achieving a politically legitimate school system according to a principle of personal liberty. First, it briefly describes the purpose and implementation of standards-based school reform in the U.S. It then considers the ramifications of the principle of personal liberty for the conduct of public schooling, arguing that it requires children’s access to and appreciation of a variety of liberty-consistent cultures in their society coupled with the development of children’s ability to think critically about those cultures and their meaning as possibilities for their own lives. Third, it considers whether some standards for public education might be consistent with this purpose of education and finds that certain outcome and process standards may be appropriate. Finally, it considers whether these kinds of standards are included in standards-based reform as it is currently practiced or proposed in the U.S. and concludes that they are not. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses whether and to what extent the field of the sociology of deviance is "dead," relevant to sociology generally, or intellectually vital, and, if it is less vital than it once was, how and why it declined in vigor, and what might be done to return it to its glory days. It also addresses the implications of the election of 2004 for the field of deviance studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While attention has been paid to the study of panic disorder (PD) with or without agoraphobia among Caucasians, surprisingly little empirical research within the United States has looked at the phenomenology of PD among minority groups. In this paper we present data we have collected and review other research on the phenomenology, social supports, and coping behavior among African-Americans with panic disorder. Our studies indicate that, in comparison to Caucasians, African-Americans with PD reported more intense fears of dying or going crazy, as well as higher levels of numbing and tingling in their extremities. African-Americans reported higher rates of comorbid post traumatic disorder and more depression. African-Americans also used somewhat different coping strategies (such as religiosity and counting one's blessings), less self-blame, and were somewhat more dissatisfied with social supports. The incidence of isolated sleep paralysis was, as per previous reports, higher in African-Americans. These findings, results of other research, and the implications for assessment and treatment are discussed within a semantic network analysis of panic (Hinton and Hinton 2002, this issue). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduces a series of articles on the state of knowledge about anxiety and panic disorders including its diagnostic formulation.

This paper is a historical study of stage hypnotism from the early nineteenth through the early twentieth centuries. The hypnotists' stage performances over this period reveal cultural tensions related to modernization. Public responses to these shows also indicate the shifting dynamics of reform. When mesmerists first toured the U.S. in the early nineteenth century, the hypnotic trance confirmed popular belief in the ultimate perfectibility of the individual and society. By the late nineteenth century, however, hypnotic shows seemed more a model for human enslavement than liberation. Medical experts also began to express concern at the possible health damage hypnotism might inflict. Despite stage hypnotists' efforts to defend their art, hypnotism became increasingly marginalized as the growth of the middle class and of mass culture dictated an increasingly sanitized popular culture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a growing interest in bereavement in cross-cultural perspective, few reports have described a comparative analysis of bereavement. By examining the social contexts in the transformations of Western bereavement practices, structures common to bereavement in a range of cultures can be identified. The paper compares the contemporary bereavement practices of several ethnic and cultural groups in North America: Blacks; ethnic Chinese; Southeast Asian refugees; Haitians; Italians; Greeks; and Spanish-speaking groups. Consideration is given to the state of widowhood in different cultural systems. The impact of modernization among traditional societies demonstrates that even though Western technologies are incorporated into the procedures followed by these modernizing societies, the deep cultural code remains intact. Five questions require further clarification: is bereavement an illness, or a rite de passage and a normal life event? How widespread and useful are protective factors, such as group support, that facilitate successful resolution of grief? How effective are mourning practices of various ethnic groups in preventing "bad grief", and might some of these practices be beneficial if taken up by other ethnic groups? How can the Western health practitioner know that a bereaved person from an unfamiliar cultural group is suffering "bad grief"? How acceptable is Western grief counseling to non-Western clients? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of the literature in medicine and in comparative education finds virtually no reports of systematic studies of professional education across national boundaries. This paper describes the use of the Priority Sort of Educational Objectives in Mental Health with samples of psychiatric and psychiatric nurse educators in the United States and South Korea. The data suggests a somewhat different pattern of cultural influences in professional education priorities between these disciplines in the two countries. The relative impact of the culture of a profession and of national culture are examined through the data generated on these populations of educators in two culturally dissimilar countries. Despite these differences of culture there has been a great impact of professional education from one country to the other. The resulting data suggest a stronger impact of professional culture with one profession, psychiatry, and a greater impact of national culture with the psychiatric nurse educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Images of Native Americans and of aspects of Native American culture are common in advertisements in the United States. Three such images can be distinguished -- the Noble Savage, the Civilizable Savage and the Bloodthirsty Savage images. The aim of this paper is to argue that the use of such images is not morally acceptable because these images depend upon an underlying conception of Native Americans that denies that they are human beings. By so doing, it also denies to them any moral standing and thus any claim to moral consideration and treatment. I begin by arguing that the traits which are distinctively human are fostered only within a cultural framework consisting of the accumulated knowledge and activities of a group of human beings. I then argue that savages are conceptualized as natural and cultureless beings. Furthermore, within the traditional Western conceptualization of the world mere natural objects have no moral standing. Thus, it follows that Native Americans insofar as they are also merely natural objects would have no standing or status as moral beings. The conception of Native Americans as savages undercuts the very conditions for the possibility of moral respect. I then turn to an application of these principles to some current commercial uses of images of Native Americans and other indigenous peoples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increasing numbers of Spanish-heritage immigrant families in the United States are beginning to seek therapy for family conflicts related to their adapation to the new country/culture. This paper focuses on the difficulties experienced by these families and presents issues specific to therapy with them. Effective therapy with these families requires that therapists focus on clarification of the differential adaptation rates of family members and