Cultural translation: clarifying the different understandings of physiotherapy for arabic speaking patients and finnish physiotherapists

The aim of this thesis is to provide insight to the culture of Arabic speaking immigrants to physiotherapists and, reciprocally, the profession of physiotherapy for Arabic patients. With the influx of immigrants to Finland during the 2015 refugee crisis many Arabic speakers have found themselves deposited in a new land, complete with new language and culture. Likewise, physiotherapists find themselves facing unfamiliar terrain advising on treatment strategies and lifestyle changes while unfamiliar with the cultural preconceptions and structure of the patient’s lifestyle. Besides the communication failures there is also a lack of information on the part of the immigrants, since many have never encountered the field before, Arabic patients often do not know what physiotherapy is or what it can do for them. Language is “the method of human communication, either spoken or written, consisting of the use of words in a structured and conventional way." However, it is culture that dictates convention. That is to say, a word can have multiple meanings in the same language or an entirely different meaning depending on location. Thinking in terms of physiotherapy specifically, a mutual understanding and the formation of a working relationship based on respect and trust is necessary in order for long term treatment to be beneficial. That understanding and relationship could take unnecessarily long or not form at all should neither party have experience with the other’s point of view or culture. With this in mind the authors aim to provide not a translation of the languages of the Arab World but the culture. Using questionnaires to gather information and create products for each group, both Arabic patients and Finnish physiotherapists, the authors seek to explain key aspects to the other in order to aid in the formation of a successful working relationship. In conclusion, the information gathered through the questionnaires discovered that many Arabic immigrants haven’t any idea about the role of physiotherapy in health, and that while many Finnish physiotherapists manage in their treatment, sessions take more time for communication and treatment is slow as Arabic speaking patients are introduced to the idea of being responsible for their own wellbeing

Paper 4: Twitter, disasters and cultural heritage: A case study of the 2015 Nepal earthquake

The purpose of this paper was to understand how Twitter users responded to the cultural heritage damaged during the 2015 Nepal earthquake. This paper utilizes 201,457 tweets (including retweets) from three different data sets. The analysis shows that approximately 4% of tweets were regarding cultural heritage. Moreover, asymmetrical information was available on Twitter regarding cultural heritage during the Nepal earthquake, that is not every site received equal attention from the public. Damaged sites received more attention than unaffected sites. The content of tweets can be divided into five categories: information, sentiment, memory, action and noise. Most people (89.1%) used Twitter during the disaster to disseminate information regarding damaged cultural heritage sites

Acceptance or Resignation? Surveillance Technologies in China between the Social Credit System and Covid-19

openIn this thesis, I investigate the factors contributing to the high level of approval for the Social Credit System (SCS) in Cina. I explore the Chinese model of e-governance, provide a detailed overview of the SCS, explore the measures adopted to contrast the Covid-19 pandemic and the backlash they caused in the form of the "A4 Revolution", and finally I analyze and explain the high level of public support for the SCS. My research employs a qualitative strategy based on an abductive approach which correlates theory and findings in order to answer my selected research question. Key findings indicate that the integration of advanced technology, cultural values of social harmony, and the Chinese government's efforts to balance surveillance and privacy have contributed to the widespread acceptance of the SCS. I conclude that a combination of historical, cultural, and technological factors plays a significant role in the approval of the SCS, shedding light on the complex dynamics of governance in the digital age.In this thesis, I investigate the factors contributing to the high level of approval for the Social Credit System (SCS) in Cina. I explore the Chinese model of e-governance, provide a detailed overview of the SCS, explore the measures adopted to contrast the Covid-19 pandemic and the backlash they caused in the form of the "A4 Revolution", and finally I analyze and explain the high level of public support for the SCS. My research employs a qualitative strategy based on an abductive approach which correlates theory and findings in order to answer my selected research question. Key findings indicate that the integration of advanced technology, cultural values of social harmony, and the Chinese government's efforts to balance surveillance and privacy have contributed to the widespread acceptance of the SCS. I conclude that a combination of historical, cultural, and technological factors plays a significant role in the approval of the SCS, shedding light on the complex dynamics of governance in the digital age

