Asian Americans respond less favorably to excitement (vs. calm)-focused physicians compared to European Americans

OBJECTIVES: Despite being considered a model minority, Asian Americans report worse health care encounters than do European Americans. This may be due to affective mismatches between Asian American patients and their European American physicians. We predicted that because Asian Americans value excitement (vs. calm) less than European Americans, they will respond less favorably to excitement-focused (vs. calm) physicians. METHOD: In Study 1, 198 European American, Chinese American, and Hong Kong Chinese community adults read a medical scenario and indicated their preference for an excitement-focused versus calm-focused physician. In Study 2, 81 European American and Asian American community college students listened to recommendations made by an excitement-focused or calm-focused physician in a video, and later attempted to recall the recommendations. In Study 3, 101 European American and Asian American middle-aged and older adults had multiple online encounters with an excitement-focused or calm-focused physician and then evaluated their physicians\u27 trustworthiness, competence, and knowledge. RESULTS: As predicted, Hong Kong Chinese preferred excitement-focused physicians less than European Americans, with Chinese Americans falling in the middle (Study 1). Similarly, Asian Americans remembered health information delivered by an excitement-focused physician less well than did European Americans (Study 2). Finally, Asian Americans evaluated an excitement-focused physician less positively than did European Americans (Study 3). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that while physicians who promote and emphasize excitement states may be effective with European Americans, they may be less so with Asian Americans and other ethnic minorities who value different affective states

CHINESE IMMIGRATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS ON URBAN MANAGEMENT IN LOS ANGELES

This paper reviews the Chinese immigration history in Los Angeles, with Chinatown representing its urbanization process and San Gabriel Valley representing its suburbanization process. These two processes are distinct and have different impacting factors. This empirical study also compares similarities and differences of the urban development patterns between the Chinese Americans and the mainstream white Americans. Furthermore, the paper examines the implications of Chinese immigration on local urban management from political, cultural, and socioeconomic aspects.urbanization, suburbanization, Los Angeles, Chinatown, San Gabriel Valley.

Beliefs in advance care planning among Chinese Americans: Similarities and differences between the younger and older generations

The purpose of this research is to explore behavioral, normative, and control beliefs in the discussion of advance care planning (ACP) among older and younger Chinese Americans. Ethnic minority groups have been identified as less engaged in ACP and this represents an ethnic and cultural gap. Older Chinese American adults often have different beliefs and values compared to the younger generation who are more acculturated to American mainstream culture. These differences may hinder the discussion of ACP with Chinese older adults. A qualitative design was used. The Theory of Planned Behavior guided the development of the interview guide. We recruited 60 Chinese Americans. Prior experience was identified as a theme that influenced attitudes about ACP. We found that older and younger Chinese participants had different beliefs in the norm and control related to ACP discussions, but not in the belief of attitudes about ACP discussions. Both younger and older Chinese American participants believed that ACP was important and necessary. Participants in both clusters expressed that they were ready and willing to engage in ACP discussions with their family members but hesitant to initiate these discussions. The reluctance in discussing ACP with Chinese older adults may be related to the expectations and obligations of Xiao (filial piety) in Chinese culture. This study describes the similarities and differences of beliefs in ACP between older and younger Chinese Americans. We identified barriers and facilitators in behavioral, normative, and control beliefs that can be used to promote ACP for Chinese Americans

Public health and the public agenda

This paper was presented as the distinguished address at the conference "Unequal incomes, unequal outcomes? Economic inequality and measures of well-being." The conference was held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on May 7, 1999. The author examines health issues, observing that infant mortality rates for African-Americans are twice as high as they are for white Americans; Chinese-Americans are four to five times more likely to suffer from liver cancer than other Americans; and Latinos and Native Americans develop diabetes at a rate twice and three times the U.S. average, respectively.Medical care ; Public welfare ; Public policy

Regional Variability and Ethnic Identity:Chinese Americans in New York City and San Francisco

