Cross-Cultural Comparison

We investigated the occurrence and underlying processes of odor-color associations in French and American 6- to 10-year-old children (n = 386) and adults (n = 137). Nine odorants were chosen according to their familiarity to either cultural group. Participants matched each odor with a color, gave hedonic and familiarity judgments, and identified each odor. By 6 years of age, children displayed culture-specific odor-color associations, but age differences were noted in the type of associations. Children and adults in both cultural groups shared common associations and formed associations that were unique to their environment, underscoring the importance of exposure learning in odor-color associations.

This analysis of the Austrian health system reviews recent developments in organization and governance, health financing, health-care provision, health reforms and health-system performance. The Austrian health system provides universal coverage for a wide range of benefits and high-quality care. Free choice of providers and unrestricted access to all care levels (general practitioners, specialist physicians and hospitals) are characteristic features of the system. Unsurprisingly, population satisfaction is well above EU average. Income-related inequality in health has increased since 2005, although it is still relatively low compared to other countries. The health-care system has been shaped by both the federal structure of the state and a tradition of delegating responsibilities to self-governing stakeholders. On the one hand, this enables decentralized planning and governance, adjusted to local norms and preferences. On the other hand, it also leads to fragmentation of responsibi...

Different definitions of bioethics in American and Italian literature are reported. It is argued that they refer to three different conceptions of the epistemological status of bioethics: the first conceives of it as an application of moral principles to biomedical problems, the second as a methodology for the working out of clinical judgement, the third as a broader and interdisciplinary public inquiry. It is suggested that each approach grasps a part of the truth, for each singles out one level of the bioethical work. Bioethics is in fact a complex, three-level form of knowledge. The misunderstanding of this complexity has led to some confusion and to conflicts of attribution among those who are concerned with it.

However, such differences between countries may be due more to differences in the medical systems rather than differences in the quality of patient care. The United States has a very different medical environment, partly because of the highly litigious nature of US culture. 2 The fear of being sued may reduce the incidence of hindsight bias3 in US studies, since physicians may order more tests than are strictly necessary, which makes it more difficult for researchers such as Baker and associates to second-guess their decisions.

Perceptions of tobacco are a relatively unexplored issue in disadvantaged populations in India and France. The objectives of this study included the following: obtain qualitative information on representations of tobacco use and cessation within two vulnerable populations; identify cultural factors that influence tobacco use and cessation; and acquire information for the development of effective tobacco cessation strategies. A total of 21 focus groups were conducted in India and France. All study participants were disadvantaged adults 18 years old or older. Sixty women resided in South Delhi in India and 163 adults with disabilities resided in the south of France. They were all current tobacco users. Data were collected by focus group and analysed with thematic coding. In both samples, the most relevant reasons of tobacco use were daily life circumstances, which were also a major barrier to quitting. None of the participants reported that quitting difficulties could be due to depend...

International Journal of Behavioral Development Keiko Takahashi, Naomi Ohara, Toni C. Antonucci and Hiroko Akiyama comparison by the individualism/collectivism concept Commonalities and differences in close relationships among the Americans and Japanese: A

The objectives of the National Survey of American Life (NSAL) are to investigate the nature, severity, and impairment of mental disorders among national samples of the black and non-Hispanic white (n = 1,006) populations in the US. Special emphasis in the study is given to the nature of race and ethnicity within the black population by selecting and interviewing national samples of African-American (N = 3,570), and Afro-Caribbean (N = 1,623) immigrant and second and older generation populations. National multi-stage probability methods were used in generating the samples and race/ethnic matching of interviewers and respondents were used in the largely face-to-face interview, which lasted on average 2 hours and 20 minutes. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) IV World Mental Health Composite Interview (WHO-CIDI) was used to assess a wide range of serious mental disorders, potential risk and resilience factors, and help seeking and service use patterns. This paper provides an overview of the design of the NSAL, sample selection procedures, recruitment and training of the national interviewing team, and some of the special problems faced in interviewing ethnically and racially diverse national samples. Unique features of sample design, including special screening and listing procedures, interviewer training and supervision, and response rate outcomes are described. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Cross-cultural research is dominated by the use of values despite their mixed empirical support and their limited theoretical scope. This article expands the dominant paradigm in crosscultural research by developing a theory of cultural tightness-looseness, the strength of social norms and degree of sanctioning within societies, and advancing a multilevel research agenda for future research. Through an exploration of the

