“Cultural fit”: A new perspective on personality and sojourner adjustment

One hundred and thirty-nine Americans resident in Singapore participated in the research which investigated the influence of “cultural fit” on sojourner adjustment. Subjects completed questionnaires including measurements of extraversion, psychological adjustment (depression) and sociocultural adaptation (social difficulty). To assess “cultural fit” discrepancy scores were calculated on the absolute differences between subjects' extraversion scores and host culture norms. Correlational analyses indicated that extraversion per se was unrelated to either psychological or sociocultural adjustment; however, as predicted, larger discrepancies in extraversion between subjects and members of the host culture were associated with higher levels of depression (p < .01). Discrepancy scores were also analyzed in conjunction with a median split, dividing subjects into low and high discrepancy groups. T-tests further confirmed that the large discrepancy group experienced more symptoms of depression (p < .01). There were no significant differences, however, in the amount of social difficulties experienced by low and high discrepancy groups.     

Scenariation: Scenario generation for online teaching in nursing and health sciences

There are increased opportunities for online delivery innovation within the education sector because of rapid advances in Internet technology. This paper describes a unique and efficient approach to simulation called ‘scenariation’. The scenariation project aimed to establish efficient processes for the development of scenariation content and evaluate the use of a specific scenariation nurse education module. Students were presented with video simulating the workplace and then prompted to make clinical decisions such as selecting treatment options. The scenariation approach was implemented with a group of 380 1st‐year nursing students and evaluated using multifaceted online evaluation. The results of this qualitative evaluation highlight not just the potential of scenariation but also some of the difficulties associated with online delivery to large and diverse student groups. Students valued the relevance to practice and interactive nature of scenariation, but some reported technical difficulties. The paper concludes by extending the discussion of scenariation to the areas of inter‐professional learning and the integration of scenariation with face‐to‐face high fidelity simulation.     

Can we use young people’s knowledge to develop teachers and HIV-related education?

Despite recent progress in meeting the goals of the Education for All agenda, certain groups of young people are particularly vulnerable to exclusion and underachievement, including children with HIV/AIDS, children living in poverty, and children with disabilities. HIV/AIDS has reduced many young people’s rights to access education, to live a full and healthy life, and to have a life as a child. This article focuses on attempts to continue to empower young people to protect themselves from HIV by exploring the dynamics around HIV-related education in schools, in particular by examining the role that young people’s knowledge can play in improving curricula and thus reducing HIV/AIDS rates. The authors draw on qualitative research in a total of eight schools in Kenya, Tanzania, and South Africa. Preliminary findings suggest that pupil consultation and dialogue can be used to inform thinking on the curriculum for HIV education.     

OBESITY AND REPORTS OF NO LEISURE TIME ACTIVITY AMONG OLDER AMERICANS: RESULTS FROM THE THIRD NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEY

Physical inactivity is a cardiovascular risk factor that has a higher prevalence among overweight adults. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of not participating in Leisure Time Physical Activity (LPTA) and the relationship to body weight class among older U.S. adults. A nationally representative cross-sectional survey with an in-person interview and medical examination was used. Between 1988 and 1994, 6569 adults 60 years of age or older responded to the household adult and family questionnaires as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III. Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic blacks were oversampled to produce reliable estimates for these groups. Overall, 39% of older U.S. adults fall in the overweight range and 23.3% are obese. Obese older adults were more likely than their overweight and healthy weight counterparts to report participating in no LTPA The prevalence of adults reporting no leisure time physical activity (LPTA) is lowest among non-Hispanic whites compared to non-Hispanic blacks and Mexican-Americans in each body mass index category. Future interventions should address strategies to promote an increase in leisure time physical activity among older adults, especially among underserved populations, and help them to prevent weight gain.     

Identity conflict in sojourners

The research adopted an intrapersonal perspective on identity and acculturation and explored the prediction of identity conflict in Chinese sojourners in Singapore. One hundred and six sojourners from the People's Republic of China completed a questionnaire which assessed tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, host and co-national identification, quality and quantity of host and co-national contact, perceived discrimination, cultural distance, length of residence abroad and identity conflict. Step-wise regression analysis revealed that greater tolerance of ambiguity, attributional complexity, and co-national identification and less perceived discrimination and contact with host nationals predicted lower levels of identity conflict. These variables combined to account for 35% of the variance in the outcome measure. Results are discussed in terms of competing models of identity, acculturation and cross-cultural adaptation.     

Celebrating the Contribution of Douglas Hamblin

This article celebrates the life of Douglas Hamblin, and his significant contribution to pastoral care, personal-social education and the lives of schools, teachers and pupils. From very incomplete information, it offers a brief account of his career, and lists his most relevant publications.     

The relationship between subject headings for works of fiction and circulation in an academic library

Subject headings for individual works of fiction have appeared on LC cataloging copy from the inception of the OCLC/LC Fiction Project in 1991. This study seeks to determine whether there is any relationship between the number of subject or genre headings per fiction record and mean circulation per record. Analysis of results indicates that no statistically significant correlation exists. Recommendation for a similar analysis of data from a public library is made.