Sharing culture in a tech world: Grandparent-grandchild cultural exchanges over video chat

Grandparents who were separated from their infant grandchildren during COVID-19 sought other ways to connect, including video chat. Video chat supports learning, and its features (e.g., contingent responsiveness) may allow for cultural exchange. However, technological problems may disrupt these exchanges. In a seminaturalistic, longitudinal study, 47 families submitted up to three video chats and surveys. Families were predominantly White/Caucasian, highly educated, and lived between 1 and 2,700 miles apart. Multilevel models were used to predict the proportion of the sessions devoted to exchanging culture (e.g., holidays, parenting advice) and managing tech problems. Culture exchange did not change as a function of infant age, video chat experience, or when encountering tech problems. Although only marginally statistically significant, culture exchange increased as distance increased. Tech problems changed as a function of tech talk. Qualitative analysis revealed that cultural transmission occurred via a culture of care and sharing of information across video chat, that families adapted their behaviors to the new technology, and that technology disruptions rarely interfered with the flow of information. These findings demonstrate the ability to share culture when physically separated and in the presence of tech disruptions. Further, this study supports previous work on the emerging culture of video chat. Families adapted to being separated, and grandparents and infants successfully communicated through a new modality. Because video chat supports family relationships, equitable access to high-speed internet should be a priority to enable more families to use it. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement This study demonstrates that video chat allowed for familial culture exchanges to be maintained through a separation during COVID-19. Examining what and how cultural exchanges took place suggests that supports for using video chat, including access to high-speed internet, are necessary for families separated by other circumstances. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Meaning in stressful experiences and coping across cultures

We report three studies to examine how culture may influence people's tendency to see meaning in stressful experiences (MISE), as well as their coping responses. Using a newly developed MISE scale with established measurement invariance across both cultures, we found that Chinese participants were more likely than Euro-Canadians to see meaning in stressful experiences (Studies 1 and 2), to adopt acceptance and positive reframing coping styles (Study 1), and to respond more positively to the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2). To establish a causal link between MISE and coping, we primed MISE in Study 3 with Chinese participants and found an increase in resilient coping. The research highlights the important roles of culture and meaning making in coping. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Overview of the adoption of online food ordering services in spain and india. An analytical approach based on the stimulus-organism-response model

COVID-19 pandemic, the foodservice industry has had to modify the way it offers its services. The aim of this paper is to examine the drivers of intention to use and recommendation of online food delivery (OFD) using the SOR model, to analyze the perceived risk of COVID-19 and its relationship with the perceived risk for online purchase of OFD as well as to analyze the cultural effect between Spain and India. For this purpose, an online questionnaire was developed by obtaining a sample of 422 users and structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to determine which variables had a significant influence on the adoption of the OFD. The results confirm that attitude is the main antecedent of intention to use and recommendation, in contrast to the subjective norm relationships, where it was only confirmed by recommendation. This finding demonstrates how individuals' attitude toward intention and recommendation is more favorable than influence of third parties on decisions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

COVID-19 pandemic and the impact of cross-cultural differences on crisis management: A conceptual model of transcultural crisis management

In this paper, leadership tasks and stakeholder response during transboundary crisis management are analyzed based on findings from Hofstede's study, GLOBE Project, and theoretical concepts in cross-cultural management. Accordingly, a conceptual model of transcultural crisis management is proposed. Seven propositions (P) and sixteen sub-propositions (SP) are developed and then tested using the case method. The case of the COVID-19 pandemic is studied to note the effects of cross-cultural differences and intercultural communication in the pre-crisis, crisis, and post-crisis stages. Cross-cultural differences are found to affect sense-making, decision-making, sense-giving and meaning-making during pre-crisis and crisis management stages. Implications of these findings and further research agenda are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Embodied conversations: Culturally and trauma-informed healing practices in dance/movement therapy

