Leaving Room for Minority Culture

Author(s):  
Marybeth Kamibeppu

This chapter is targeted at families raising bilingual and bicultural children in the Japanese school system. In it, I will discuss how one bicultural family approached fitting into Japanese school and society while still developing the minority-language mother’s culture and language. Since one family’s experience could be attributed to unique circumstances, to provide additional insights and perspectives eight other expatriate parents were interviewed either face-to-face (four parents) or via an online survey (four parents) to highlight some of the common strategies and experiences they used over time. For this study, the minority language is English as the international families all have an English first-language (L1) speaker or a bilingual (Japanese/English) parent. Each child in this paper has been educated primarily in Japanese public elementary, and public and private junior high and high schools. However, depending on the circumstance, some families have also chosen to embrace education outside the Japanese system. For some, this was a few weeks or months during elementary school, and for others it was for university or study abroad. For all the families who participated in my research for this chapter, education included an organized social and educational support group for raising bilingual children outside of school. Specifically, this chapter will explore the following: (1) how expatriate parents supported their own culture; (2) the importance of support from other families raising bilingual English/Japanese children while living in Japan; (3) what parts of these families’ experiences can enrich the lives of other bicultural families; and (4) how families can balance Japanese school clubs (bukatsu), supplementary education, school, and finances to support a family while still maintaining a minority language and culture.

Author(s):  
Andrew M. Yuengert

Although most economists are skeptical of or puzzled by the Catholic concept of the common good, a rejection of the economic approach as inimical to the common good would be hasty and counterproductive. Economic analysis can enrich the common good tradition in four ways. First, economics embodies a deep respect for economic agency and for the effects of policy and institutions on individual agents. Second, economics offers a rich literature on the nature of unplanned order and how it might be shaped by policy. Third, economics offers insight into the public and private provision of various kinds of goods (private, public, common pool resources). Fourth, recent work on the development and logic of institutions and norms emphasizes sustainability rooted in the good of the individual.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 238212052110148
Author(s):  
Jasna Vuk ◽  
Steven McKee ◽  
Sara Tariq ◽  
Priya Mendiratta

Background: Medical school learning communities benefit students. The College of Medicine (COM) at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) provides medical students with academic, professional, and personal support through a learning community (LC) made of 7 academic houses. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness of the academic house model at UAMS utilizing a mixed-methods survey. The aims were to: (1) assess student experience and satisfaction with academic houses, (2) describe the realms of advising and guidance, and (3) identify areas for improvement. Method: An online survey was assigned to 723 COM students (all students enrolled, first through fourth years) at UAMS in March 2019. The survey was comprised of 25 items (10 multiple-choice, 8 on the Likert scale, and 7 open-ended questions). Data was depicted using frequency and percentages and/or thematic review of free-form responses. Results: The survey response rate was 31% (227 students). The majority of students responding (132, 58.1%) attended 2 or more face-to-face meetings with the faculty advisor within the preceding year. However, 27 (11.9%) students did not have any meetings. Approximately two-thirds of the respondents were satisfied or very satisfied with the guidance and direction provided by their advisors [very satisfied (n = 83; 36.6%); satisfied (n = 77; 33.9%)]. Themes that emerged from student generated areas for improvement include time constraints, advisor/advisee interest mismatch, and perceived inadequacy of advising content/connections. Conclusions: This study confirms the effectiveness of the LC model for advising and mentoring in the COM at UAMS. Uniquely, this study identifies not only learners’ satisfaction with their LC but also highlights areas for improvement which are widely generalizable and important to consider for institutions with or planning to start an LC.


Author(s):  
Sabrina R Raizada ◽  
Natasha Cleaton ◽  
James Bateman ◽  
Diarmuid M Mulherin ◽  
Nick Barkham

