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Although a large volume of research on social networking sites (SNS) and their effects has been accumulated in the literature over the past few years, empirical studies examining how people use SNS in languages other than English are somewhat limited. Particularly, the use of Spanish SNS has rarely been investigated. To shed light on this research direction, the current study compared the effects of using Spanish and English SNS on individuals' cultural orientations and attitude formation. A total of 113 adult consumers participated in a laboratory experiment where they were asked to evaluate either of two experimental websites, one with Hispanic cultural connotations and the other with American cultural meanings. Their SNS usage and cultural orientations were measured. It was found that more frequent usage of Spanish SNS was significantly associated with a higher level of Hispanic cultural orientation and a more favorable attitude toward the website with American cultural meanings. However, the use of English SNS did not significantly influence people's American cultural orientations and their website evaluations. Usage of both Spanish and English SNS was found to be motivated by individuals' social play dependency on such media platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dominating the media landscape today, social media are cultural institutions that influence users’ cultural orientation. This study focused on how using social media might strengthen or weaken people’s tendency toward certain cultural value systems. Specifically, how English and Spanish social media usage affected Hispanic users’ acculturation into the American culture was examined. Through a survey of 996 self-identified Hispanic respondents in the U.S., it was found that English social media usage helped them develop strong orientation toward the mainstream American culture, while Spanish social media consumption reinforced their ethnic Hispanic cultural identification. This study further examined whether Hispanics with various demographic characteristics used social media differently and acculturated into the American society to different degrees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latinos have a long history of military service with recent service including combat conditions and multiple deployments, which are highly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Clinical acumen underscores the importance of culture in assessment and treatment, but there has been little scientific literature that investigates the unique needs of veteran Latinos with PTSD. The primary goal of this systematic review was to analyze the existing literature on Latino veterans with PTSD and to critically evaluate attention to cultural issues. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses were used to guide this review. Peer-reviewed, research reports written in English on Latino Veterans with PTSD since 1980 were included; 20 were assessment related, and nine were treatment related. All studies were quantitative. Only 13 studies mentioned culture as part of the context for Latino veterans, and only seven included cultural factors as part of the study design. Present findings highlight a lack of research focused on understanding cultural factors related to the assessment and treatment of Latino veterans with PTSD. Culturally-informed research on Latino veterans from current wars, Latina veterans and Latino veteran treatment outcomes are necessary to provide culturally-appropriate care to this growing veteran subgroup. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to an increase in enrollment in upper-level Spanish classes that posed staffing problems, the Spanish section of the Department of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures at the University of Tennessee decided to combine three sections of Spanish 331, ‘Introduction to Hispanic Culture,’ into one large lecture course, which was offered for the first time in the spring of 2004. This study is devoted to analyzing the design of Spanish 331 in the light of recent pedagogical research as well as to discussing the successful implementation of this course. Special attention is paid to the distinguishing features of Spanish 331, in particular to the effective use of PowerPoint presentations as a means of managing a large lecture course taught in a target language, the integration of a variety of Hispanic cultures into one course, and the creation of assessment techniques and follow-up activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article considers the validity and factorial invariance of an attitudinal measure of familism. Using a large, nationally representative sample of U.S. Hispanics, the validity and factorial invariance of the measure was tested across country of origin (United States, Mexico, and Latin America) and the language in which the survey was conducted (Spanish and English). Results support the invariance of the measure in both group comparisons, suggesting that the measure assesses a quality of familism that persists across country of origin and language preference. Further, the results also support equality in mean factor levels across these groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]