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Social work in the twenty-first century is maturing as a global profession. This comparative study offers an original contribution to the evolving discussion in the field of international social work. The paper makes visible the socio-spatial dimensions and contested interpretations of international and indigenous knowledge through the experiences of social work students in the Global South and Global North. Drawing on findings from an online survey completed by undergraduate and postgraduate Nigerian and Scottish social work students (n  = 142), the paper provides insights into the students' experiences, expectations and perceived challenges. The Nigerian students critiqued the international (Western) knowledge informing their learning and practice, questioned the absence of indigenous knowledge and were aware of the importance, and challenges, of working with cultural diversity. The Scottish students showed little criticality of the Western (local) knowledge underpinning their learning and practice, did not prioritise learning about international social work and highlighted tensions between working with a culture of neoliberalism and social work values and social justice. We call for raising awareness of the epistemological foundations of what is included/excluded in curriculum and why, making the 'local' visible through re-balancing and contextualising the use of international and indigenous knowledge within social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is a noteworthy disanalogy between contemporary ethics and aesthetics that the fitting-attitude account of value, so prominent in contemporary ethics, sees comparatively little play in aesthetics. The aim of this paper is to articulate what a systematic fitting-attitude-style framework for understanding aesthetic value might look like. In the bulk of the paper, I sketch possible fitting-attitude-style accounts of three central aesthetic values—the beautiful, the sublime, and the powerful—so that the general form of the framework comes through. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stable, healthy families are the loto or heart of strong Pacific communities. This paper addresses the problem of a decline in the strength of Pacific families. It introduces and discusses the Tongan concept of O'ofaki , as the way in which shared, core relational commitments can bring Pasifika peoples together to support one another for health and community development. This process is based on a reciprocal sharing of social capital to promote cultural solidarity and social justice. We describe two studies by the lead author, through which the concept of O'ofaki emerged. The first study utilized an action research model while the second study focused on two Pasifika-centric research approaches: talanga , which is a Tongan word for interactive talking for a purpose, and the kakala (Tongan garland) research approach. The latter approach is incorporated within a general inductive methodology as well as luva— the dissemination of the results. Finally, the paper focuses on the components of O'ofaki and its application to Pasifika communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are communities in which hearing voices frequently is common and expected, and in which participants are not expected to have a need for care. This paper compares the ideas and practices of these communities. We observe that these communities utilize cultural models to identify and to explain voice-like events—and that there are some common features to these models across communities. All communities teach participants to "discern," or identify accurately, the legitimate voice of the spirit or being who speaks. We also observe that there are roughly two methods taught to participants to enable them to experience spirits (or other invisible beings): trained attention to inner experience, and repeated speech to the invisible other. We also observe that all of these communities model a learning process in which the ability to hear spirit (or invisible others) becomes more skilled with practice, and in which what they hear becomes clearer over time. Practice—including the practice of discernment—is presumed to change experience. We also note that despite these shared cultural ideas and practices, there is considerable individual variation in experience—some of which may reflect psychotic process, and some perhaps not. We suggest that voice-like events in this context may be shaped by cognitive expectation and trained practice as well as an experiential pathway. We also suggest that researchers could explore these common features both as a way to help those struggling with psychosis, and to consider the possibility that expectations and practice may affect the voice-hearing experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of the current "replication crisis" across the sciences, failures to reproduce a finding are often viewed as discrediting it. This paper shows how such a conclusion can be incorrect. In 1981, Schuman and Presser showed that including the word "freedom" in a survey question significantly increased approval of allowing a speech against religion in the USA. New experiments in probability sample surveys (n  = 23,370) in the USA and 10 other countries showed that the wording effect replicated in the USA and appeared in four other countries (Canada, Germany, Taiwan, and the Netherlands) but not in the remaining countries. The effect appeared only in countries in which the value of freedom is especially salient and endorsed. Thus, public support for a proposition was enhanced by portraying it as embodying a salient principle of a nation's culture. Instead of questioning initial findings, inconsistent results across countries signal limits on generalizability and identify an important moderator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines a set of art mechanisms that can help to co-produce knowledge between service users, social workers and policy makers. The paper will demonstrate how the arts can enable a space to reflect, to give concrete shape and to discuss and explore new meanings of an issue, for both 'sides' of the interaction together. Art enables situating subjective experience within social context with the help of the relationship between figure, background and spatial division of recourses (meaning material physical and also abstract recourses available to a specific group). Finally, arts enable negotiating multiple understandings and initiating new perspectives through using shifting symbols and shifting compositional elements. These mechanisms are demonstrated through images of a group of marginalised Bedouin women in Israel. The article discusses implications of conceptualising the relationship between social work and the arts and humanities as a way to enhance social workers' skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the importance of understanding and incorporating cultural context within Aotearoa/New Zealand when engaging in clinical research and practice. This paper reports on the qualitative findings of a mixed methods study aimed at determining what effect a cardiac risk reduction exercise and lifestyle management programme, embedded within a kaupapa Māori methodological approach, had on Māori participants. This methodology saw participants able to redevelop a western model cardiac risk reduction programme by introducing a Māori worldview. Our study revealed how the kaupapa Māori approach empowered participants to examine and evaluate not only their own health and lifestyle choices, but those of family and the wider community. Combining biomedical and kaupapa Māori components into the programme was found to benefit participants' mental, physical, spiritual and family well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the global number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths, it is not strange that COVID-19 disease is a reminiscent of concepts such as death and affliction with a serious disease. Furthermore, it might remind people of issues such as the reason(s) for occurrence of deplorable events in the universe, the meaning of life, individuals' duties toward themselves