Abstract Objectives During the COVID-19 pandemic, face-to-face rheumatology follow-up appointments were mostly replaced with telephone or virtual consultations in order to protect vulnerable patients. We aimed to investigate the perspectives of rheumatology patients on the use of telephone consultations compared with the traditional face-to-face consultation. Methods We carried out a retrospective survey of all rheumatology follow-up patients at the Royal Wolverhampton Trust who had received a telephone consultation from a rheumatology consultant during a 4-week period via an online survey tool. Results Surveys were distributed to 1213 patients, of whom 336 (27.7%) responded, and 306 (91.1%) patients completed all components of the survey. Overall, an equal number of patients would prefer telephone clinics or face-to-face consultations for their next routine appointment. When divided by age group, the majority who preferred the telephone clinics were <50 years old [χ2 (d.f. = 3) = 10.075, P = 0.018]. Prevalence of a smartphone was higher among younger patients (<50 years old: 46 of 47, 97.9%) than among older patients (≥50 years old: 209 of 259, 80.7%) [χ2 (d.f. = 3) = 20.919, P < 0.001]. More patients reported that they would prefer a telephone call for urgent advice (168, 54.9%). Conclusion Most patients interviewed were happy with their routine face-to-face appointment being switched to a telephone consultation. Of those interviewed, patients >50 years old were less likely than their younger counterparts to want telephone consultations in place of face-to-face appointments. Most patients in our study would prefer a telephone consultation for urgent advice. We must ensure that older patients and those in vulnerable groups who value in-person contact are not excluded. Telephone clinics in some form are here to stay in rheumatology for the foreseeable future.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 396
Author(s):  
Noé Ontiveros ◽  
Raúl Emilio Real-Delor ◽  
José Antonio Mora-Melgem ◽  
Carlos Eduardo Beltrán-Cárdenas ◽  
Oscar Gerardo Figueroa-Salcido ◽  
...  

Gluten-related disorders (GRDs) are increasing around the world, but their magnitude and relevance remain unknown in most Latin American countries. Thus, an online survey was conducted to estimate the prevalence of GRDs as well as adherence to a gluten-free diet (GFD) in Paraguayan adult population. There were 1058 individuals surveyed using a validated questionnaire (response rate of 93.9%). The self-reported prevalence rates were as follows (95% CI): gluten sensitivity (GS), 10.30% (8.53–12.29); non-celiac GS (NCGS), 5.19% (3.94–6.71); physician-diagnosed celiac disease (PD-CD), 3.11% (2.15–4.35); wheat allergy (WA), 2.07% (1.30–3.13); and adherence to GFD, 15.69% (13.55–18.02). Excluding CD, more women than men met the criteria for GRDs, adverse food reactions, and GFD (p < 0.05). Eight respondents reported the coexistence of NCGS with PD-CD and/or WA. Most cases on a GFD indicated medical/dietitian advice for following the diet (68.07%). Non-self-reported GS individuals indicated weight control (46.4%) and the notion that the GFD is healthier (20.2%) as the main motivations for following the diet. GRDs are not uncommon in Paraguayan adult population. It seems that there is awareness about GRDs and the GFD, but training about the diagnosis of GRDs is desirable because of the informed overlapping diagnoses of CD or WA with NCGS. Future studies involving face-to-face interviews are necessary.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
pp. 596-605
Author(s):  
Gill Phillipson ◽  
Sue Aspley ◽  
Ingo Fietze

Abstract Sleep deprivation affects the immune system and can render subjects more susceptible to symptoms associated with the common cold. The aim of this research was to investigate cold sufferers’ and doctors’ perceptions of the role of sleep in recovery from cold/flu. An online survey of 4000 adults who had suffered from cold/flu in the previous 12 months was conducted in eight countries and an online survey of 150 doctors was conducted in Germany. Responses were collected to questions regarding aspects of life affected by, and concerns while suffering from, cold/flu symptoms including nighttime awakening and actions taken to aid recovery. Responses were also collected to questions regarding advice given to cold/flu patients and the importance of sleep. Ability to sleep well was widely reported as negatively impacted by cold/flu (mean 46.1% of respondents across eight countries), especially in Western Europe, and inability to sleep well was a frequently reported concern associated with suffering from cold/flu (21.8%). To sleep more than usual was a frequently reported action taken to feel better (40.5%). Ninety-four percent of respondents reported waking up at night because of symptoms, cough being the most frequently reported symptom to awaken respondents. There was evidence of a possible relationship between sleep quality and medication taken at night for symptom relief. Countries with the highest proportions of respondents who reported sleep to be the aspect of life most negatively affected by a cold (France, Germany and Italy) were also those with the lowest proportions of respondents who reported that taking medications at night was the most effective way of getting back to sleep after waking due to cold symptoms. The majority of doctors believed sleep helped cold/flu patients to recover faster and that a good night’s sleep was important. Sleep is widely considered to be important in promoting recovery from cold/flu. Hence, the relief of symptoms that disrupt sleep is also likely to be important for a faster recovery.


