Relational spirituality,differentiation of self,and virtue as predictors of intercultural development

The present study tested the relationships between spirituality, differentiation of self (DoS), virtue (gratitude and forgiveness), and intercultural development among graduate trainees in the helping professions. A relational model of spiritual dwelling and seeking and the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity were used to conceptualise the study. Data were collected in a sample (N?=?174) of graduate students in counselling psychology, marriage and family therapy, ministry professions, and theology at a Protestant-affiliated university. Results supported the hypotheses that quest religiosity, DoS, and gratitude would be positively associated with intercultural development and spiritual grandiosity would be negatively associated with intercultural development. Intrinsic religiosity was not related to intercultural development. DoS mediated the relationship between gratitude and intercultural development. Contrary to hypotheses, forgiveness was largely uncorrelated with intercultural development. Implications are considered for training in intercultural competence, particularly with highly religious trainees.     

An Interpersonal and Intercultural Embrace

SUMMARY

Using Ono's (1997) “letter” format to share one's multiplicity of “voices,” I discuss the negotiation of interpersonal and intercultural factors of a gay, transcontinental, HIV serodiscordant relational connection with my late partner and a multicultural relational connection with my current partner. In this letter, I work to open paths of inquiry and understanding of our connections by intersecting relational “differences” (e.g., ethnicity, nations of birth, social class, HIV status, and religion/spirituality) with relational “similarities” (e.g., attraction and love, age status, shared gay identity, shared languages, and educational privilege). Finally, I address our learned and practiced skills for sustaining relational healthiness.     

Couple Crises and the Trigenerational Family

ABSTRACT

A trigenerational approach to couple crises is presented. Key ideas are developed from the work of Bowen, Framo and Whitaker on families of origin; Bowen sends partners back to their own families; Framo invites the extended family into the session with the couple; Whitaker enlarges the unit of observation to include more family members, increasing family resources. For the author, the early phase of therapy is diagnostic, so extended family members are invited to provide information as consultants. One couple'S crisis is reviewed m detail. Issues arising from inviting the couple'S parents and siblings, their children, and the value of individual sessions for the partners are examined using the trigenerational framework.     

Is the debate on ‘global justice’ a global one? Some considerations in view of modern philosophy in Africa

At present, the debate on global justice, a debate which is at the core of global ethics, is largely being conducted by European and American scholars from different disciplines without taking into account views and concepts from other regions of the world, particularly, from the Global South. The lack of a truly intercultural, interreligious, and international exchange of ideas provokes doubts whether the concepts of global justice introduced so far are able to transcend regional and cultural horizons. The article introduces concepts of justice from African scholars, whose voices have remained marginal until now, like the Kenyan philosopher Henry Odera Oruka, the Ethiopian philosopher Teodros Kiros, and the debate on ubuntu, one of the most controversial concepts in southern Africa today. These concepts focus on issues that are seldom considered in the debate on global justice, such as the importance of bodily needs as a prerequisite for human beings to act as moral beings and the importance of human relationships and solidarity. The last part of the article discusses factors which lead to exclusion from the academic discourse and the question how we as scholars can work for more academic justice.     

Anorexia nerviosa: La eficacia de la terapia de conducta

RESUMEN

Dos artículos criticados sobre el tratamiento conductual de la anorexia nerviosa publicados por la Dra. Bruch (1976), en los que afirma que el peso ganado por ese procedimiento se pierde rápidamente y que esta ganancia de peso no se acompaña de otros cambios positivos, se compara con la revisión de varios artículos en los que se utilizó la terapia de conducta en este trastorno. Las críticas de Bruch no son apoyadas por los datos. Se observa la existencia de pruebas empíricas que apoyan la idea de que la terapia de conducta es el tratamiento de elección en la anorexia. A pesar de los grandes conocimientos de la autora en el área de los trastornos de comida y sus numerosas publicaciones, su crítica es muy pobre, especialmente en los que se refiere a datos controlados. En este estudio se intenta probar los supuestos planteados por la Dra. Bruch comparando sus críticas con los tratamientos conductuales de anorexia que se han publicado.     

Estudio diferencial del pensamiento creador en los campos simbólico,semántico y figurativo

Resumen

Se plantea un intento de síntesis teórica y empírica entre dos aproximaciones al estudio del pensamiento creador: la asociativa y ta factorial.