and others, the relationship between the nature and human beings, and individuals' relationship with a higher being (in case there is a belief in a higher being), i.e. the subjects spirituality deals with. The constructive or destructive role of each of religious and non-religious spiritual systems at the time of crises are observed more clearly than ever. The present paper addresses roles which spiritual systems might play in facing the COVID-19 disease crisis, considering different areas of spiritual well-being and the possibility that spiritual systems might be affected by perceived challenges during a pandemic. Because of the problems interfering with overcoming COVID-19 pandemic and the risk of next waves of its epidemics and pandemics, it is necessary for health policy-makers to use all available capacities and capabilities to counteract the disease, including using both internal motivations (such as spiritual beliefs which prohibit hurting oneself and others and which emphasize performing social responsibilities) and external ones (e.g. regulations) to cope with it. It makes sense for public health officials in different countries to use more actively the potential of those spiritual systems that support COVID-19 public health recommendations, as a culturally based intervention and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We create a culture dictionary using one of the latest machine learning techniques—the word embedding model—and 209,480 earnings call transcripts. We score the five corporate cultural values of innovation, integrity, quality, respect , and teamwork for 62,664 firm-year observations over the period 2001–2018. We show that an innovative culture is broader than the usual measures of corporate innovation – R&D expenses and the number of patents. Moreover, we show that corporate culture correlates with business outcomes, including operational efficiency, risk-taking, earnings management, executive compensation design, firm value, and deal making, and that the culture-performance link is more pronounced in bad times. Finally, we present suggestive evidence that corporate culture is shaped by major corporate events, such as mergers and acquisitions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a recent correspondence, the racial disparity was discussed regarding knowledge, attitudes and practices related to COVID-19. This paper highlights culture as a contributory factor in combatting the COVID-19 pandemic that is to be considered by each government around the world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the contribution of parental influence in accounting for cross-country gaps in human capital achievements. We argue that the cross-country variation in unobserved parental characteristics is at least as important as the one in commonly used observable proxies of parental socioeconomic background. We infer this through an indirect empirical approach, based on the comparison of the school performance of second-generation immigrants. We document that, within the same host country or even the same school, students whose parents come from high-scoring countries in standardized international tests do better than their peers with similar socioeconomic backgrounds. This finding is not driven by differential selection into emigration. We provide several pieces of evidence that support the transmission of cultural values as a leading channel behind the cross-country variation in the parental component. Unobserved parental characteristics account for about 15% of the cross-country variance in test scores, roughly doubling the overall contribution of parental influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is developing an ethical and sustainable organ donation and procurement system based on voluntary citizen donation. The gift-of-life metaphor has begun to dominate public discussion and education about organ donation. However, ethical and legal problems remain concerning this "gift-of-life" discourse: In what sense are donated organs a "gift-of-life"? What constitutes the ultimate worth of such a gift? On whose authority should organs as a "gift-of-life" be donated? There are no universal answers to these questions; instead, responses must be compatible with local cultural values. This paper argues that from a Confucian point of view, organs should be viewed as a gift from the donor's family, and that final dispositional authority should also rest with the donor's family. The worth of such a "gift" rests on the virtue of ren, the origin of which is family love. Ultimately, I will argue that a family-based consent model for deceased organ donation is not merely justified, but morally required in the Chinese cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Individual qualitative studies provide varied reasons for why heart failure patients do not engage in self-care, yet articles that aggregated primary studies on the subject have methodological weaknesses that justified the execution of a qualitative meta-summary. Aim: The aim of this study is to integrate the findings of qualitative studies pertaining to barriers and facilitators to self-care using meta-summary techniques. Methods: Qualitative meta-summary techniques by Sandelowski and Barroso were used to combine the findings of qualitative studies. Meta-summary techniques include: (1) extraction of relevant statements of findings from each report; (2) reduction of these statements into abstracted findings and (3) calculation of effect sizes. Databases were searched systematically for qualitative studies published between January 2010 and July 2015. Out of 2264 papers identified, 31 reports based on the accounts of 814 patients were included in the meta-summary. Results: A total of 37 statements of findings provided a comprehensive inventory of findings across all reports. Out of these statements of findings, 21 were classified as barriers, 13 as facilitators and three were classed as both barriers and facilitators. The main themes relating to barriers and facilitators to self-care were: beliefs, benefits of self-care, comorbidities, financial constraints, symptom recognition, ethnic background, inconsistent self-care, insufficient information, positive and negative emotions, organizational context, past experiences, physical environment, self-initiative, self-care adverse effects, social context and personal preferences. Conclusion: Based on the meta-findings identified in this study, future intervention development could address these barriers and facilitators in order to further enhance self-care abilities in heart failure patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technoference, the interference caused by excessive use of digital devices, has been shown to negatively impact parent–child relationships and children's emotional development. This paper explores the potential of Riau Malay culture, one of Indonesia's indigenous cultures, to offer solutions to the problem of technoference in parenting. Parents can establish closeness, develop their children's potential, and transmit cultural values by returning to cultural values and integrating the principles found in Tunjuk Ajar Melayu or Malay teachings. This approach ultimately contributes to the well-being of families and communities, fostering stronger emotional connections and supporting children's healthy development in the digital era. