scholarly journals Choirs in Two Countries — A Study of Community Music Therapy for the Older Adults in Norway and Japan

2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroko Kimura ◽  
Yumi Nishimoto
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Community Music ◽  
Discussion Section ◽  
Modern Music ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
The Social

Modern music therapy first developed in western countries and has now spread throughout the world. This research focuses on how Japanese culture affects the implemention of Community Music Therapy (CoMT), by comparing the results of questionnaires carried out with groups of older adults in Norway and Japan. The results showed a small difference in terms of opinions expressed but significant cultural differences in the process of answering the questions set to them, which may be derived from individualistic and collectivistic cultural elements. The results are considered under five headings in the discussion section: Basic cultural difference, Self-expression, Internal relationships, Sense of community, and Role of music. We conclude that although CoMT has an important role in the social involvement of older adults regardless of cultures, cultural differences should be taken carefully into consideration.

Cross-Cultural Differences in the Valuing of Dominance by Young Children

2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 256-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rawan Charafeddine ◽  
Hugo Mercier ◽  
Takahiro Yamada ◽  
Tomoko Matsui ◽  
Mioko Sudo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Children ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Japanese Culture ◽  
Developmental Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Research ◽  
Cross Cultural Research ◽  
Dominant Individual

AbstractDevelopmental research suggests that young children tend to value dominant individuals over subordinates. This research, however, has nearly exclusively been carried out in Western cultures, and cross-cultural research among adults has revealed cultural differences in the valuing of dominance. In particular, it seems that Japanese culture, relative to many Western cultures, values dominance less. We conducted two experiments to test whether this difference would be observed in preschoolers. In Experiment 1, preschoolers in France and in Japan were asked to identify with either a dominant or a subordinate. French preschoolers identified with the dominant, but Japanese preschoolers were at chance. Experiment 2 revealed that Japanese preschoolers were more likely to believe a subordinate than a dominant individual, both compared to chance and compared to previous findings among French preschoolers. The convergent results from both experiments thus reveal an early emerging cross-cultural difference in the valuing of dominance.

scholarly journals AT DRIKKE ÆBLETE: Om håndteringen af kulturforskelle i institutioner

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kirsten Hvenegård-Lassen
Keyword(s):  
Human Nature ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Social Worker ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
The Other ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Cultural Encounters ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Family

The title of this article, “Drinking Apple Tea”, refers to the account of a social worker visiting the family of his drug-addicted client. While the visit proceeds in silence, the social worker finds his own frustration rising: “We just sit there and drink apple tea. What am I doing here?” This story points to the fact that cultural differences are difficult to manage within the institutions of the Danish welfare state, since they tend to fall outside the scope of established universal categorizations and norms that form the basis for institutional practices. On the basis of an understanding of cultural encounters that emphasize the creativity of human agency, as well as the institutional fixation of hegemonic norms, the article discusses specific encounters involving majority institutions and ethnic minorities in Denmark. The analysis focuses on the ways cultural differences are either suppressed or displaced as irrelevant factors, or emerge as catchall explanations for the behavior of ethnic minorities. This pattern is to a large extent attributable to the institutional norms and practices that implicitly limit diversity. In some cases, a universal view of human nature means that difference becomes deviance; whilst in others, a focus on cultural difference reduces diversity resulting in stereotypical generalizations of the Other. One way of distributing culture and difference in alternative ways could result from a heightened awareness of the institutional rationalities and practices among the employees.

scholarly journals Cultural differences in memory for faces and associated perceptual versus social contexts.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingqian Li
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Race Effect ◽  
The Social ◽  
Face Stimuli ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Cue Words ◽  
Context Memory

The current study investigates cultural differences in memory for faces and their associated contexts between East Asian and Western cultures. Thirty-six Caucasian Canadian (age range = 17 - 30, M = 21.00, SD = 3.94) and 35 native Chinese (age range = 19 – 27, M = 22.06, SD = 2.33) young adults participated in the study. At encoding, participants subjectively rated face stimuli according to the cue words within social (“FRIENDLY” vs. “SUCCESS”) and perceptual (“HEIGHT” vs. “WEIGHT”) contexts. At test, participants performed a context recognition task to identify whether the test stimulus was a new face or an old face associated with a specific context cue word. Results did not show any cultural difference in memory. However, both cultures showed better recognition in the social context than in the perceptual context condition. In addition, the other race effect was observed in context memory for Canadian, but not Chinese participants.