The gender related suicide and unemployment rates for 1964-1986 from twenty-three Western countries were reviewed. A statistically significant correlation was found for both genders for the 1974-1986 period, which saw major rises in both suicide and unemployment in many Western nations. This was in contrast to a non-significant correlation for 1964-1973. As unemployment reached a critical level the statistical link with suicide became stronger. This suggests that unemployment is a contributing factor in increased suicide. Major gender changes occurred, in particular rises in female suicide rates, though these were not uniform. Whilst the expected greater male/female ratio for suicide was confirmed, there were significant variations between countries, with the ratio widening particularly amongst anglo phone nations. This indicated differential gender changes in patterns of suicide. The possibility of some 'protective' mechanism against suicide for women in anglo phone countri...

To outline the lessons learned about the use of focus groups for the multisite, multi-ethnic longitudinal Study of Women Across the Nation (SWAN). Focus groups were designed to identify potential cultural differences in the incidence of symptoms and the meaning of transmenopause among women of diverse cultures, and to identify effective recruitment and retention strategies. Inductive and deductive focus groups for a multi-ethnic study. Seven community research sites across the United States conducted focus groups with six ethnic populations: African American, Chinese American, Japanese American, Mexican American, non-Hispanic white, and Puerto Rican. Community women from each ethnic group of color. A set of four/five focus groups in each ethnic group as the formative stage of the deductive, quantitative SWAN survey. Identification of methodological advantages and challenges to the successful implementation of formative focus groups in a multi-ethnic, multi-site population-based epid...

The purpose of periodic health examinations is to prevent disease through early intervention and through stratifying individual patients' health risk. The German health examination as defined in section 25 of the Social Code Book V (Sozialgesetzbuch V) seems to be outdated in many respects. In order to develop an alternative to the current German system an international comparison of periodic health examinations in other healthcare systems is useful. The study investigates the measures taken for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in seven countries. Content, implementation and organisation of the various programmes are analysed in the present paper. The present study was designed as a qualitative multiple case study. The collection of data on cardiovascular screening programmes in the seven different healthcare systems in this study relies on information publicly available on the Internet. The data were entered into a matrix which had been created prior to the data col...

Resumo: Um monitoramento eficaz da segurança do paciente precisa focar a implantação de práticas baseadas em evidências que evitem danos desnecessários ligados à assistência à saúde. O objetivo do Projeto ISEP-Brasil foi desenvolver e validar indicadores de boas práticas de segurança do paciente para o contexto brasileiro. Tomou por base a tradução e adaptação dos indicadores validados no Projeto ISEP-Espanha, além do documento Safe Practices for Better Healthcare do National Quality Forum dos Estados Unidos, que possui 34 recomendações de boas práticas. Realizou-se validação por um painel de 25 especialistas e análise da confiabilidade e viabilidade em um estudo-piloto realizado em três hospitais com diferentes tipos de gestão (estadual, federal e privada). Aprovaram-se 75 indicadores de boas práticas (39 de estrutura; 36 de processo) para 31 das 34 recomendações. Os indicadores foram considerados válidos, confiáveis e úteis para o monitoramento da segurança do paciente em hospitai...

A 14-item Sexual Coercion Inventory (SCI) was administered to an urban university sample in Western India. Twenty-six percent of the sample reported a total of 160 incidents of sexual coercion ranging in severity from unwanted kissing to sexual intercourse. The most common outcome was intercourse and was followed by kissing and fondling. No gender differences were discovered regarding victim status or types of coercion tactics experienced. A MANOVA analysis found no overall gender effect, but marital status and protected class membership did have a significant effect with people who are married and protected class members reporting more sexual coercion. Reasons for the lack of an overall gender effect and limitations of this research are discussed.