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how a sample of 297 child welfare workers in Norway, England and the state of California in the USA assess risk based on a vignette that combines parent intellectual disability and infant neglect. The study combines fixed-choice and open-ended questions. Workers first attach a risk score to the case and then explain in their own words the reasons behind their assessment. Key findings show that workers across all countries agree that this is a high-risk case. However, reasons behind the assessments vary across countries. Californians display a greater range and more uniform reasoning compared to the English and Norwegians, and differ in their concern with mother's cognitive functioning, and child age and health. English and Norwegians are generally more similar, but differ on attention to social and environmental factors and attention to the mother's cognitive functioning. I discuss these findings in relation to research on parental intellectual disability, child welfare orientation and familiarity with assessment tools. The study supports existing research on parental intellectual disability in the child welfare system. I argue that both child welfare orientation and assessment tools are important to understand these differences in reasoning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers can pursue a wide range of market-mediated identities in contemporary culture. However, some consumer identities are more valued than others, creating a form of cultural inequality. The present research considers consumers' deliberate efforts to assert greater cultural value for their identities, a phenomenon termed a "politicized consumer identity project." Specifically, this research focuses on consumers' intentional use of space, a resource that is ubiquitous in social life but has, nonetheless, received limited theoretical attention regarding this type of identity project. This ethnography uses mixed methods to study a sample of women embedded in the new cult of domesticity, an ethos that induces participants to use various spaces as a way of claiming greater value for feminine consumer identities that are often demeaned by others. The results reveal a system of spatial practices that consumers employ to contest this cultural devaluation across a broad range of sites in their lives, from their homes to commercial and public venues. We conceptualize these practices as spatial affirmation, repurposing, and incursion, showing their ideological and material interdependencies. This research advances understanding of the ties among consumer identities, space, and cultural politics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Multimodal interventions are increasingly targeting multiple cognitive decline risk factors. However, technology remains mostly adjunctive, largely prioritizes age relevancy over cultural relevancy, and often targets individual health without lasting, community-wide deliverables. Meanwhile, African Americans remain overburdened by cognitive risk factors yet underrepresented in cognitive health and technology studies. The Sharing History through Active Reminiscence and Photo-imagery (SHARP) program increases physical, social, and cognitive activity within a culturally meaningful context that produces community deliverables—an oral history archive and cognitive health education. Design and Methods The SHARP application was tested with 19 African Americans ≥55 years, aiming for an easy, integrative, and culturally meaningful experience. The application guided triads in walks 3 times weekly for 6 months in Portland, Oregon's historically Black neighborhoods; local historical images prompted recorded conversational reminiscence. Focus groups evaluated factors influencing technology acceptance—attitudes about technology, usefulness, usability, and relevance to integrating program goals. Thematic analysis guided qualitative interpretation. Results Technology acceptance was influenced by group learning, paper-copy replicas for reluctant users, ease of navigation, usefulness for integrating and engaging in health behaviors, relevance to integrating individual benefit and the community priority of preserving history amidst gentrification, and flexibility in how the community uses deliverables. Perceived community benefits sustained acceptance despite intermittent technology failure. Discussion and Implications We offer applicable considerations for brain health technology design, implementation, and deliverables that integrate modalities, age, and cultural relevance, and individual and community benefit for more meaningful, and thus more motivated community engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Non-Indigenous insects and pathogens (NIIP) have functionally eliminated numerous tree species of immeasurable cultural and ecological significance over the past century, with the number of species introductions and associated impacts growing each year. Foresters are often on the frontlines of these impacts, tasked with quickly adapting management plans to recover potential economic losses and maintain future silvicultural options following tree species loss. We highlight that the irreplaceable cultural and ecological values provided by many tree species argues for renewed focus on applying integrated pest management and adaptive strategies in novel ways to sustain these values for future generations. To guide these efforts, we describe a framework for adapting to NIIP centered on three interrelated components: preservation value, preservation approach, and preservation strategy. This framework and emerging species preservation efforts provide an alternative path forward to sustain threatened species and their associated values in an era of increasing change. Study Implications: The impact of non-indigenous insects and pathogens (NIIP) is one of the greatest challenges facing the long-term stewardship of forests in North America. Species preservation efforts that apply integrated pest management and adaptive strategies to maintain species in the face of NIIP are increasingly needed in foresters' toolboxes to address these novel threats. Identifying the preservation values (ethical responsibility, cultural integrity, ecological function, genetic conservation) tied to a species preservation effort will help guide how preservation approaches and strategies are applied at stand and landscape scales to sustain species and associated cultural and ecological values into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The introduced emerald ash borer (EAB) represents the costliest invasive forest insect in US history, causing significant mortality of ash species across much of eastern North America as well as in Colorado and Oregon. Few surviving overstory ash trees exist in areas first invaded by EAB, such as the Lake States region; however, forests with healthy, mature ash remain in recently invaded regions, such as the northeastern United States. Given the importance of ash to cultural lifeways of Indigenous peoples and the ecology and economies of working forest lands, there is growing interest in applying protection measures to maintain ash in forested settings. We further develop our call for species preservation by presenting Indigenous and Western science case studies of ongoing efforts to mitigate the impacts of EAB, illustrating specific applications of these strategies for meeting different preservation goals in lowland and northern hardwood forests in northeastern North America. Study Implications: The introduced emerald ash borer (EAB) threatens to functionally eliminate ash species from large portions of the United States. Although the impacts of EAB are now widespread in many areas, portions of the United States, such as the Northeast, still contain forests with healthy, mature ash. This presents a unique opportunity to apply the integrated pest management strategies and knowledge gained from other invaded regions to preserve the cultural and ecological values provided by ash in the forest. Multistakeholder partnerships built around preserving the cultural and ecological values of ash have provided a powerful approach for sustaining ash into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article highlights the significance of prioritizing Indigenous voices and knowledge systems, using whānau-centred initiatives (a concept that encompasses the broader family and community) as a foundation for health promotion within an Indigenous context. Tū Kahikatea, a conceptual framework, is used to demonstrate the relationship between the values underpinning different whānau-centred initiatives and their corresponding outcomes. The framework highlights the capacity of whānau-centred initiatives to support whānau in attaining mana motuhake, which represents collective self-determination and the ability to exercise control over their own future. By doing so, these initiatives contribute to the improvement of whānau health outcomes. With recent changes to Aotearoa New Zealand's health system, the