Gesture ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Gerwing ◽  
Janet Bavelas

Hand gestures in face-to-face dialogue are symbolic acts, integrated with speech. Little is known about the factors that determine the physical form of these gestures. When the gesture depicts a previous nonsymbolic action, it obviously resembles this action; however, such gestures are not only noticeably different from the original action but, when they occur in a series, are different from each other. This paper presents an experiment with two separate analyses (one quantitative, one qualitative) testing the hypothesis that the immediate communicative function is a determinant of the symbolic form of the gesture. First, we manipulated whether the speaker was describing the previous action to an addressee who had done the same actions and therefore shared common ground or to one who had done different actions and therefore did not share common ground. The common ground gestures were judged to be significantly less complex, precise, or informative than the latter, a finding similar to the effects of common ground on words. In the qualitative analysis, we used the given versus new principle to analyze a series of gestures about the same actions by the same speaker. The speaker emphasized the new information in each gesture by making it larger, clearer, etc. When this information became given, a gesture for the same action became smaller or less precise, which is similar to findings for given versus new information in words. Thus the immediate communicative function (e.g., to convey information that is common ground or that is new) played a major role in determining the physical form of the gestures.


2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 77-97
Author(s):  
John Bosco Ngendakurio

Abstract This article seeks to reveal the primary barriers to fair economic development based on Kenyans’ perceptions of power and globalization. This search was initially sparked by the seeming disinterest of First World scholars to understand the reasons why poor countries benefit so little from the global market as reflected in a subsequent lack of a wide-ranging existing literature about the subject. The literature suggests that global capitalism is dominated by a powerful small elite, the so-called Transnational Capitalist Class (TCC), but how does this relate to Kenya and Africa in general? We know that the TCC has strong connections to financial capital and wealthy transnational corporations. It also pushes neo-liberalism, which becomes the taken-for-granted everyday language and culture that justifies state policies that result in a further class polarization between the rich and poor. Using Kenya as a case study, this article draws on original qualitative research involving face-to-face interviews with Kenyan residents in different sectors who spoke freely about what they perceive to be Kenya’s place in the world order. My interview results show that, on top of the general lack of economic power in the world order, the main barriers to Africa’s performance are neo-colonial and imperialist practices, poor technology, poor infrastructure, general governance issues, and purchasing power.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Greeni Maheshwari

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to investigate the influence of personality traits, individual factors and theory of planned behaviour (TPB) components (personal attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) on entrepreneurial intentions of university students. The study further aims to determine which factors have a higher influence on the entrepreneurial intentions of the students.Design/methodology/approachThe data was collected using an online survey from 164 students studying in universities in Vietnam. The study used confirmatory factor analysis and hierarchical regression to analyse the data.FindingsResults suggested that educational support has no impact on entrepreneurial intentions but individual factors such as self-efficacy, risk propensity and need for power and all the TPB components influenced entrepreneurial intentions. The TPB components had a higher influence on entrepreneurial intentions of students as compared to individual factors.Originality/valueOnly a few studies have been conducted to determine the strength of factors affecting entrepreneurial intensions of the students. This study demonstrates that TPB components have the highest influence on entrepreneurial intentions. Moreover, the study introduces an independent variable, need for power which is rarely used in any such studies and this adds a new component to the already existing research framework and in academic literature.


2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 1216-1229 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle F. Wright ◽  
Takuya Yanagida ◽  
Ikuko Aoyama ◽  
Anna Ševčíková ◽  
Hana Macháčková ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to examine the role of medium (face-to-face, cyber) and publicity (public, private) in perceptions of severity and emotional responses to victimization among adolescents from China, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, India, Japan, and the United States, while controlling for gender, individualism, and collectivism. There were 3,432 adolescents (age range = 11-15 years, 49% girls) included in this study. They read four hypothetical victimization scenarios, which were manipulated based on the medium and publicity, including public face-to-face victimization, private face-to-face victimization, public cyber victimization, and private cyber victimization. After reading the scenarios, adolescents rated the severity of each scenario and their feelings of anger, sadness, and embarrassment following victimization. Overall, higher severity related to each of the emotional responses. Furthermore, greater perceptions of severity increased adolescents’ feelings of anger, sadness, and embarrassment more often for public victimization and face-to-face victimization than for private victimization and cyber victimization. Some variations were found in these associations based on country of origin. The findings from this study indicate that perceived severity and emotional responses are different in various victimization contexts. Therefore, it is important to consider various victimization contexts.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document