Property, Psyche, and the Theory of Tenancy: Independent and Interdependent Lease Law Covenants Through the Lens of Cultural Psychology

Is it property or contract? This question has perplexed scholars studying the residential lease for most of the last century. The present contribution combines the complementary perspectives of legal history and cultural psychology to clarify our theory of tenancy. From a historical perspective, I find that the oscillation of tenancy between competing doctrinal paradigms has resulted in a compromise solution rather than a coherent theory. While piecemeal reforms in the 1970s revised the doctrine of independent covenants, they did not provide a theoretical justification for increasing interdependence. From a psychological perspective, I suggest that such a theoretical justification may come from cultural psychology as the discipline that studies the behavioral effects of independent and interdependent self-construals. I provide the first comprehensive review of how this strand of psychology has informed legal issues in the last twenty years, and I extend this line of inquiry to include tenancy. I conclude that whether we regard tenancy as property or contract (i.e., as based on independent or interdependent covenants) will affect the amount of cooperation that we should expect from landlords and tenants. A theory of tenancy based on this insight would open up avenues for further research in law and society, comparative law, and contract theory

Self-initiated expatriate careers as resources, fit and actions

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CROSS-CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT OF NATIVE ENGLISH TEACHERS IN HONG KONG: AN INVESTIGATIVE STUDY

Since its inception, the attrition rate of teachers in the Native English Teachers (NETs) scheme in Hong Kong has been very high. Though the introduction of financial incentives has reduced this slightly, the problem remains, and this thesis explores an alternative explanation for the high attrition, in the field of cross-cultural adjustment. The thesis argues that the effectiveness of the NET scheme is affected by the extent to which issues of cross-cultural adjustment are addressed sufficiently, and that the high attrition rate can be explained, in part, by neglect of issues in cross-cultural adjustment, both in terms of the sojourners and of the host culture. A literature review indicates that cross-cultural adjustment has many different dimensions, and that levels of culture shock and cross-cultural adjustment depend, in part, on individuals’ characteristics. The thesis reports a small-scale qualitative investigation into the experiences of NETs in Hong Kong, seen through different lenses and theories of cross-cultural adjustment, and using a grounded theory approach to data analysis. The empirical data gathered reveal a complex, differentiated and individualized view of cross-cultural adjustment, and that it changes in individuals over time. Cross-cultural adjustment is also seen to apply to host cultures and service providers as well as to the sojourners themselves. Serious shortcomings are found in the provision of suitable preparation, induction, training and ongoing support provided for NETs in Hong Kong in terms of cross-cultural adjustment, and recommendations are made for interventions with the sojourners, the schools and the Hong Kong government’s NETs scheme and associated training programmes

The East-West Dichotomy

The idea that Eastern and Western societies should do everything together because they're exactly the same and their interests are identical is not, as some would have it, a sign of evolutionary maturity or scientific insight, but a desperate form of political manipulation, new Western imperialism, and, yes, wishful thinking. Surely our cultural differences and identities make the world more colorful." Thorsten Pattberg's East-West Dichotomy discusses the philosophical concept that two diametrically opposed hemispheres exist - East and West. As the Peking University scholar demonstrates with numerous examples, their cultures and way of thinking differ radically; one could say they are 180 degrees apart. Pattberg's underlying argument is that because of the dichotomy Westerners, who are mostly rugged individualists, are more analytic and deductive in their thinking, while Easterners, who are more focused on the collective, favor a more intuitive, inductive, "holistic" approach to life. Moreover, he explores the origin and the future of the dichotomy, and shows how it has shaped the West's and the East's different attitudes towards nature, philosophy (both epistemology and ethics), as well as gender and society. Pattberg also shows his willingness to take on any potential critic of his theory in his chapter "Problems with the Dichotomy." This book is a valuable resource for those eager to gain a better understanding of the "Western" and "Eastern" psyches and of how they both harmonize and clash

Assessing the development of cultural sensitivity and intercultural competence : a case study of British University students in China

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