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IntroductionGlobally, 600,000 mothers (15-49 years) die every year due to pregnancy and childbirth-related complications. Wide variations are seen in cultural practices and beliefs surrounding this period of a woman's life. The present study explores the cultural beliefs and practices of women and families during pregnancy and the postnatal period in order to understand what behavioral management strategies are required to improve maternal and infant outcomes during pregnancy and the postpartum period.MethodsThe study was conducted in a rural area of Punjab, from December 2019 to March 2021. A total of 20 women (up to 3 months postpartum, age >18 years, were interviewed.ResultsIn general, women described eating varied and fairly healthy diets during pregnancy, especially nutritious warm food, following traditional practices. Other cultural practices included restrictions on movement and mobile phone use and the use of unsafe home remedies to promote infant safety and wellbeing, such as using gripe water, applying black pencil to the baby's eyes, and feeding the baby honey. A few were not inclined to engage with these and other cultural expectations, preferring instead to follow contemporary practices influenced by social media. These practices included being accompanied by a family member during delivery, celebrating the baby's birth regardless of sex, and early bathing post-delivery.DiscussionIt can be concluded that while many traditional practices are still followed in India, there are new beliefs and behaviors arising from an intersection between culture and technology. Developing strategies that acknowledge older beliefs and modern approaches is essential to promoting better antenatal and postpartum care.

ObjectivesWe investigated the impact of culturally relevant social, educational, and language factors on cognitive test performance among Spanish speakers living near the US-Mexico border.MethodsParticipants included 254 healthy native Spanish speakers from the Neuropsychological Norms for the US-Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP-NUMBRS) project (Age: M = 37.3, SD = 10.4; Education: M = 10.7, SD = 4.3; 59% Female). A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered in Spanish. Individual test scaled scores and T-scores (based on region-specific norms adjusted for age, education, and sex) were averaged to create Global Mean Scaled and T-scores. Measures of culturally relevant factors included a self-reported indicator of educational quality/access (proportion of education in Spanish-speaking country, quality of school/classroom setting, stopped attending school to work), childhood socioeconomic environment (parental education, proportion of time living in Spanish-speaking country, childhood socioeconomic and health status, access to basic resources, work as a child), and Spanish/English language use and fluency.ResultsSeveral culturally relevant variables were significantly associated with unadjusted Global Scaled Scores in univariable analyses. When using demographically adjusted T-scores, fewer culturally relevant characteristics were significant. In multivariable analyses, being bilingual (p = .04) and working as a child for one's own benefit compared to not working as a child (p = .006) were significantly associated with higher Global Mean T-score, accounting for 9% of variance.ConclusionsDemographically adjusted normative data provide a useful tool for the identification of brain dysfunction, as these account for much of the variance of sociocultural factors on cognitive test performance. Yet, certain culturally relevant variables still contributed to cognitive test performance above and beyond basic demographics, warranting further investigation.

This article examines instances of a U.S.–Mexican transnational youth honing his critical translingual literacy skills through his engagement with corridos, Mexican balladry in Spanish that often emphasizes injustice and border strife. The author relies on ethnographic classroom observations, the student's journals, and semistructured interviews to provide a glimpse into the complexities and sophistication of the bilingual youth's everyday language and literacy practices in an era of vehement anti-immigrant rhetoric. This inquiry asks, (a) What do literacy practices deeply rooted in corridos look like? (b) How does one youth read and engage with the Mexican musical genre of corridos to make sense of his social and political world? and (c) What are the environments and educational settings that supported this literacy development? Findings detail a transnational youth's corridista (balladeer) consciousness and its concomitant language and literacy practices that shape and are shaped by his participation in both his Tijuana communities of origin and his Los Angeles communities. Specifically, this study showcases a student's uses of literary devices, including allegory, to describe myriad forms of oppression and resistance found in corrido lyrics and throughout the lives of U.S.–Mexican transnational youths. Attention to literary genres that are often unsanctioned in traditional English-medium classrooms and recognizing the complex cognitive abilities of bilinguals can harvest critical insight about literacy education in and out of school. Implications from this study highlight meaningful learning contexts for transnational adolescents’ literacies and how engagement of these literacies might be (re)conceptualized through an ethnic studies and Chicanx/Latinx Studies lens.