A cross-cultural analysis of the modes and effectiveness of collaborative production of knowledge on Quora

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yumeng Peng ◽  
Xiang Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Cultural Analysis ◽  
Cross Cultural ◽  
Cultural Backgrounds ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cultural Elements ◽  
Production Of Knowledge

PurposeThe purpose of the paper is to investigate how cross-cultural elements such as cultural difference and stereotype are integrated into collaborative modes and actions and to explore their corresponding effectiveness.Design/methodology/approachThe sample of the quantitative content analysis is drawn from the posts with the topic of China on Quora. A collaborative case, where two users have a question-and-answer interaction, is taken as the unit of analysis. The effectiveness of collaboration is operationalized as the extent to which a collaboratively produced answer is visited and favorably reviewed, using the feedback index (the number of upvotes*1,000/views). One of the sampled collaborative cases is further analyzed qualitatively to see how cultural differences, stereotypes and other factors are incorporated into users' interaction.FindingsThis content analysis reveals nine modes of collaborative production of knowledge on Quora: initial questioning, pointed answering, raising doubts, responding to others, agreeing with others, correcting mistakes, enriching content, further questioning and extending issues. Diversity of the cross-cultural acts of collaborative production, particularly two of often-used collaborative actions, correcting stereotypes and supplementing cultural differences, helps to enhance overall collaborative effectiveness.Practical implicationsThis paper offers new perspectives and ideas for strategies to change socially problematic stereotypes, e.g. to correct stereotypes where necessary and use more convincing resources such as reliable images as collaborative actions to bridge cultural differences. It also calls on social Q&A website developers to create more international users-friendly design by providing various channels for users with diverse cultural backgrounds to interact with each other.Originality/valueThis study is one of the first to investigate online collaborative knowledge production within a broader cross-cultural context. Specifically, cultural factors and cross-cultural collaborative actions have been innovatively integrated into this research, enriching the dimensions that can be used for collaboration classification. It is helpful for users from different countries to actively adopting different strategies to overcome cultural differences, preconceptions and other negative factors that are not conducive to communication and knowledge acquisition.

scholarly journals An Intergenerational Zoom Music Therapy Group During COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 568-568
Author(s):  
Racheli Lital Gvili
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Therapy Group ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Music Intervention ◽  
The Social ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Intergenerational Connections

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in ageist attitudes and psychological distress and loneliness among older people. The social isolation exacerbated the intergenerational segregation between young and older adults, and has also been expressed within families, since grandparents could not meet their grandchildren in person. The present study involved an intergenerational music intervention, as a vehicle to bridge the gap between grandparents and grandchildren at the COVID-19 pandemic. 41 grandparents aged 56-80, and 45 grandchildren aged 9.9-11.8 took part. Of these, 21 pairs of grandparents and grandchildren participated in a weekly online intergenerational zoom music therapy group for eight weeks, and the rest constituted a waitlist-controlled group. All participants completed the same questionnaires during the same time periods before and after the intervention. The results point to the effectiveness of participation in the sessions in improving intergenerational connections and psychological well-being, and in reducing ageist attitudes and loneliness.

