This study integrates research in the civic community tradition and structuralist and individualist perspectives on poverty to assess the relationship between religious-based civic community structures and family poverty in the United States. Using multilevel analyses of 2006-2008 American Community Survey, 2000 Census of Population and Housing, and 2000 Religious Congregations and Membership S...

Persuasive technology is defined as “any interactive product designed to change attitudes or behaviours by making desired outcomes easier to achieve”. It can take the form of interactive web applications, hand held devices, and games. To date there has been limited research into persuasive technology outside of America. Cross-cultural research shows that in order for persuasion to be most effec...

We examined the validity of the factor structure and invariance of the Perceived Locus of Causality (PLOC) scale instrument scores across two nations endorsing collectivist (Singapore) and individualist (Great Britain) cultural values. Results indicated that confirmatory factor analytic models of the PLOC exhibited adequate fit according to multiple criteria within each sample and across sample...

This article utilizes the agency-structure debate as a framework for constructing a health lifestyle theory. No such theory currently exists, yet the need for one is underscored by the fact that many daily lifestyle practices involve considerations of health outcomes. An individualist paradigm has influenced concepts of health lifestyles in several disciplines, but this approach neglects the st...

Agent-Based Modeling can contribute to the understanding of international trade processes. Models for the effects of culture and cultural differences on agent behavior are required for realistic agent-based simulation of international trade. This paper makes a step toward modeling of culture in agents. The focus is one of the five dimensions of culture according to Hofstede: individualism versu...

Collectivism is better than individualism as the former holds the community together more than the latter do. Paradoxically, individualists tend to believe that there are universal values that should be shared by all, while collectivists tend to accept that different groups have different values. Many of the Asian cultures are collectivist, while Anglo cultures tend to be individualist. This pa...

The theoretical implications of individualism±collectivism for self-esteem suggest that collectivism is associated with (1) relatively higher self-liking and lower selfcompetence and (2) greater change in self-liking in response to social life events. In contrast, individualism is expected to be associated with (1) relatively higher selfcompetence and lower self-liking and (2) greater change in...

urbanisation is still one of the social themes in developing countries. in china, the rapid process of urbanisation and economic growth bring to people not only more opportunities for creating new life and pursuing happiness, but also the challenge to face various and complex social, economical and environmental problems. among them some are outstanding, like the shrinking plowland devoured by ...

Growing evidence suggests that well-being interventions can be effective. However, it is unclear whether happiness-increasing practices are equally effective for individuals from different cultural backgrounds. To investigate this question, Anglo Americans and predominantly foreign-born Asian Americans were randomly assigned to express optimism, convey gratitude, or list their past experiences ...

Heroes play collectivist or individualist roles in imagination and self-development. Representations of heroic figures in questionnaires given to French (n = 241) and Spanish (n = 227) samples of 10 and 15-year-olds were examined to assess the extent that heroes originated in digital media, and whether they were proximal or distal personalities. There is strong evidence that heroes in this samp...