Tras el análisis de las teorías de Mednick y Guilford como los modelos más sistemáticos en ambas orientaciones se realizó un estudio factorial con tres muestras de sujetos representativos de tres contenidos de pensamiento definidos en el modelo de Guilford: periodistas (contenido semántico), matemáticos (contenido simbólico) y pintores (contenido figurativo). Junto a una selección de tareas de la batería de Guilford para la medida del pensamiento divergente correspondientes a las tres áreas de información evaluadas, se aplicó el RAT de Mednick a los 171 sujetos. Se realizaron cuatro análisis factoriales, uno global y los otros diferenciando por grupos de sujetos.

Los resultados fueron una confirmación de la teoría factorial de la creatividad de Guilford, al definirse factorialmente tres aptitudes perfectamente diferenciadas en función de los contenidos, pero no se pudo confirmar la naturaleza asociativa de las aptitudes mentales de creatividad en los términos propuestos por Mednick, dada la ausencia de resultados significativos con respecto al RAT. Las conclusiones de este trabajo son inequívocamente confirmadoras de la versión propuesta en las hipótesis de la teoría de Guilford.     

Cultural Inclusiveness Contributing to International Students' Intercultural Attitudes: Mediating Role of Intergroup Contact Variables

This study sought to examine the relationships among Asian‐born international students' perceived cultural inclusiveness and intercultural contact, along with the contributions these variables made to the students' attitudes towards culturally different domestic students. Based on Pettigrew's (1998) intergroup contact theory and previous research on educational cultural climate, we hypothesised that more positive intercultural attitudes would be associated with perceptions of a culturally inclusive educational environment and higher levels of intergroup contact as indicated by quantity of contact, quality of contact, and extent of intercultural friendships. Anonymous survey participants were 190 (76 male and 113 female) Asian‐born international university students at an Australian university. Results showed small to moderate relationships among perceived cultural inclusiveness, all the dimensions of intercultural contact, and intercultural attitudes, except for an unexpected insignificant association between intercultural friendship and attitudes. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that cultural inclusiveness and quality of contact were the only significant predictors of intercultural attitudes. Mediation analysis indicated that quality of contact partially mediated the relationship between cultural inclusiveness and intercultural attitudes. The importance of an inclusive educational environment on intergroup contact and attitudes, from international students' viewpoint, is discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Challenges of Intercultural Marriage: Strategies for Pastoral Care

In this article, the author describes the unique issues associated with intercultural marriage. A case illustration provides the springboard for presenting specific pastoral care and counseling strategies that may be helpful to intercultural couples. These strategies include assessing worldview and acculturation, creating spiritual and cultural genograms, reframing cultural challenges, collaborating with indigenous healers, inventing new rituals, and developing the advocacy role.     

全球化与新闻伦理文化

在传播全球化成为世界潮流的情况下,媒体面临的冲击直接和激烈;因东西方化价值体系的差异,当传播跨越化产生互动时,难免失谐和冲突。为应对挑战,进一步加强社会主义新闻伦理化建设刘不容缓。     

Inventory of Overburden in Alzheimer's Patient Family Caregivers with no Specialized Training

Background/Objective: Alzheimer-type dementia is one of the most frequent causes of dependence in an aging population, which combines with a considerable demand for care. Furthermore, when the caregiver is a family member or person without specialized training, such care impacts on that person's health. The Inventory of Overburden in Alzheimer's Patient Family Caregivers with no Specialized Training (IPSO-CA24) was designed to find out the needs of these caregivers and evaluate the caregiver's burden or distress. Method: The psychometric properties of the questionnaire were analyzed (in a reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory analysis) based on the responses of 255 caregivers. Results: The factor analyses showed a six-factor structure (Reaction to diagnosis, Physical health, Psychological symptomatology (caretaker), Behavioral symptomatology (patient), Knowledge of the illness, and Level of dependence) explaining 66.52% of the total variance with a reliability of .75 to .93. Support was also found for its convergent validity. Conclusions: The IPSO-CA24 responds to the need for an instrument enabling multidimensional evaluation of the burden on the family caregiver without specialized training.