British and Pakistani children's understanding of death: Cultural and developmental influences

This study explored British and Pakistani 4‐ to 7‐year‐olds’ (N = 188) understanding of death. The aim was to examine possible influences on the acquisition of the subcomponents of the death concept by investigating how they are understood by children of different ages and cultural and religious backgrounds. Three groups of children were compared: White British and British Muslim living in London, and Pakistani Muslim living in rural Pakistan. In line with previous research (Slaughter, 2005, Aust. Psychol., 40(3), 179), irreversibility of death was one of the first subcomponents to be acquired, while causality was the last. The two groups of British children shared many similarities in their understanding of inevitability, applicability, irreversibility, and cessation. Pakistani Muslim children understood irreversibility earlier than did children in both British groups. In all three cultural groups, children's responses demonstrated very limited understanding of causality. Our findings support the view that aspects of a mature understanding of death develop between the ages of 4 and 7 years and that the process of understanding death as a biological event is, to a great extent, universal. They also suggest that aspects of children's reasoning are influenced by culturally specific experiences, particularly those arising from living in rural versus urban settings.     

Attitudes to cosmetic surgery among ethnic minority groups in Britain: Cultural mistrust,adherence to traditional cultural values,and ethnic identity salience as protective factors

Previous work has suggested that ethnic minority women have more negative attitudes to cosmetic surgery than British Whites, but reasons for this are not fully understood. To overcome this dearth in the literature, the present study asked 250 British Asian and 250 African Caribbean university students to complete measures of attitudes to cosmetic surgery, cultural mistrust, adherence to traditional cultural values, ethnic identity salience, self‐esteem, and demographics. Preliminary analyses showed that there were significant between‐group differences only on cultural mistrust and self‐esteem, although effect sizes were small (d values = .21–.37). Further analyses showed that more negative attitudes to cosmetic surgery were associated with greater cultural mistrust, stronger adherence to traditional values, and stronger ethnic identity salience, although these relationships were weaker for African Caribbean women than for British Asians. These results are discussed in relation to perceptions of cosmetic surgery among ethnic minority women.     

Cultural influences on children's understanding of the human body and the concept of life

This study aimed to identify the age by which children begin to demonstrate a biological understanding of the human body and the idea that the purpose of body functioning is to maintain life. The study also explored the influence of education, culturally specific experiences and religion on knowledge acquisition in this domain. Children aged between 4 and 7 years from three different cultural backgrounds (White British, British Muslim, and Pakistani Muslim) were interviewed about the human body and its functioning. At least half of the 4‐ to 5‐year‐olds in each cultural group, and almost all 6‐ to 7‐year‐olds, referred to the maintenance of life when explaining organs' functions and so were classified as ‘life theorizers’. Pakistani Muslim children gave fewer biological responses to questions about organs' functions and the purpose of eating and breathing, but referred to life more than their British counterparts. Irrespective of cultural group, older children understood organ location and function better than younger children. These findings support Jaakkola and Slaughter's (2002, Br. J. Dev. Psychol., 20, 325) view that children's understanding of the body as a ‘life machine’ emerges around the ages of 4–5 years. They also suggest that, despite many similarities in children's ideas cross‐culturally, different educational input and culturally specific experiences influence aspects of their biological understanding.     

Islamophobia in Contemporary Britain: The Evidence of the Opinion Polls, 1988–2006

British attitudes towards Islam and Muslims are examined on the basis of 104 public opinion polls conducted between 1988 and 2006, 90 of them since 2001. Many of these surveys were undertaken at national crisis points of one sort or another for which Islam and Muslims could not avoid being seen as causal factors. Nine high-level conclusions are drawn from this evidence. There has been increasing Islamophobia, not least since 2001. A stereotypical picture of British Muslims in the eyes of the majority population has emerged, Muslims being seen as slow to integrate into mainstream society, feeling only a qualified sense of patriotism, and prone to espouse anti-Western values that lead many to condone so-called Islamic terrorism. To an extent, these stereotypes reflect the reality of Muslim views, as displayed in 29 polls conducted among the British Muslim community, mainly since 2001.     