findings underscore the benefits and potential of whānau-centred initiatives in enhancing whānau health outcomes, and advocate for continued strengths-based practices in Aotearoa New Zealand's health system. By bridging the gap between academia and grassroots community action, the article demonstrates the potential of whānau-centred initiatives and contributes to a global call for integrating Indigenous viewpoints and practices into Westernized healthcare, in order to improve Indigenous health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Despite the advantages of physical activity (PA), older adults are often insufficiently active to maximise health. Understanding factors that influence PA engagement will support well-designed interventions for older people. Our aim was to review the qualitative evidence exploring the factors affecting older adults' engagement in PA. Methods We searched six electronic databases for studies of community-dwelling older adults (≥70 years) including qualitative methods. We excluded studies of a single-disease group, individuals with cognitive impairment and care home residents. Methodological rigour was assessed with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme, and framework synthesis was applied using the Capability Opportunity Motivation—Behaviour (COM-B) model, which hypothesises that behaviour is influenced by three factors: capability, opportunity and motivation. Results Twenty-five studies were included in the review (N  = 4,978; mean 79 years) and 32 themes were identified. Older adults' capability was influenced by functional capacity (e.g. strength) and perceived risk of injury from PA (e.g. falls). Opportunity was impacted by the environment 'fit' (e.g. neighbourhood safety), the availability of social interaction and socio-cultural ageing stereotypes. PA was motivated by identifying as an 'exerciser', health gains and experiencing positive emotions (e.g. enjoyment), whereas negative sensations (e.g. pain) reduced motivation. Conclusions The qualitative synthesis showcased a complex web of interacting factors influencing PA between the sub-domains of COM-B, pinpointing directions for intervention, including a focus on whole systems approaches. There was a lack of research exploring PA influences in the oldest old and in low-income countries. Future research should seek to involve under-served groups, including a wider diversity of older people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article is an examination of the extent to which traditional medical knowledge in China can be protected by intellectual property laws. The analysis begins by providing a global picture with regard to the historic origin of intellectual property, exploring the reasons why China does not have indigenous counterparts to the western system of intellectual property rights protecting its traditional knowledge (including traditional medical knowledge) and stating the problems of transplanting western intellectual property standards in China. A discussion follows on how China, under foreign pressure, has made efforts to comply with the changing standards mandated by various international, regional, and bilateral arrangements related to intellectual property, with examples of the development of China's patent law. China's approach towards the protection of traditional medical knowledge in various international fora related to intellectual property is explored. Finally, there is a specific examination of the compatibilities between the western system of intellectual property rights and traditional medical knowledge in China, at the national and community levels. This article argues that the system of intellectual property rights does not easily fit with China's traditional medical knowledge because of China's unique cultural traits, distinctive historical context and wide ethnic, religious, and local community diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented that discusses articles published on this issue including the one by Wallace Chan on the Meaning in Life Questionnaire, another by Heather Boetto on promoting an eco-social approach in social work practice, and the one on ecological justice principles.

Expanding on a new body of literature on cultural self-selection, the present study investigates how refugees who arrived in Germany since 2013 relate to the general population of their countries of origin in terms of liberal democratic values. The cultural self-selection literature suggests that more liberal individuals may be more likely to flee to Germany. To trace cultural self-selection amongst refugees, a series of analyses is conducted: first, refugees of Iraqi, Russian, and Pakistani descent in Germany (IAB-BAMF-SOEP) and the general populations of their origin countries (World Values Survey) are statistically matched on socio-demographic characteristics and their democratic values are compared. After matching the samples, refugees express significantly higher support for liberal democratic values than the general population of their countries of origin. Second, a series of regression models is calculated, tracing three potential mechanisms for the observable differences: (1) acculturation effects in Germany, (2) the experience of being forcibly displaced, and (3) cultural self-selection. The results speak to the theoretical conjectures of the cultural self-selection literature. Liberal democratic values are not correlated with the time spent in Germany (acculturation), flight reasons, and past traumatic experiences (flight experience) but are positively correlated with a critical stance towards the government in the country of origin as well as with positive feelings towards Germany as the receiving society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How should we characterize the interaction between moral and aesthetic values in the context of environmental aesthetics? This question is important given the urgency of many environmental problems and the particular role played by aesthetic value in our experience of environment. To address this question, we develop a model of Environmental Virtue Aesthetics (EVA) that, we argue, offers a promising alternative to current theories in environmental aesthetics with respect to the relationship between aesthetics and ethics. EVA counters environmental aesthetic theories that focus more narrowly on scientific knowledge and ground aesthetic value in ways that obfuscate pluralistic modes of appreciation of and relationships with natural and semi-natural environments. To develop EVA, we work with a revised notion of respect and engage with ideas concerning the development of aesthetic sensibilities, care, and virtuous aesthetic appreciation. EVA has the potential to support forms of human-nature co-flourishing, as well as constituting an aesthetic grounding for ecological citizenship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the small but growing literature on the philosophy of country music, the question of how we ought to understand the genre's notion of authenticity has emerged as one of the central questions. Many country music scholars argue that authenticity claims track attributions of cultural standing or artistic self-expression. However, careful attention to the history of the genre reveals that these claims are simply factually wrong. On the basis of this, we have grounds for dismissing these attributions. Here, I argue for an alternative model of authenticity in which we take claims about the relative authenticity of country music to be evidence of 'country' being a dual-character concept in the same way that it has been suggested of punk rock and hip-hop. Authentic country music is country music that embodies the core value commitments of the genre. These values form the basis of country artists' and audiences' practical identities. Part of country music's aesthetic practice is that audiences reconnect with, reify, and revise this common practical identity through identification with artists and works that manifest these values. We should then think of authenticity discourse within country music as a kind of game within the genre's practice of shaping and maintaining this practical identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How effective were investments in pandemic preparation? We use a comprehensive and detailed measure of pandemic preparedness, the Global Health Security (GHS) Index produced by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security (JHU), to measure which investments in pandemic preparedness reduced infections, deaths, excess deaths, or otherwise ameliorated or shortened the pandemic. We also look at whether values or attitudinal factors such as individualism, willingness to sacrifice, or trust in government—which might be considered a form of cultural pandemic preparedness—influenced the course of the pandemic. Our primary finding is that almost no form of pandemic preparedness helped to ameliorate or shorten the pandemic. Compared to other countries, the United States did not perform poorly because of cultural values such as individualism, collectivism, selfishness, or lack of trust. General state capacity, as opposed to specific pandemic investments, is one of the few factors which appears to improve pandemic performance. Understanding the most effective forms of pandemic preparedness can help guide future investments. Our results may also suggest that either we aren't measuring what is important or that pandemic preparedness is a global public good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives This study examined a Māori (Indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand) age-friendly housing development. Two Māori community groups worked with multiple stakeholders to codesign a culture-centered, kaumātua (older adults) urban housing community. The purpose was to identify codesign and culture-centered principles in the development. Methods Kaupapa Māori (Māori-centered) and participatory research methodologies guided the culture-centered research design. Data collection included 27 interviews with 19 residents and 12 organizational stakeholders; three focus groups with residents' families, service providers, and nonresident kaumātua (n = 16); and project documents. Data analysis used the framework method. Results Three codesign process themes emerged: (a) Kaumātua-centered vision; (b) realizing the vision; and (c) living the shared vision. Discussion Accounting for cultural practices in codesigning age-friendly and culture-centered housing for and with Indigenous older adults helps meet their cultural, social, health, and economic needs. The research offers a practical pathway to developing age-friendly housing environments for Māori kaumātua , their communities, wider society, and other Indigenous people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives Sensory disabilities, including vision disability and hearing disability, increase risk for social isolation, which is associated with multiple negative health outcomes. Existing literature suggests that the cultural value of familism may provide a buffer against social isolation. We examined the longitudinal trajectory of social isolation among Hispanic older adults with self-reported vision disability (SRVD) and self-reported hearing disability and tested a modified measure of social isolation incorporating familism. Methods We compared 8-year trajectories of social isolation among Hispanics (n = 445) and non-Hispanic Whites (n = 4,861) from the National Health and Aging Trends Study. We used structural equation modeling to explore the longitudinal relationships between sensory disability and social isolation while comparing 2 measures of social isolation. Results Social isolation increased longitudinally for both groups, with SRVD significantly associated with higher initial levels. Social isolation started and remained higher across time among Hispanics. Using an adjusted measure of social isolation (added familial support), neither initial levels nor trajectories of social isolation differed between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White participants. Discussion Initially, Hispanics appeared more socially isolated, reporting less social support from outside the home. Yet, we found that they were more likely to report family social connections. Traditional measures of social isolation focusing on social support outside of the home (neglecting support by family) may lack content validity among Hispanic groups. Culturally sensitive measures of social isolation will be increasingly consequential for future research and health policy to meet the needs of a diverse older population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We exploit variation in the cultural heritage across U.S. CEOs who are the children or grandchildren of immigrants to demonstrate that the cultural origins of CEOs matter for corporate outcomes. Following shocks to industry competition, firms led by CEOs who are second- or third-generation immigrants are associated with a 6.2% higher profitability compared with the average firm. This effect weakens over successive immigrant generations and cannot be detected for top executives apart from the CEO.Additional analysis attributes this effect to various cultural values that prevail in a CEO's ancestral country of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aside from the Christmas season, another cultural period that stimulates abundant tourism and travel in the Philippines is the Lenten season. Hence, this season is a major setback in the containment of the coronavirus disease 2019. Fasting and abstinence, acts which mark the Lenten season, are closely tied up with the Filipino cultural value of pagtitimpi in that both promote restraint and self-denial. Ultimately, this article suggests that reinterpreting pagtitimpi can be crucial in controlling the virus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Translation plays a central role as a creative method in Angela Carter's Fireworks (1974). The collection of stories showcases Carter's multilingual musings on the word hanabi by opening with "A Souvenir of Japan," which records a brief moment of bliss during the Japanese summer festival, captured in the image of the "morning glories of the night." It then builds on its literary and cultural resonances in English, French, and Japanese to form a variegated bouquet of stories linked by the flower motif that gives the collection its aesthetic identity. Infused by Carter's experience of Japan and memories of Baudelaire, Buñuel, and Bashō, Fireworks exemplifies Carter's translational poetics as a mode of writing blossoming across intertwined languages, cultures, and art forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In February 1926, Chinese art collector John Hilditch opened the Hilditch–McGill Chinese Palace Temple in Manchester. Filling a garage with Chinese objects and performing what he claimed to be Buddhist rituals, Hilditch insisted the temple offered visitors a chance to see Chinese art in 'actual Chinese fashion and atmosphere'. This article analyses Hilditch's attempts to construct an authentic temple and visitor accounts of its realism to analyse the relationship between high and low culture, and how China was understood and imagined in the 1920s. It shows how Hilditch's combination of sensory effects adopted from mass culture and claims to museum notions of scientific verification, in addition to the projection of well-established stereotypes of China, skewed understandings of authenticity and invited faith—albeit most likely 'ironic' faith—in the temple's legitimacy. Scholars have argued that the rise of mass culture prompted art museums to restructure on high cultural values but interpretation of the temple as a museum shows that the lines between mass culture and museums were blurred. The temple thereby encourages a broader definition of museums and complicates our understanding of interwar culture more generally by showing how the categories of high and low culture were less stable than some scholars have presumed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the famous skull collection of the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Blumenbach (1752–1840) to demonstrate that human remains in early modern scientific collections possessed an important but often underestimated economic value in addition to their well-known