Exploring intercultural sensitivity levels of Chinese and non-Chinese working together in China

Abstract. As societies and individuals from different cultural backgrounds interact, the cultivation of intercultural sensitivity becomes critical for the development of intercultural communication competence. China, and its growing number of crosscultural working environments, specially in the foreign language education sector are ideal for studying intercultural communication. However, and given the existing gap in research regarding intercultural sensitivity in this context, the present study analyzes what levels of intercultural sensitivity exist among Chinese and non-Chinese working together in crosscultural environments across China. At the same time, this study investigates which factors contribute to differentiating intercultural sensitivity levels among respondents. To answer these questions, a number of online surveys were conducted in order to examine background information from a group of Chinese and non-Chinese (N=62) working together in crosscultural environments across China. The Intercultural Sensitivity Scale (ISS) was used to measure intercultural sensitivity levels among respondents. Additionally, six interviews were conducted as complementary to the quantitative data. Results indicated that respondents scored high to very high levels of intercultural sensitivity across the five dimensions of the ISS. Furthermore, factors such as fluency in the host country’s language (Chinese mandarin) and having previous overseas study experience showed a significant impact on the level of intercultural sensitivity of participants. No statistically significant impact was found on factors such as gender, having close international contacts, nationality, and having a language teaching profession. Lastly, important differences were found in the reported experiences of participants in comparison to their IS levels in the areas of Respect for Cultural Differences, Interaction Engagement and Interaction Attentiveness. The findings in this study highlight the significance of having overseas study experience and foreign language ability as factors that contribute to higher levels of IS. Nevertheless, the comparison of quantitative and qualitative results suggest that the Intercultural Sensitivity Scale may require further examination as to how it captures the concept of IS

PERSPECTIVES ON THE BARRIERS ENCOUNTERED BY FOSTER YOUTH AT THE HIGHER EDUCATION LEVEL

The foster youth is a population in the child welfare arena where social workers continue to work and engage in providing effective and supportive resources. This population already vulnerable due to traumatic experiences, continue to lift the veil and fight against all odds. As change agents, we recognize their perspectives are critical to understanding and creating changes that will grant these youth higher academic success rates. This qualitative research includes thirteen open-ended questions regarding the perspectives of eleven former and current foster youth participants. Participants were provided the opportunity to identify the barriers they have face or are facing while attempted, attending and/or completing higher education. This insight provides an understanding of the views and obstacles that impede foster youths’ academic careers. Researchers distinguished barriers and explored options for these youths to meet higher academic success rates. Foster youths’ voices will be heard and will have a lasting imprint on students moving forward

Anthropometric characteristics, quality of life and functional capacity in adults living with HIV in Puerto Rico

Survival and longevity rates in people living with HIV (HIV+) have increased with the availability and use of antiretroviral therapy (ART). However, despite the above HIV+ adults treated with ART have a higher risk of developing dyslipidemia and high waist circumference. In addition, they have lower cardiorespiratory fitness, loss of muscle mass, reduced balance, and reduced functional capacity, which affects their quality of life. To explore the impact of balance perception, treadmill time, grip strength, body mass index (BMI), and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR) on quality of life in Latino Hispanic people living with HIV. This study recruited twenty-five participants from a community-based center, La Perla de Gran Precio, in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with the medical diagnosis of HIV. Descriptive measures were obtained for all variables of interest, and correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the associations between functional capacity, quality of life, and anthropometric measures. Result: Men had greater left- and right-hand grip strength than women (86.9±18.8, 56.9±26.8 kg; p=0.003 and 87.6±15.1 vs. 61.4±26.6 kg; p =0.004). Two anthropometric variables showed a trend toward a moderate positive correlation with quality of life:  WHtR (r= -0.38, p =0.12) and BMI (r= -0.38, p = p-0.14). Although gender differences in upper body strength are expected, handgrip strength is within the gender-specific average range of the general population. The integration of anthropometric characteristics and upper body strength when prescribing exercise must be considered since these factors influence functional capacity and quality of life among HIV+ adults

Visualizing Correlation Regions: The Case of the Ammonia Crystal

We resort to X-ray constrained wavefunctions in order to separately analyze crystal field and correlation effects in ammonia. With this aim in mind, we compare the electron density and the amount of electron localization in different molecular regions derived from three different calculations: the isolated molecule, the solid-state and the X-ray constrained wavefunctions. While the crystal field effects lead to a contraction (localization) of electron pairs, the introduction of correlation as a correction from the experimental density leads to a compensating effect that diffuses back again the electron pairs. We have also compared the effect on the most widely used methods in solid state, HF and DFT, showing that (as in molecules) correlation has well differenciated effects, with DFT overdelocalizing. It is now well known that approximate functionals have errors in the density reconstruction and in the energy estimation. Resorting to experimental densities thus allows expanding the separation of the errors in the functional and the density in solid state, where correlated wavefunctions are not easily available