The forgotten passion sexuality and anthropology in the ages of Victoria and Bronislaw

British anthropology's mid-Victorian beginnings occurred amid widespread public interest in sexuality, domesticity, and the origins of the family. Scholarship on those topics, along with published traveller's tales and colonial expeditionary reports, contributed to the “sublimation of sensuality” that was characteristic of the era. Counter cultural movements of the fin de siècle ended the mid-century sexual repressions and sublimations. With the important exception of Polish-born Bronislaw Malinowski, however, British anthropologists in the ensuing generation were not systematic students of sexuality. By 1930, those of the “Rivers School,” led by A. R. Radcliffe-Brown, embraced a theoretical discourse that denied phenomenal sex as an object of study, thus creating intellectual avoidances and sublimations analogous to those of mid Victorianism.     

Managing Integration: German and British Policy Responses to the “Threat from Within” Post-2001

The involvement of European Muslims in violent events since 2001 has confronted European states with their alleged failure to adequately integrate migrant and ethnic minority populations. More specifically, these events increased cultural and security concerns associated with growing diversity and created a climate in which the issues of breaking up parallel societies, and, more explicitly, integrating Muslim minority populations have become particularly pressing. As previous approaches aimed at incorporating migrants have been branded as a failure, many European governments have begun re-developing their policies on migrant incorporation, not least to mitigate the potential "threat" posed by a lack of integration. This article focuses on German and British policy developments in the area of integration post-2001 and compares how the two states have responded to the alleged "threat from within".     

Attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help among Chinese students at a UK university

Aim: In this study we aimed to investigate whether Chinese international and British home students at a university in the United Kingdom differed in their attitudes towards seeking psychological help. Method: The total sample comprised 323 participants. Participants completed measures to assess their attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help (recognition of need for psychological help, stigma tolerance, interpersonal openness, confidence in mental health practitioners). Results: Chinese students reported significantly less interpersonal openness than that reported by British students. Contrary to prediction, however, no significant group differences were found on any of the other mental health attitudes (i.e. recognition of need for psychological help, confidence in mental health practitioners or stigma tolerance). Within‐group contrasts also showed that Chinese students reported lower scores on interpersonal openness than on stigma tolerance and confidence in mental health practitioners. In contrast, British participants reported less confidence in mental health practitioners and recognition of the need for psychological help than reported for stigma tolerance and interpersonal openness. Conclusion: The findings highlight the need for a greater understanding of students' cultural inclinations toward mental health issues and cultural attitudes that may hinder and/or facilitate students' access and engagement with psychological services in higher education institutions.     

“Unbearable Knowledge”: Managing Cultural Trauma at the Royal Commission

Beginning in 2013, the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse (referred to as the Royal Commission) bought to public consciousness a history of child sexual exploitation that contradicts dearly held values of the preciousness and innocence of childhood and the trust of public organizations. The Royal Commission has publically validated the trauma that victims have experienced across institutions. It has also identified and raised the issue of a symptomatology of cultural trauma at work in community and public life. Using the work of contemporary trauma theorists and applying it to one hearing held in Victoria in May 2015, this paper suggests that collective trauma can shape cultural identity and influence the quality of communal life.     

Hare Krishna and Sanatan Dharm in Britain: The Campaign for Bhaktivedanta Manor

Bhaktivedanta Manor, the main centre for ISKCON (the ‘Hare Krishna movement') in Britain, has been under threat of closure for over ten years. The centre—which is a place of pilgrimage for many thousands of Indian Hindus in Britain—is considered by its local authority to be used inappropriately, since it does not have the required planning permission to be a place of public worship. In their view, Bhaktivedanta Manor should be used only as a theological college. ISKCON have challenged this position, and through a series of legal and political battles have tried to prevent the local authority from taking enforcement action. The campaign against closure by ISKCON demonstrates the large support this ‘new’ religion has among the Hindu population of Britain, and indeed has played an important part in developing the relationship between Hindus and the Hare Krishna movement. But the campaign also demonstrates a key point about the role of religious freedom within British law, as the series of legal challenges by ISKCON have highlighted how the right to religious worship is subject to other factors, such as planning regulations.     

Change in school ethnic diversity and intergroup relations: The transition from segregated elementary to mixed secondary school for majority and minority students

This research examined the impact of a change in school diversity on school children's intergroup relations. A longitudinal survey tracked 551 White British and Asian British students (M_age = 11.32) transitioning from elementary (time 1) to secondary (time 2) school in an ethnically segregated town in the United Kingdom. We estimated a multivariate, multilevel model. A cross-sectional comparison of segregated schools and a mixed elementary school at time 1 revealed that both Asian and White British in the mixed school reported more positive intergroup relations. A longitudinal analysis found that the transition from segregated elementary to mixed secondary schools was associated with Asian British developing more positive intergroup relations. White British reported overall less positive intergroup relations, although only trust decreased; evidence from other measures remains inconclusive. The findings are important for understanding early stages of diversity exposure, and the impact of changing diversity levels on majority and minority groups.     