We are in the 14th month of an unprecedented public health crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic. Brutality against Brown and Black bodies, systemic racism, oppression, and white supremacy continue sustaining the foundation of white domination and privilege in all of our institutions. As dance/movement therapists, educators, students, and supervisors, we are coming to terms with the fact that our field is no different: the lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our profession and harmful educational content/practices in our programs are a reflection of this reality. Living through trauma-filled times continuously filtered our conversations and themes emerged as important and necessary to unpack and explore: How do we engage in authentic relationships when we might be reinforcing dominant structures? How do we include, listen, and support those from marginalized identities both from a theoretical stance and a social action stance? How can we be held accountable? The authors came to this work with their own experiences, stories, memories, personal trauma, identities, and cultural backgrounds. Living through identity differences and acknowledging personal and political issues, this dialogue provides insight into our own healing journeys and offering a structure to remind ourselves how to recognize our shared humanity in the spaces we occupy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Using a cultural and social identity lens to understand pandemic responses in the US and India

The world over, countries have been racing to control the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Central to the mitigation of the virus spread is the ability of nations to ensure behavior of its people adheres to the constraints imposed in the wake of the pandemic. However, there has been much variation in how individuals and collectives have responded in conformance to expected behavioral changes necessitated by the pandemic. The paper offers a cross-cultural and social identity perspective based on group categorizations to understand the variation in pandemic responses in the context of two different countries, that of India and the United States. Relevant cultural dimensions of difference shaping behavior such as individualism-collectivism, power distance, and other cultural norms shaping divergent behavioral responses in the US and India are examined. Differing group categorizations relevant for each country are also explored to understand the dynamics of behavioral response, be it adherence to mask wearing and following norms of social distancing, or the migrant labor exodus in India from urban to rural areas amidst the first wave of the pandemic. Implications for managing behavioral responses considering cross-cultural differences and group categorization processes are also discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Working in a pandemic and post-pandemic period-Cultural intelligence is the key

Working environment has been transformed by this pandemic into flexible work arrangements with a swift acclimatization of technology. The post-pandemic working arrangements are expected to be increasingly driven by technology as business models will also evolve to adopt these changes. Virtual working arrangements bring several challenges like reduced trust, disrupted communication, limited collaboration, lack of role clarity and lowered team performance. The research suggests that the future of work is going to be more dynamic and virtual. The normal physical work arrangements that were in place before the pandemic will evolve to include multiple models. Therefore, the challenges and problems associated with virtual working needs to be addressed along with the increasing adoption. Cultural intelligence helps in fostering 'trust and understanding' even among virtual teams. The study surveyed people working virtually during this pandemic and analysed, if cultural intelligence and its dimensions i.e. cognitive, metacognitive, motivational and behavioural have effect on the challenges faced by the virtual teams. It is observed that the behavioural cultural intelligence predicts virtual team effectiveness and address the challenges faced by virtual teams. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Decision-making in Arab and Jewish society about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and the seasonal influenza vaccination

Research Framework: Examining the behavioral, cognitive, social, cultural and logistic factors that affect health behavior and influence decision-making has become more and more important in the field of public health. Most studies indicate that Arab minority groups in Western countries are usually less compliant in vaccinating their children. On the other hand, an examination of vaccination compliance among the Arab population of Israel before the coronavirus crisis reveals a different picture marked by very high vaccination compliance, even relative to the Jewish majority. According to recent figures from the Ministry of Health (2019), the compliance rates in the Arab population for the seasonal influenza vaccination and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination are almost twice as high as the compliance rates in the Jewish population for the same vaccinations. In addition, it is interesting to note that prior to the coronavirus crisis no groups in Arab society exhibited vaccination hesitancy, in contrast to the situation in Jewish society. Objective: The current study seeks to investigate the decision-making process of mothers in Arab society with respect to two vaccinations: the HPV vaccination and the seasonal influenza vaccination. Further, it seeks to examine the variables related to this process and their correlation with the emotional and cognitive considerations manifested in the process of making decisions about vaccinations.Research methodology: This study is based on a sequential explanatory design. The first stage entailed gathering and analyzing the qualitative data: a) content analysis of 18 explanatory materials published by the health maintenance organizations and the Ministry of Health that were designed to promote the HPV vaccination in the Arab society;b) conducting in-depth interviews with mothers from Arab society and health professionals (N=70 mothers and N=20 nurses from Arab society). Based on this stage, a quantitative questionnaire was constructed and answered by different subgroups from the representative sample of the investigated population: N=693, comprising six subgroups (Muslims, Christians, Northern Bedouins, Druse, secular Jews, religious Jews). A total of 693 mothers participated in the study. The participants included mothers from almost the entire spectrum of the Israeli population. The Arab population was defined as the primary research population, while the national Jewish population (secular and religious/traditional groups) served for comparison purposes. The ultra-Orthodox population was not included in the study. The mixed research method adopted in this study facilitated integration of the perspectives and means for understanding the relevant considerations in vaccination compliance (Creswell, 2013). Data triangulation made it possible to achieve better cross-checking of the data and to develop strong and validated arguments backed up by data collected from subgroups in the Arab population, while using the Jewish population as a control group (Creswell, 2013). Main findings: The research findings indicate that for the most part the decision-making process of mothers in Arab society relies upon an automatic system (as defined by Kahneman, 2011) based on various emotional heuristics emerging from this study. We described the research findings along two paths: 1) variables we referred to as internal socialcultural variables that are inherent in the social structure of the Arab population;2) variables we called external variables that are related to how the health system conveys information on the issue of vaccinations to Arab society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Suicide prevention: Global trends