Reflections on music therapy with older adults from an ethnographic perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brigette K. Schneible ◽  
Jay F. Gabriel ◽  
Joke Bradt
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Nursing Home ◽  
Music Therapy ◽  
Long Term Care ◽  
Term Care ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Healing Narrative ◽  
Care Nursing

Purpose Older adults often navigate periods of disruptive transition, such as rehousing, that can be understood in terms of ritual transformation, a concept that describes changes to the social self in terms of deconstruction, liminality and reconstruction. Music therapy can assist older adults’ movement through these stages. This paper aims to engage theoretical perspectives on ritual to consider the social and cultural transformation of these residents of a long-term care nursing home. Design/methodology/approach Ethnographic theory and literature on the ritual process are used to reflect on one music therapist’s (first author’s) experience providing music therapy to older adult residents of a long-term care nursing home. The therapist facilitated a collaborative “healing story” whose performative aspects engaged the residents in their own healing process. These experiences culminated in a group songwriting experience with a resident choir ensemble. Findings The healing narrative involved aspects of the person, selfhood, relationship and culture more than elements of physicality or functional abilities. Music therapists working with older adults may find this theoretical perspective informative in interpreting resident behaviors and needs, identifying and addressing therapeutic goals and fostering a healing narrative. Originality/value Care and interventions for older adults are often guided by the biomedical model of aging as an illness. While sociological and psychological theories of aging offer alternatives, these are not always prominent in interventions. This exploration of aging and transition as ritual transformation offers one such needed and insightful perspective to inform practice.

scholarly journals Cultural differences in memory for faces and associated perceptual versus social contexts.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lingqian Li
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Differences ◽  
Cultural Difference ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Race Effect ◽  
The Social ◽  
Face Stimuli ◽  
Age Range ◽  
Cue Words ◽  
Context Memory

The current study investigates cultural differences in memory for faces and their associated contexts between East Asian and Western cultures. Thirty-six Caucasian Canadian (age range = 17 - 30, M = 21.00, SD = 3.94) and 35 native Chinese (age range = 19 – 27, M = 22.06, SD = 2.33) young adults participated in the study. At encoding, participants subjectively rated face stimuli according to the cue words within social (“FRIENDLY” vs. “SUCCESS”) and perceptual (“HEIGHT” vs. “WEIGHT”) contexts. At test, participants performed a context recognition task to identify whether the test stimulus was a new face or an old face associated with a specific context cue word. Results did not show any cultural difference in memory. However, both cultures showed better recognition in the social context than in the perceptual context condition. In addition, the other race effect was observed in context memory for Canadian, but not Chinese participants.

The Evolution of Music Therapy

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 207-221
Author(s):  
Wolfgang Mastnak
Keyword(s):  
Music Therapy ◽  
Evidence Based Medicine ◽  
Wide Spectrum ◽  
Evidence Based ◽  
Modern Music ◽  
Guided Imagery And Music ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
International Importance ◽  
Evolution Of Music ◽  
Based Medicine

Abstract. Five overlapping eras or stages can be distinguished in the evolution of music therapy. The first one refers to the historical roots and ethnological sources that have influenced modern meta-theoretical perspectives and practices. The next stage marks the heterogeneous origins of modern music therapy in the 20th century that mirror psychological positions and novel clinical ideas about the healing power of music. The subsequent heyday of music therapeutic models and schools of thought yielded an enormous variety of concepts and methods such as Nordoff–Robbins music therapy, Orff music therapy, analytic music therapy, regulatory music therapy, guided imagery and music, sound work, etc. As music therapy gained in international importance, clinical applications required research on its therapeutic efficacy. According to standards of evidence-based medicine and with regard to clearly defined diagnoses, research on music therapeutic practice was the core of the fourth stage of evolution. The current stage is characterized by the emerging epistemological dissatisfaction with the paradigmatic reductionism of evidence-based medicine and by the strong will to discover the true healing nature of music. This trend has given birth to a wide spectrum of interdisciplinary hermeneutics for novel foundations of music therapy. Epigenetics, neuroplasticity, regulatory and chronobiological sciences, quantum physical philosophies, universal harmonies, spiritual and religious views, and the cultural anthropological phenomenon of esthetics and creativity have become guiding principles. This article should not be regarded as a historical treatise but rather as an attempt to identify theoretical landmarks in the evolution of modern music therapy and to elucidate the evolution of its spirit.

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