The association between in-class cultural diversity with empathy and bullying in adolescence: A multilevel mediation analysis

Little is known about the associations between cultural class composition, teacher support for diversity (TSD), cognitive and affective empathy, and bullying and victimisation. Research shows that empathy is negatively associated with bullying and victimisation; and support for diversity and classroom cultural diversity are positively linked to social skills. The present study examines whether cultural diversity and perceived TSD are protective factors against bullying and victimisation, either directly or mediated by empathy. Participants were 897 students from Grades 7 to 10 (M_age = 13.45, SD_age = 1.07, 51.3% girls, 46.7% boys) in 36 classes. Multilevel mediation analyses were conducted. Age and gender were controlled for. More perceived TSD and affective empathy were associated with less bullying. Moreover, the effect of perceived TSD on bullying was partly indirect through affective empathy. Victimisation was not predicted by the study variables. The class level showed no effects. Bullying and victimisation are complex phenomena, which seem to be linked more to individual than to class characteristics. The result that higher perceived TSD was linked to empathy and bullying provides a promising starting point for measures of competence enhancement and bullying prevention.     

Problematizing culture: Discourses on integration in Norway

How does one, in a society which traditionally has been perceived as homogenous and egalitarian, debate issues of immigration and increasing cultural diversity? This article analyses the notion of integration as it has been used and constructed in Norwegian politics from the 1970s until today. It is argued that culture has emerged as an increasingly problematic dimension in integration policy and public debate. While cultural diversity must be accommodated and celebrated, certain cultural practices, especially in relation to women, have also appeared as increasingly threatening to what is considered as fundamental values in Norwegian society.     

Locating Impropriety: Street Drinking, Moral Order, and the Ideological Dilemma of Public Space

Drawing on research in urban sociology, cultural geography, and social psychology, this paper explores some of the moral rules that govern social relations in public places. In particular, we consider how certain practices become classified as everyday incivilities—infractions of the moral order that sustains public life. In order to develop this notion, we draw illustrations from an ongoing research project that is investigating social attitudes towards "street drinking," an activity that has led to the creation of "alcohol-free zones" in over 100 British cities during the past decade. As an emergent theme, this research has suggested that the classification of street drinking as either acceptable or unacceptable conduct is contingent upon the social construction of public space that users invoke. This theme is discussed in the context of wider struggles over citizenship and social control in the public domain—struggles manifest within "ideological dilemmas" (Billig et al., 1988) over the limits of free conduct, the tension between open and closed public spaces, and the attempt to distinguish "admissible" from "inadmissible" publics.     

Constructing Maternal Thinking

Sara Ruddick's Maternal Thinking represents a great contribution to moral philosophy—in particular, by bringing women's “private” virtues into the public sphere. However, there remain problems in the analysis which need to be addressed: How can one possibly generalize about the practice of mothering from one, necessarily limited, perspective, given the facts of cultural diversity? Is Ruddick's normative account of mothering congruent with the reflective judgments of others? Is her account of the transformation of parochial mothering into feminist peace work viable? After exploring these three questions, this reviewer calk, with Ruddkk, for the telling of more maternal stories, from different cultural, racial and economic perspectives.     

What Is It Like To Be in the Minority? Ethnic and Gender Diversity in the Genetic Counseling Profession

Increasingly, the genetic counseling profession is recognizing the need for greater ethnic and gender diversity. Recruitment and retention efforts may be enhanced by better understanding of the experience of individuals considered to be underrepresented in the profession. In this qualitative study, 8 genetic counseling students and 7 practicing genetic counselors who were ethnic minority and/or male participated in semi-structured telephone interviews regarding how they were introduced to the field, perceived career supports and barriers, their experiences within training programs and the field, and suggestions for increasing diversity. Introduction to the field tended to be late and accidental. There were several career supports (e.g., field combines science and helping others) and barriers (e.g., lack of information about the field). Participant experiences, although primarily positive, included instances of passive, unintentional discrimination; and there were internal and external pressures to be diversity experts and positive representatives of their group. Participants reported positively impacting colleagues’ cultural competency and offering a different presence within clinical settings. Suggestions for increasing diversity and research recommendations are given.     