Even before Covid-19 in 2020, why has suicide increased into a global crisis, and what can be done to reduce this? This chapter offers a panoramic overview of suicide: global trends, a focus on four diverse regions (Armenia, Haiti, Palestine, Nigeria), one case study, and methods of effective suicide intervention and prevention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

University Students' Life Stressors and Mental Health in Georgia and German-Speaking Switzerland

Background: The university years are associated with a variety of stressors, and recently, COVID-19 has presented an additional burden on students' mental well-being. As mental health manifestations of stressors may differ between countries, this study compared students from Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia regarding the burden of stressors and the role of potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors of mental health (i.e., help-seeking, cross-cultural coping, fatalism, sense of coherence). Method: We assessed two samples of university students in Georgia (N = 425) and German-speaking Switzerland (N = 298), using a cross-sectional design. Quantitative data were collected with online questionnaires during the third wave of the pandemic. Mental health screenings included measures of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder. Results: General life- and COVID-19-related stress levels were higher in Georgia than in Switzerland. Georgian students experienced more adjustment disorder symptoms but lower levels of depression and anxiety. While Swiss students reported more protective factors (formal and informal help-seeking, sense of coherence), Georgian students experienced more risk factors (fatalism and avoidance coping). Despite significant correlations between potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors and mental health, few associations remained significant above and beyond the impact of general life stress. Conclusions: The high prevalence of stressors and adjustment disorder symptoms and risk factors for mental health among Georgian students illustrates a potential need for psychosocial support with stress management. The cross-cultural applicability of Western models of student mental health services should be evaluated. © 2023 Hogrefe Publishing.

University students' life stressors and mental health in Georgia and German-speaking Switzerland: Exploring the role of fatalism, sense of coherence, cross-cultural coping, and help-seeking

Background: The university years are associated with a variety of stressors, and recently, COVID-19 has presented an additional burden on students' mental well-being. As mental health manifestations of stressors may differ between countries, this study compared students from Switzerland and the Republic of Georgia regarding the burden of stressors and the role of potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors of mental health (i.e., help-seeking, cross-cultural coping, fatalism, sense of coherence). Method: We assessed two samples of university students in Georgia (N = 425) and German-speaking Switzerland (N = 298), using a cross-sectional design. Quantitative data were collected with online questionnaires during the third wave of the pandemic. Mental health screenings included measures of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder. Results: General life- and COVID-19-related stress levels were higher in Georgia than in Switzerland. Georgian students experienced more adjustment disorder symptoms but lower levels of depression and anxiety. While Swiss students reported more protective factors (formal and informal help-seeking, sense of coherence), Georgian students experienced more risk factors (fatalism and avoidance coping). Despite significant correlations between potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors and mental health, few associations remained significant above and beyond the impact of general life stress. Conclusions: The high prevalence of stressors and adjustment disorder symptoms and risk factors for mental health among Georgian students illustrates a potential need for psychosocial support with stress management. The cross-cultural applicability of Western models of student mental health services should be evaluated. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved) Impact Statement The agenda of global mental health calls for addressing prevention and quality gaps, although achieving this aim is not possible if the divergent needs of specific populations, among them young people, are not studied and considered. This study explores the mental health stressors and needs of university students and compares Swiss and Georgian students' potentially culture-dependent risk and protective factors. Needs-based tailored interventions could be developed based on the findings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