This article examines instances of a U.S.–Mexican transnational youth honing his critical translingual literacy skills through his engagement with corridos, Mexican balladry in Spanish that often emphasizes injustice and border strife. The author relies on ethnographic classroom observations, the student's journals, and semistructured interviews to provide a glimpse into the complexities and sophistication of the bilingual youth's everyday language and literacy practices in an era of vehement anti-immigrant rhetoric. This inquiry asks, (a) What do literacy practices deeply rooted in corridos look like? (b) How does one youth read and engage with the Mexican musical genre of corridos to make sense of his social and political world? and (c) What are the environments and educational settings that supported this literacy development? Findings detail a transnational youth's corridista (balladeer) consciousness and its concomitant language and literacy practices that shape and are shaped by his participation in both his Tijuana communities of origin and his Los Angeles communities. Specifically, this study showcases a student's uses of literary devices, including allegory, to describe myriad forms of oppression and resistance found in corrido lyrics and throughout the lives of U.S.–Mexican transnational youths. Attention to literary genres that are often unsanctioned in traditional English-medium classrooms and recognizing the complex cognitive abilities of bilinguals can harvest critical insight about literacy education in and out of school. Implications from this study highlight meaningful learning contexts for transnational adolescents’ literacies and how engagement of these literacies might be (re)conceptualized through an ethnic studies and Chicanx/Latinx Studies lens.

This article articulates a contextualized understanding of gender and ethnicity as interacting social determinants of HIV risk and acquisition, with special focus on African Americans and Hispanics/Latinos--2 ethnic groups currently at most risk for HIV/AIDS acquisition in the United States. First, sex and gender are defined. Second, a conceptual model of gender, ethnicity, and HIV risk and resilience is presented. Third, a historical backdrop of gender and ethnic disparities is provided, with attention to key moments in history when notions of the intersections between gender, ethnicity, and HIV have taken important shifts. Finally, new frontiers in psychology are presented, with recommendations as to how psychology as a discipline can better incorporate considerations of gender and ethnicity as not only HIV risk factors but also as potential avenues of resilience in ethnic families and communities. Throughout the article, we promulgate the notion of a syndemic intersectional approach, which provides a critical framework for understanding and building the conditions that create and sustain overall community health by locating gendered lived experiences and expectations within the layered conceptual model ranging from the biological self to broader societal structures that define and constrain personal decisions, behaviors, actions, resources, and consequences. For ethnic individuals and populations, health disparities, stress and depression, substance abuse, and violence and trauma are of considerable concern, especially with regard to HIV risk, infection, and treatment. The conceptual model poses new frontiers for psychology in HIV policy, research, interventions, and training.

Talking Leaves, Spring 1999Articles:Significance of Everyday LanguageSociocultural Perspectives on Professional DevelopmentParents as ExpertsSheltered InstructionEvaluation that Informs School ReformOn the Threshhold of Language RevitalizationRural Children of Appalaichian DescentLeading for DiversityNew Directions in American Indian and Alaskan Native Reseacrh

Talking Leaves, Winter 1998Articles:Language Learning and Academic AchievementMaking the Transition from Spanish to English InstructionThe Role of Language in the ClassroomNewcomersSociocultural Context of Hawaiian Language Revival and LearningTwo-Way ImmersionEffects of Sheltered Instruction on the Achievement of ELLs

Talking Leaves, Fall 1998Articles:Rising from RiskIntegrated Reform and System StudiesScaling up School Restructuring in Multicultural Multilingual ContextsReform for Kewntucky's Primary Grade ChildrenImproving Instruction for Resilient and Non-Resilient ELLsSchool Reform in a Native American CommunitySchools Serving Native America: A Series of Case StudiesPatterns of Instructional Activity in Diverse Classrooms

Talking Leaves, Summer 1998 Articles: Findings on the Effectiveness of Bilingual Education Linking Home and School Teaching and Learning in the Context of African American English Culture and Community At-Risk Preschoolers.... Science in Action at Home and In the Classroom Expanding the Dimensions of Funds of Knowledge Developing a Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Science Curriculum

Talking Leaves, Winter 1997Articles:About the CenterNational Study of Effective Education for Diverse Student PopulationsNational Study for School Effectiveness for Language Minority Students' Long-Term Academic Achievement

Talking Leaves, Fall 1997Articles:Professional DevelopmentRising from RiskLeading for Diversity: Professional Development for School Leaders

Talking Leaves, Summer 1997Articles:Educational Research and PracticePartnerships that WorkEstimating the Population of At-Risk StudentsTeaching Science to At-Risk Students