Stigma towards psychosis: Cross‐cultural differences in prejudice,stereotypes, and discrimination in White British and South Asians

Public stigma towards people with mental health problems has been demonstrated in Western societies. Little is known about non‐Western cultures and whether cultures differ in their perceptions of people with mental health problems. Aim of this study was to examine cultural differences in prejudice, stereotypes, and discrimination towards people with psychosis. Participants were from White British and South Asian backgrounds (N = 128, aged 16–20 years) recruited from two schools and colleges in the United Kingdom. They completed a cross‐sectional survey on affective, cognitive, and behavioural dimensions of stigma. Results revealed significant cultural differences on all three stigma dimensions. South Asians attributed higher anger (prejudice) and dangerousness (stereotypes) to people with psychosis than White British. They also reported lower willingness to help, greater avoidance, and higher endorsement of segregation (discrimination). The effects of ethnic group on helping intentions, avoidance, and segregation endorsement were mediated by anger and by dangerousness. Understanding cultural differences in stigma towards psychosis will be important for designing stigma interventions as well as treatments for people with different cultural backgrounds.     

Social Identity Patterns in Culturally Diverse Organizations: The Role of Diversity Climate1

Many of the problems associated with cultural diversity in organizations stem from individuals' tendencies to categorize their social environment into “us” and “them.” We present the results of a field study (N = 1111) showing that diversity climate—an organizational climate characterized by openness toward and appreciation of diversity—may be the key to reducing these problems. The results show that diversity climate is positively related to cultural identity for majority members, and to organizational identity for minority members. In organizations with a strong diversity climate, both majority and minority members identify with the organization and their cultural groups simultaneously, thus displaying a dual identity. Diversity climate is positively related to job‐related outcomes for both groups, but particularly for minority members.     

Explaining Public Attitudes towards the Integration of Muslims in British Society: The ‘Solidarity of the Religious’?

There has been growing concern in recent years about the integration of Muslims and the emergence of ‘Islamophobia’ in Britain. But there has been a lack of research into the sources of public opinion towards Muslims in British society. This article contributes to emerging research in this area by using a nationally representative survey to examine public opinion towards Muslims’ efforts to integrate into British society. It examines the relative impact of social, religious, and attitudinal variables. Religious affiliation has no impact, while greater religious salience and pro-religion attitudes on religious–secular policy issues are related to positive views of Muslims’ efforts to integrate. Women and the university-educated are more positive in their assessments. A traditionalist view of Christianity, socially authoritarian beliefs, and anti-immigrant bias are related to negative views of Muslims’ efforts to integrate. Overall, the findings lend support to the ‘solidarity of the religious’ perspective and should encourage further investigation into attitudes towards religious groups in Britain.     

Islam Returns to Spain: Religious Diversity,Political Discourse and Women's Rights

On February 14, 2013, the Tribunal Supremo of Spain handed down a judgement which gave constitutional protection to the burka and which also contained important statements concerning contemporary Spanish society, its religious and cultural diversity and the convivencia of cultures and religions. Contrary to the position of the Tribunal Supremo, and showing very little variation, the political discourse is in favour of a ban, basing its arguments principally on women's rights, but with a perceptible shift towards public safety. This article will examine this bifurcated reaction to this manifestation of renewed religious diversity in Spain: the politicians’ arguments in favour of prohibition reflect the protectionist view of the French and Belgian parliamentary debates prohibiting the burka, but place them in the framework of the post-Franco rights-based society. On the other hand, the Tribunal Supremo anchors its judgement in a narrative of a free and democratic Spanish state and society in which a woman's individual freedom of choice takes precedence over all other considerations, including social norms.     

Nigerian Clergy and healthcare professionals’ perceptions of health-seeking behaviours among Nigerian immigrants in the UK

The diversity in patient populations due to immigration in the UK has implications for adequate understanding of a patients’ culture by the clinician as well as patient–clinician cultural matching for enhanced service use and outcome. This qualitative study investigated how Nigerian clergy and health professionals perceived health-seeking behaviours among Nigerians in the UK, while considering the impact of their own beliefs and values as care providers. Six participants were interviewed (clergy, n?=?2; health professionals, n?=?4). Data were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results showed that the clergy and health professionals themselves use religious/cultural cure and formal healthcare methods, and believed Nigerian immigrants as predominantly using religious/cultural methods which can affect healthcare utilisation, although differences between the professionals were reported. The potentials for integrating other cure methods into the formal healthcare services were considered, while highlighting the challenges that may arise from such collaborative effort.