scientific and social worth. Blumenbach's skulls are thus presented as a part of a vigorous early modern 'necro-economy' and as a product of its networks. The article highlights three strategies of enrichment which were used to create the value of these bones: reference to scientific values, the use of emotions and story-telling. The last two strategies in particular are relevant to present-day debates concerning the restitution of musealized human remains, for their analysis helps us deconstruct a perceptual bias that tends to contrast a Western and predominantly 'scientific' (and thus seemingly universal) value of collected human remains with theoretically 'softer' cultural values allegedly attributed to them in their countries of origin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting the harm perpetuated by gender-blind programs for marginalized citizens, including sexual and gender minorities (SGMs) and cisgender women. Gender-blind programs are known to augment harms associated with violence and structural stigmatization by reinforcing rather than challenging unequal systems of power. The intersecting marginalization of these populations with systems of class, race, and settler-colonialism is exacerbating the impact that policies such as physical distancing, school closures, and a realignment of healthcare priorities are having on the wellbeing of these populations. The overarching reasons why women and SGM are marginalized are well known and stem from a hegemonic, patriarchal system that fails to fully integrate these groups into planning and decision making regarding public health programming—including the response to COVID-19. In this perspective, we aim to highlight how the exclusion of cisgender women and SGM, and failure to use a gender redistributive/transformative approach, has (i) hampered the recovery from the pandemic and (ii) further entrenched the existing power structures that lead to the marginalization of these groups. We also argue that COVID-19 represents a once-in-a-century opportunity to realign priorities regarding health promotion for cisgender women and SGM by using gender redistributive/transformative approaches to the recovery from the pandemic. We apply this framework, which aims to challenge the existing power structures and distribution of resources, to exemplars from programs in health, housing, employment, and incarceration to envision how a gender redistributive/transformative approach could harness the COVID-19 recovery to advance health equity for cisgender women and SGM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a wide body of scholarly research recognizes multiple kinds of values for water, water security assessments typically employ just some of them. In the present article, we integrate value scenarios into a planetary water security model to incorporate multiple water-related social values and illustrate trade-offs among them. Specifically, we incorporate cultural values for environmental flows needed to sustain ecosystem function (rights of waters), the water requirements of a human right to food (rights to water), and the economic value of water to commercial enterprise (commercial water rights). Pairing quantitative hydrological modeling with qualitative systems of valuing, we suggest how to depict the available water for realizing various combinations of the values underlying those rights. We account for population growth and dietary choices associated with different socioeconomic pathways. This pluralist approach incorporates multiple kinds of values into a water security framework, to better recognize and work with diversity in cultural valuation of water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on multisited fieldwork in Kigali, Rwanda, Belgium, and the Netherlands following the political crisis in Burundi in 2015, we explore decisions and plans for the future among Burundians in exile. In this way, we contribute to research about future making and social reproduction in families in a transnational social field affected by crisis. Adding to the literature, we show the specific effects of crisis on transnational families' practices and aspirations, such as parental efforts to prevent traumatic world views and the constant need for families to readjust their plans to ongoing crisis dynamics. We argue that as the violence has disrupted the migrant parents' hopes for a better future for themselves, they redirect their efforts towards their children's futures. We thus argue that not only future making practices but also aspirations should be seen as social and relational, particularly in times of crisis. In particular, the Burundians living in Rwanda, Belgium and the Netherlands seek to provide their offspring with the skills to become educated, social and moral beings, even it entails sacrificing their own lives and aspirations. Moreover, adding to debates on migrants' efforts to reproduce their own cultural values and practices in host societies, we find that the Burundian parents attempt to change what they perceive as a 'culture of hatred and vengeance' with parenting practices. As such, we argue that many migrant parents explicitly pursue social transformation through their children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current science policy emphasizes practical outcomes. In this article, I explore how a fundamental research community addresses the value of research, an area that has received a little attention. In the wake of the discovery of the Higgs boson, I analyse how particle physicists interpret the values of their research in interviews and a strategic document. The result indicates a hierarchy of interests that coordinates different values of particle physics in discourse: the status of scientific and cultural value is higher than that of societal and material value. This finding implies that value propositions are inseparable from the articulation of interests, and qualitative discourse analysis can approach a combined understanding of the two. In science policy studies, there is not yet sufficient studies on how scientists appraise different values of research. The hierarchical discursive practice on values shed lights on a culture different from policy trends. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural heritage connects the past with the future by forming an integral part of the identities of societies. Thus, countries must protect their cultural heritage and create policies to ensure that people benefit today and pass the heritage on to future generations. Beyond physical protection in the face of globalization, increasing access to cultural heritage is necessary to ensure participation and evaluate practices from an international perspective. Advances in computer and communication technologies are being exploited for these requirements. Acquiring knowledge about and interacting with cultural objects in any part of the world today is possible through the digital humanities approach. In this study, a conceptual model was formed to increase visibility and usage of Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute Manuscripts, the Hittite cuneiform tablets from Bogazköy, the works of Ibn Sina at the Süleymaniye Manuscript Library, Evliya Çelebi's 'Book of Travels', and the Old Assyrian Merchant Archives of Kültepe registered in UNESCO's Memory of the World List. In this model, which is prepared with the digital humanities approach, best practices applied in the field are considered as examples in the literature. Suggestions are made on how to utilize digital humanities tools to increase access and visibility by revealing the economic, social, and cultural values of the works based on the model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hygge, the lifestyling trend that offers a path to 'authentic' Danish contentment, is one of the more curious instances of cultural translation in recent years, both semantically and in terms of how an everyday Danish concept has been transformed by London publishing houses into a marketable commodity. Despite the widespread international popular success of the phenomenon, hygge has received little academic attention. What is particularly lacking is an analysis of the cultural