The role of collaboration in complying with COVID-19 health protective behaviors: A cross-national study

On March 11, 2020 COVID-19 was declared a pandemic. As the virus spread, governments called on citizens to comply with handwashing and social distancing behaviors. We use survey data from Finland and the United States to examine whether collaborative dimensions help predict compliance with health protective behaviors related to combatting COVID-19. We also investigate whether these factors' influence on compliance varies between a market regime such as the United States and a more statist regime such as Finland. Our findings provide important insight for public administrators in crafting messages to the public that emphasize citizens' collaborative role in combatting a pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Cultural differences in the construal of suffering and the COVID-19 pandemic

The present research examines how suffering is construed across cultures. Study 1 (N1 = 264;N2 = 745) asked participants to provide free associations for suffering. Chinese individuals generated more positive associations than did Euro-Canadians. Study 2 (N = 522) had participants create a hypothetical potion of suffering to represent what people would experience while suffering. Chinese participants added more positive ingredients and fewer negative ingredients than Euro-Canadians did. How would cultural differences in the construal of suffering matter in a real-life negative situation? Study 3 (N = 608) showed that Chinese participants generated a greater proportion of potential positive outcomes for the COVID-19 outbreak and reported more positive affect during the pandemic than did Euro-Canadians. Thus, Chinese construe suffering more positively than Euro-Canadians. These findings are consistent with previous research on cultural differences in dialectical thinking and lay theory of change and have implications for coping and resilience. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

Managerial capabilities and strategic renewal in family firms in crisis situations: The moderating role of the founding generation

This study examines whether founding generation managed family firms are capable of responding proactively to the COVID-19 disruption via firm renewal. We used a unique global COVID-19 crisis specific survey dataset comprising of 2,130 family firm observations. Our findings indicate that in comparison to the later generations, founding generation-managed family firms only do better at strategic renewal as a response to the crisis when they have sufficient managerial capabilities. Our study recommends that family businesses, especially those managed by the founding generations should emphasize managerial capabilities rather than merely focusing on socioemotional wealth (SEW) when deciding on crisis coping strategies. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved)

A Comparative Study of Emotional Solidarity Between Homestay Hosts and Tourists

The expansion of the homestay industry is shadowed by ethical concerns and perceived risks. In this context, the emotional relationship between hosts and tourists in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic needs to be re-examined. Focusing on the togetherness of "we" rather than the demarcation of "you versus me," we integrate homestay hosts and guests into a conceptual model to examine and compare their emotional solidarity with each other, as well as the relevance of emotional solidarity to perceived risk, MES (Multidimensional Ethics Scale), and support for homestays. Our results show that despite the assumption of perceived risk, tourists feel welcomed by hosts during the pandemic, while hosts feel emotionally close to tourists. In addition to the findings that emotional solidarity mediates perceived risk, MES, and support for homestays in both samples, we find that hosts' perceived risk is more likely to influence their emotional solidarity and support for homestays.

Decision-making in Arab and Jewish society about the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination and the seasonal influenza vaccination