This paper examines the realizations of the BOUGHT vowel (in words like ‘taught’ and ‘sauce’) by Chinese Americans of Cantonese heritage in New York City and San Francisco. Quantitative analyses find that Chinese Americans in the two cities pronounce BOUGHT in ways that are more similar to their respective regional patterns than to one another. We argue that the quantitative results should be interpreted by considering the complex semiotic links this variable has with respect to non-Asian ethnicities and by considering speakers’ negotiations of their local and cultural identities amidst different (and changing) sociohistorical contexts. We propose that regional features can index not just regional identity but also its intersection with ethnicity

Paying for Mitigation: A Multiple Country Study

Unique survey data from a contingent valuation study conducted in three different countries (China, Sweden, and the United States) were used to investigate the ordinary citizen’s willingness to pay (WTP) for reducing CO2 emissions. We found that a large majority of the respondents in all three countries believe that the mean global temperature has increased over the last 100 years and that humans are responsible for the increase. A smaller share of Americans, however, believes these statements, when compared to the Chinese and Swedes. A larger share of Americans is also pessimistic and believes that nothing can be done to stop climate change. We also found that Sweden has the highest WTP for reductions of CO2, while China has the lowest. Thus, even though the Swedes and Chinese are similar to each other in their attitudes toward climate change, they differ considerably in their WTP. When WTP is measured as a share of household income, the willingness to pay is the same for Americans and Chinese, while again higher for the Swedes.climate change, willingness to pay, multi-country, China, United States, Sweden

Living with Global Imbalances: A Contrarian View

Three propositions have become conventional wisdom in Washington and elsewhere: Americans save too little. The US current account deficit is thus unsustainably large. The Chinese currency must appreciate significantly to bring the global economy into sustainable balance. All these separate but related propositions are highly questionable, the author says. He suggests that Americans save quite enough for future generations, that the startlingly large US current account deficit is not only sustainable but a natural feature of today's highly globalized economy, and that a revaluation of the Chinese currency, far from alleviating global imbalances, would run the risk of precipitating a financial crisis.

A Comparative study of Chinese and American address terms

In cross-cultural situations, choices of address terms often reflect cultural differences. Although a good number of studies have discussed address terms in mono-linguistic settings, literature directly related to cross-cultural address terms is scarce. The current study intends to investigate common forms of address terms in Chinese and American cultures. Two hypotheses are examined: 1) Differences between Americans and Chinese in their choices of address terms are governed by cultural norms such as politeness, as well as by contexts or styles, and 2) The Chinese students in the U.S., who are undergoing the process of assimilation and acculturation, tend to accommodate the American culture and be more like the Americans in their choices of address terms. Twenty-seven American and 24 Chinese subjects completed a 12-item survey. Data was analyzed by descriptive statistics and visual presentations and through the Kolmogorov-Smimov tests of population difference. The results indicate that while most American respondents tend to use either first name or no name in most informal settings or status conscious settings, Chinese respondents under the context in China would use more diversified choices. In addition, acculturation plays a role in Chinese respondents’ language change in terms of the choices of address terms. The relationship between age and the choice of address terms is also discussed

CULTURAL COMMUNITY, COHESION AND CONSTRAINT: DYNAMICS OF LIFE SATISFACTION AMONG AGED FILIPINO MEN OF HAWAII

In contrast to other elderly Asian-Americans (notably Japanese Americans and Chinese Americans), relatively little is known about aged Filipino Americans (Kalish & Yuen, 1971). This may be partly a function of their population size, as the Filipino aged in America are considerably less numerous than the elderly Japanese and Chinese Americans; the 1970 U.S. Censes (Census) of the Population finds only 21,249 Filipinos aged 65 and over in the U.S., 82% of them men. In addition, low economic and political status, recency of arrival and relative lack of militancy may contribute to this inattention. Kalish and Moriwaki (1973), focusing on elderly Chinese and Japanese Americans, explained their emphasis on the former and apologized for ignoring the Filipino American aged, noting that they understood much less about them