facilitate a resolution of the family's transitional conflicts(s). Six cases involving such families are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite their possession of many social advantages such as high levels of education, familiarity with Western, urban culture, Caucasian appearance, relative economic security and ties to an established, co-ethnic community, much literature on Israeli immigrants in the U.S. depicts them as plagued by social and psychological alienation to the extent that they are incapable of creating viable ethnic communities. This paper uses field work and photography collected within the Israeli immigrant population of Los Angeles to critically examine the assertion that Israeli immigrants in the U.S. are much less organized than would be predicted by recent theories on immigrant adaptation and community formation. Based on this research, we argue that while Israelis are ambivalent about their presence in the U.S., they have created a variety of communal activities involving entrepreneurship, religion, culture, politics and leisure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this essay we make a new proposal for the sociological approach to culture. We begin with a brief critical history of the social scientific treatment of culture and a criticism of some recent alternatives. In the section following this we develop our own model, and, in the third part of the essay, apply this in a construction of what we call the discourse of American civil society. In the fourth and longest section of our paper, we demonstrate the plausibility of this substantive model by using it to investigate a disparate range of events in American social and political history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Korean elderly persons who immigrated to America tend to live apart from their adult children, contrary to the assumption that they would adhere to their old custom of intergenerational family living prevalent in Korea where the tradition of filial piety is still influential. This paper explores factors associated with the elderly immigrants‘ living separate from their adult children and elicits the reasons they give for this residential pattern. Over 100 elderly Korean-Americans were interviewed. The results of this study show that public welfare programs, income, and education were major factors associated with the elderly‘s independent living from their adult children. Other factors influencing their preference for such a living pattern are also identified, including needs for privacy and freedom. Cultural factors related to family living patterns are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Collective future thinking, namely the anticipation of events for a group, is a relatively new research area in memory studies. Research to date with predominantly Western populations suggests that people tend to expect negative events for their country's future. In two studies, we investigated the emotional valence and perceived control of anticipated future events of one's country and examined the roles of country identification and national well-being in collective future thinking. US and Chinese college students (Study 1) and US, Chinese, and Turkish adults of a community sample (Study 2) imagined events that could happen to their respective countries in 1 week, 1 year, and 10–15 years. Participants rated each event on emotional valence and perceived control. They also completed measures for their country identification and perceived national well-being. Chinese participants imagined future events for their country to be more positive than did the US and Turkish participants, whereas US participants reported higher perceived control by their country for the future events than did Chinese and Turks. Country identification and national well-being predicted more positive future thinking and also mediated cultural differences in future-event valence and perceived country control. These original findings shed critical light on the characteristics of collective future thinking that are shaped by societal-cultural factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People intuitively view some social groups (such as Black people, Muslims, and women) as having biological underpinnings and discrete boundaries. Essentialist beliefs about social groups shape how people view themselves and others, leading to a number of negative social consequences. Whereas previous research has demonstrated variations in social essentialism within some Western societies, less is known about how social essentialism manifests in East Asian cultures that have well-documented differences in social values and cognitive styles from Western cultures. The current research investigated cultural variations in social essentialist thinking in the United States and China to reveal how cultural ideologies and social belief systems shape people's basic representations of the social world. Analyses revealed several cultural and social correlates of social essentialism both between and within the cultures and demonstrated the mediating role of collectivistic values in predicting cultural differences in essentialist beliefs about group coherence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated how people think about their personal life and their country by testing how participants in the U.S. and China think about personal and collective events in the past and future. Using a fluency task, we replicated prior research in showing that participants in the U.S. had a positivity bias toward their personal future and a negativity bias toward their country's future. In contrast, participants in China did not display a positivity or negativity bias toward either their personal or collective future. This result suggests that the valence dissociation between personal and collective future thinking is not universal. Additionally, when people considered the past in addition to the future, they displayed similar valence patterns for both temporal periods, providing evidence that people think about the past and the future similarly. We suggest political and cultural differences (such as dialectical thought) as potential explanations for the differences between countries in future thinking and memory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Erikson (Identity: Youth and crisis, W.W. Norton & Company, 1968) theorized identity and generativity as predominant personality developmental tasks in adolescence and midlife (respectively). However, existing literature reveals that not only can both constructs be equally prominent for midlife women (Newton and Stewart, Psychology of Women Quarterly 34:75–84, 2010), they are also dynamically inter-related (Kroger, Whitbourne (ed), Encyclopedia of adulthood and aging, Wiley-Blackwell, 2016), although how, specifically, these two constructs are related, and what role culture and activism might play in their expression are both less well-known. The present study examined middle-aged female activists' expressions of identity in relation to generativity across two cultural contexts. Ten interview transcripts from the Global Feminisms Project (Institute for Research on Women and Gender (2002) Global Feminisms Project. Retrieved from https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/globalfeminisms/) provided by five Chinese and five American middle-aged female activists were examined. Transcript narratives were coded for themes of identity and generativity using a coding scheme based on Erikson's writings. Findings showed that female activists in both cultural contexts integrated identity and generativity by expressing themes that consisted of both constructs. However, Chinese women activists expressed their identity by integrating generativity more so than their American counterparts. These results underscore identity and generativity as inter-related constructs that overlap among middle-aged women, as well as cultural variations both within and between groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]