Research Framework: Examining the behavioral, cognitive, social, cultural and logistic factors that affect health behavior and influence decision-making has become more and more important in the field of public health. Most studies indicate that Arab minority groups in Western countries are usually less compliant in vaccinating their children. On the other hand, an examination of vaccination compliance among the Arab population of Israel before the coronavirus crisis reveals a different picture marked by very high vaccination compliance, even relative to the Jewish majority. According to recent figures from the Ministry of Health (2019), the compliance rates in the Arab population for the seasonal influenza vaccination and the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination are almost twice as high as the compliance rates in the Jewish population for the same vaccinations. In addition, it is interesting to note that prior to the coronavirus crisis no groups in Arab society exhibited vaccination hesitancy, in contrast to the situation in Jewish society. Objective: The current study seeks to investigate the decision-making process of mothers in Arab society with respect to two vaccinations: the HPV vaccination and the seasonal influenza vaccination. Further, it seeks to examine the variables related to this process and their correlation with the emotional and cognitive considerations manifested in the process of making decisions about vaccinations.Research methodology: This study is based on a sequential explanatory design. The first stage entailed gathering and analyzing the qualitative data: a) content analysis of 18 explanatory materials published by the health maintenance organizations and the Ministry of Health that were designed to promote the HPV vaccination in the Arab society;b) conducting in-depth interviews with mothers from Arab society and health professionals (N=70 mothers and N=20 nurses from Arab society). Based on this stage, a quantitative questionnaire was constructed and answered by different subgroups from the representative sample of the investigated population: N=693, comprising six subgroups (Muslims, Christians, Northern Bedouins, Druse, secular Jews, religious Jews). A total of 693 mothers participated in the study. The participants included mothers from almost the entire spectrum of the Israeli population. The Arab population was defined as the primary research population, while the national Jewish population (secular and religious/traditional groups) served for comparison purposes. The ultra-Orthodox population was not included in the study. The mixed research method adopted in this study facilitated integration of the perspectives and means for understanding the relevant considerations in vaccination compliance (Creswell, 2013). Data triangulation made it possible to achieve better cross-checking of the data and to develop strong and validated arguments backed up by data collected from subgroups in the Arab population, while using the Jewish population as a control group (Creswell, 2013). Main findings: The research findings indicate that for the most part the decision-making process of mothers in Arab society relies upon an automatic system (as defined by Kahneman, 2011) based on various emotional heuristics emerging from this study. We described the research findings along two paths: 1) variables we referred to as internal socialcultural variables that are inherent in the social structure of the Arab population;2) variables we called external variables that are related to how the health system conveys information on the issue of vaccinations to Arab society. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Suicide prevention: Global trends

Even before Covid-19 in 2020, why has suicide increased into a global crisis, and what can be done to reduce this? This chapter offers a panoramic overview of suicide: global trends, a focus on four diverse regions (Armenia, Haiti, Palestine, Nigeria), one case study, and methods of effective suicide intervention and prevention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

Anger aggression and cyberbullying: US and German young adults' perspective

Cyberbullying is still a phenomenon that has gained global recognition over the past couple of years but still requires more research to fully understand the scope of the issue so that programs and strategies that effectively minimize the occurrence and the effect on individuals. Today's GenX are more intuned to cyber than the millennials with constant exposure to technology with such things a Metaverse, online learning, online classes during COVID, video chat, skype, Instagram, Tik Tok, etc. The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the growing phenomenon of cyberbullying from the young adult perspective on anger aggression and age relation to cyberbullying behavior by comparing the experience of 45 participants each from the US and Germany's adolescent and young adult experiences. In order to gain an understanding of the young adult perspective a survey was conducted using questions from Cyber-Aggression Questionnaire for Adolescents (CYBA), Oleweus Bullying Survey, and the Youth Truth Student Survey and young adults ages 18 to 21 were recruited to participate. The QTB and CBI scales were used to score responses. SPSS was used to evaluate the data. Results showed a significance with relation to age being associated with the anger aggression stages and cyberbullying behavior, p < .05;and age as influencer of cyberbullying behavior, p <.05;and learning to control anger as a mitigator of cyberbullying p,.01. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

The second wave positive psychology of shame in East and West in the age of the 4IR

This chapter highlights the importance of shame in the context of the 4IR, especially with respect to the threat of COVID-19. We pointed out the danger of shame-related cover-up, which may lead to more pandemics. We also emphasized the need for the framework of second wave positive psychology (PP 2.0) which embraces (1) the existential-spiritual perspective of transforming shame into personal growth and (2) the need to understand cultural difference between East and West in the experience and regulation of shame. In the age of COVID-19, the world suffered tragic losses of lives because of cover-ups and misinformation. Therefore, we propose that a sense of shame for violating the moral norm of speaking the truth and truthful international communications would be beneficial to humanity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

From dragons to leaders: Latvian and Japanese psyches, and an organic consciousness

The subject of good leadership and leaders who may incite a greater human well-being is never unimportant and is especially urgent in times of crisis, like the current corona virus pandemic. Coupled with the aim to contribute to a better understanding of the similarities and differences between the psyches of the East and West, this chapter explores leadership styles in Japan (East Asia) and Latvia (which is on the boundary between East and West) as an important element in creating a sustainable future for humanity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)