Identification and expression pattern of a new carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase gene member from Bixa orellana

Carotenoid cleavage dioxygenases (CCDs) are a class of enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of a broad diversity of secondary metabolites known as apocarotenoids. In plants, CCDs are part of a genetic family with members which cleave specific double bonds of carotenoid molecules. CCDs are involved in the production of diverse and important metabolites such as vitamin A and abscisic acid (ABA). Bixa orellana L. is the main source of the natural pigment annatto or bixin, an apocarotenoid accumulated in large quantities in its seeds. Bixin biosynthesis has been studied and the involvement of a CCD has been confirmed in vitro. However, the CCD genes involved in the biosynthesis of the wide variety of apocarotenoids found in this plant have not been well documented. In this study, a new CCD1 gene member (BoCCD1) was identified and its expression was charaterized in different plant tissues of B. orellana plantlets and adult plants. The BoCCD1 sequence showed high homology with plant CCD1s involved mainly in the cleavage of carotenoids in several sites to generate multiple apocarotenoid products. Here, the expression profiles of the BoCCD1 gene were analysed and discussed in relation to total carotenoids and other important apocarotenoids such as bixin

Anaesthesia for serial whole-lung lavage in a patient with severe pulmonary alveolar proteinosis: a case report

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis is a rare condition that requires treatment by whole-lung lavage. We report a case of severe pulmonary alveolar proteinosis and discuss a safe and effective strategy for the anaesthetic management of patients undergoing this complex procedure.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>A 34-year-old Caucasian man was diagnosed with severe pulmonary alveolar proteinosis. He developed severe respiratory failure and subsequently underwent serial whole-lung lavage. Our anaesthetic technique included the use of pre-oxygenation, complete lung separation with a left-sided double-lumen endotracheal tube, one-lung ventilation with positive end-expiratory pressure, appropriate ventilatory monitoring, cautious use of positional manoeuvres and single-lumen endotracheal tube exchange for short-term postoperative ventilation.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis may present with severe respiratory failure and require urgent whole-lung lavage. We have described a safe and effective strategy for anaesthesia for whole-lung lavage. We recommend our anaesthetic technique for patients undergoing this complex and uncommon procedure.</p

Community-Based Climate Change Adaptation Action Plans to Support Climate-Resilient Development in the Eastern African Highlands

Smallholder farmers in the Eastern African Highlands depend on rain-fed agriculture for their livelihoods. Climate adaptation and sustainable development goals must be targeted in an integrated way to better match farmers’ realities and address local priorities and vulnerabilities in these areas. To support climate-resilient development in the Eastern African Highlands, 224 local stakeholders were engaged in the development of community-based climate change adaptation action plans for the Jimma Highlands in Ethiopia, Taita Hills in Kenya and Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Participatory methods, high-resolution climate projections and the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP’s) guidelines were used in the design of these climate action plans with specific objectives to: 1) engage stakeholders to increase understanding of climate change impacts, adaptation options and their potential trade-offs, 2) build their capacities to design climate change adaptation projects, 3) empower stakeholders to identify existing vulnerabilities and enhance climate resilience and 4) strengthen networks to facilitate information access and sharing. Increased risk of water stress and reduction of agricultural productivity were the most frequently identified climate-change-induced problems in the three areas. The developed action plans target the underlying causes of these problems and describe sector-specific responses, activities, critical barriers and opportunities and support the National Adaptation Programmes of Action.Peer reviewe

A step-up converter with large voltage gain and low voltage rating on capacitors

Step-up converters are widely used in many applications, such as renewable energy generation with photovoltaic panels and fuel cell stacks. In many cases, the required voltage gain is larger for those applications than a traditional boost converter can achieve. Several large-voltage gain converters have been recently studied. This paper introduces a converter topology in which the voltage gain is larger than a traditional boost converter. The main advantages of the proposed topology are: (i) it provides a large voltage gain without the use of an extreme duty cycle; (ii) its capacitors require a smaller voltage to be sustained compared with other, similar state-of-the-art converters; (iii) the voltage among the ground input and output is not pulsating; and (iv) it can be synthesized with commercial, off-the-shelf half-bridge packed transistors. The proposed converter can be employed in different applications, such as distributed generation and microgrids. This paper presents the steady-state analysis of the proposed converter in the continuous conduction mode, a short comparison with similar topologies, and their voltage on capacitors. Computer-based simulation results are provided to verify the principle of the proposed converter in different operating conditions