transferral of the concept, of the rather different set of meanings constructed by the remodelling of hygge by English-speaking commentators. This article proposes that design history can offer a helpful framework for this kind of understanding. By approaching the case of hygge as a 'mythology' in the Barthian sense, we will argue that the concept builds upon the legacy of the mythologies imprinted on Anglophone societies by the branding of Scandinavian Design since the 1950s. Highlighting the links between such myths and the manufactured British version of hygge , we will posit that the meaning of hygge— the way it operates as a sign in British culture today—is dependent upon longstanding structures of understanding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, I address two objections developed by Kingma against Boorse's (1977) bio-statistical theory of health, the objections that choice of reference classes renders the theory both circular and problematically value-laden. These objections not only apply to the bio-statistical theory of health but also to other naturalistic theories, like the dispositional theory of health. I present three rejoinders. First, I argue that the circularity objection arises from excessive methodological demands. Second, I argue that naturalists can resist the normativist claim that health and pathology are differentiated on the basis of personal or cultural values. Finally, I show that it is possible to justify choices between rival theories of health without the interference of evaluative commitments. With these rejoinders, I conclude that the bio-statistical theory, as well as other naturalistic theories of health utilizing reference classes, is not undermined by Kingma's arguments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research misconduct and consequential harms have been inflicted upon American Indian/Alaska Native communities for decades. To protect their people and culture and to retain oversight over research, many Native communities have established tribal health research and institutional review boards. The Treatment Options for Type 2 Diabetes in Adolescents and Youth (TODAY) Study showcases a successful, trusting research collaboration with tribal nations and academic investigators in Oklahoma. In 2006, the TODAY Study investigators proposed a modification of the study protocol to collect biological specimens from participants for genomic analyses and indefinite storage. Partnering American Indian tribal nations elected not to participate in the genomics collection and repository proposal. Reasons included 1) protection of cultural values, 2) concerns regarding community anonymity, 3) a potential threat to tribal services eligibility, 4) broad informed consent language, and 5) vague definitions of data access and usage. The nations believed the proposed genomics analyses presented a risk of harm to their people and nations without clear benefit. Since the 2006 proposal and the advancement of genomics research, many tribal communities in Oklahoma, appreciating the potential benefits of genomic research, are developing policies regarding oversight of/access to data and biological specimens to mitigate risks and provide members and communities with opportunities to participate in safe and meaningful genomic research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research processes that are centered on western models and rooted in colonisation and racism can have deleterious effects upon disenfranchised groups, such as people of colour and indigenous communities. Community-centred and culturally-grounded processes are necessary to achieve meaningful participation and engagement in research by creating equitable protocols and ensuring beneficial outcomes. Such processes are particularly needed in indigenous populations, including the Hawaiian community. This article describes the participatory development of the community engagement protocols and rules of engagement created by a community and academic partnership called the Waimānalo Pono Research Hui (WPRH). Through monthly gatherings, academic and community partners engaged in discussions of constructing community programmes and developing research protocols that are rooted in Hawaiian wholistic values of health and well-being with indigenous methodologies. A final set of protocols and rules of engagement was developed through an iterative feedback process that was rooted not only in community-based participatory (CBPR) principles but also Hawaiian values, beliefs and way of life. Challenges and future directions are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The association between health literacy (HL) and health outcomes, including self-perceived health (SPH) has been well documented. Yet the complexity of this association is not yet completely clear. Drawing on the Health Literacy Scale (HLS) study in Israel, we examined the association between HL, Internal Health Locus of Control (IHLOC) and SPH among Jews and Arabs. A face-to-face survey was conducted among 242 Arabs and 358 Jews. The questionnaire measured SPH, IHLOC and two measures of HL: a European HLScale (HLS-EU-16) and the Hebrew/Arabic Health Literacy Test (H/AHLT), based on the Short Test Of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Analysis included multivariable logistic regressions and bootstrapping to identify mediation effects.  Among Jews, IHLOC seems to be a significant mediator between HL and SPH. IHLOC was strongly associated with SPH (OR = 6.13; CI = 3.2, 11.8), while HL was not significantly associated directly with SPH. Similar results were observed when using the H/AHLT as a measure of HL. Among Arabs a different pattern emerges; IHLOC was neither associated with SPH nor was it a mediator of the association between HL and SPH. The two measures of HL seem to have different associations with SPH among Arabs, as only H/AHLT was associated significantly with SPH, and not HLS-EU-16. Thus, those with higher levels of IHLOC assess their health as better than those with low IHLOC only among Jews, and not among Arabs. IHLOC seems to be a significant mediator between HL and SPH among some cultures. Among Arabs, only functional HL seems to be positively associated with SPH, [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of literature needs a kind of justification that it currently does not appear to have. It needs a justification that can articulate its role in relation to democratic social and political values, and it needs to do so in ways that are able to distinguish those from the economic motives and the interests of science that also drive culture, and ultimately it needs to do so in relation to a very changed global order. The historical picture reveals that while literature has long been looked to as a source for the transmission of cultural values, it has also been without a very solid set of well‐articulated principles to justify its role within higher education. This lack is attributable (1) to the divergence between 'college' and 'university' institutional models; (2) to the framing of the value of literature in relation to science rather than independently; and (3) to the fact that literature provides resources for practical reasoning (phronēsis), reasoning about what to do, rather than knowledge of facts or of universal laws. The stresses under which democratic ideals currently find themselves further challenge those who would advocate for the teaching of literature as part of higher education to identify a more expanded range of capacities that literary education can support than was the case up until the end of the 20th century. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current child-protection and women-protection frameworks tend to polarise the well-being of women and children. Abused mothers are often considered 'inadequate' or 'incompetent' if their children fail to achieve socially desirable outcomes. Conversely, children are seen as a burden on abused women in cases where women are ambivalent with respect to their mothering experience. Yet abused women need extra care and support to be competent again in the post-separation context, while children can serve a protective role for their abused mothers. This study employs Cooperative Grounded Inquiry (CGI) for working with abused Chinese women in Hong Kong and their teenage children in order to nurture a community of practice for transforming mothering into a mutual care project. Through partnering with teenage participants for setting care goals and care plans, abused women became aware of how they had monopolised the care work at home while teenage participants recognised how they could contribute to designing and accomplishing care plans. The findings shed light on the cultural fit of 'community of practice' in Chinese familial societies, and demonstrate the potential of 'doing family' for expanding postseparation protection for abused women and their children. In this article, 'community of practice' is proposed as an approach for helping to narrow the gap between childprotection and women-protection systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: advanced dementia is an incurable illness, its last stage marked by inability to eat. Tube feeding was deemed a helpful solution at this stage, but in recent years its inefficiency has been proved, and it is no longer practiced in many countries around the world. In Israel, however, the procedure is still accepted. In the gastroenterology department at the Bnai Zion Medical Center, a serious interaction is ongoing with patients' legal guardians, where detailed information is given about the inefficiency of the tube procedure. Nevertheless, the great majority of guardians choose to have it performed. Purpose: to probe the considerations underlying the decision for gastrostomy, despite the data and the recommendations. Method: qualitative research, including participant observation at the clinic and in-depth interviews with guardians. Findings: the families of most patients did not discuss end-of-life issues with them. The overwhelming preference for using the technology was interpreted as life-saving, in contrast to comfort feeding, which was deemed euthanasia. The reasons given for the decision to tube feed were drawn from a range of outlooks: religion, the patient's earlier survival capacity, and pragmatic considerations involving relations with nursing home staff. Conclusion: study of the decision-making process of advanced dementia patients' guardians sheds light on the layers of meaning of the Israeli discourse regarding end-of-life issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Question: To what extent do financial, demographic and cultural determinants explain the vast cross-national differences in ART treatments in Europe?Summary Answer: The normative cultural acceptance of ART is a major driver of ART treatments in Europe, above and beyond differences in country wealth, demographic aspects and religious composition.What Is Known Already: There are vast differences in the number of ART treatments across European countries, which are to some extent related to country affluence, regulation, and insurance coverage and costs. The role and impact of cultural and normative factors has not been explored in a larger cross-national comparison.Study Design, Size, Duration: A descriptive and comparative cross-national analysis of ART treatment prevalence in over 30 European countries in 2010, with the outcome defined as the total number of ART cycles per million women of reproductive age (15-44 years). Data is drawn from multiple sources (ICMART, US Census Bureau Library, World Bank, Barro-Lee Educational Attainment Dataset, IFFS Surveillance reports, European Values Study and World Religion Database).Participants/materials, Setting, Methods: Our sample includes data from 35 European countries, where we describe the associations between demographic and cultural factors and the prevalence of ART treatments. Bivariate correlation and ordinary least squares multiple regression analysis serves to establish the relationships between predictor variables and the number of ART treatments per million women aged 15-44 years in a country.Main Results and the Role Of Chance: A one-percent increase in national GDP is associated with 382 (95% CI: 177-587) additional ART procedures per million women of reproductive age, yet this effect is reduced to 99 (-92 to 290) treatments once cultural values and demographic factors are accounted for. In our fully adjusted model, normative cultural values measuring the acceptability of ART are the strongest predictor of ART usage, with a one-point increase of average approval in a country associated with 276 (167-385) additional ART treatments per million women of reproductive age.Limitations, Reasons For Caution: Findings are based on a cross-sectional, cross-national analysis, making formal tests of causality impossible and prohibiting inferences to the individual level.Wider Implications Of the Findings: Results indicate that reproductive health policy should openly acknowledge the importance of cultural norms in informally shaping and regulating the wider availability of ART treatment.Study Funding/competing Interest(s): Funding for this project was provided by the European Union's Seventh Framework Program (FP7 2007-2013) (No. 320116 Families and Societies), European Research Council for the SOCIOGENOME Consolidator Grant (ERC-2013-CoG-615603) and the Wellcome Trust Institutional Strategic Support Fund (all to M.C.M.). The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.Trial Registration Number: N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The internationalisation of social work is a positive and dynamic aspect of contemporary practice. In England, the study of internationalisation has focused on professional migration from Anglophone countries to England. However, less attention has been paid to the migration of social work practitioners and ideas from other EU countries. Germany has been one of the main sources of professional migrants from other parts of Europe. It has also been a source of influential ideas, particularly social pedagogy, with many German social workers actively recruited to English authorities to introduce social pedagogic practices. The article presents the findings from a qualitative study examining the experiences of German social workers working in England. The study was primarily concerned with what the perspectives and experiences of these practitioners can tell us about similarities and differences in practice between the two countries. While interviewees reported that they adapted their practice to fit with English statutory social work, they continued to see themselves as social pedagogues. This resulted in a tension between their expectations of practice, especially working directly with families to foster change, and the reality of working in a hierarchical system built around procedures and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a methodological approach for articulating and communicating the impact and value of research: qualitative network analysis using collaborative configuration tracing and visualization. The approach was proposed initially in Oancea (Interpretations and Practices of Research Impact across the Range of Disciplines Report, Oxford, Oxford University, 2011) and was refined and tested in a 2013-14 study funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. It uses co-constructed qualitative network diagrams to enable the systematic elicitation and visualization of information from participants (such as researchers, administrators, facilitators, partners, users, and beneficiaries of research) about the different flows and relationships that they see as relevant to creating, articulating, and demonstrating impact and value from research. Unlike quantitative network studies, the emphasis here is on the process of construction and interpretation of qualitative network maps by the participants. Subject to further testing and refinement and to critical understanding of the conceptual, technical, practical, and political limitations of measurement in this area, the approach that we have developed can be adapted for use in research, evaluation, communication, engagement, knowledge exchange, and developmental work in higher education institutions and funding organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]