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BackgroundPeople hold a wide variety of beliefs concerning the causes of illness. Such beliefs vary across cultures and, among immigrants, may be influenced by many factors, including level of acculturation, gender, level of education, and experience of illness and treatment. This study examines illness causal beliefs in Turkish-immigrants in Australia.MethodsCausal beliefs about somatic and mental illness were examined in a sample of 444 members of the Turkish population of Melbourne. The socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were broadly similar to those of the Melbourne Turkish community. Five issues were examined: the structure of causal beliefs; the relative frequency of natural, supernatural and metaphysical beliefs; ascription of somatic, mental, or both somatic and mental conditions to the various causes; the correlations of belief types with socio-demographic, modernizing and acculturation variables; and the relationship between causal beliefs and current illness.ResultsPrincipal components analysis revealed two broad factors, accounting for 58 percent of the variation in scores on illness belief scales, distinctly interpretable as natural and supernatural beliefs. Second, beliefs in natural causes were more frequent than beliefs in supernatural causes. Third, some causal beliefs were commonly linked to both somatic and mental conditions while others were regarded as more specific to either somatic or mental disorders. Last, there was a range of correlations between endorsement of belief types and factors defining heterogeneity within the community, including with demographic factors, indicators of modernizing and acculturative processes, and the current presence of illness.ConclusionResults supported the classification of causal beliefs proposed by Murdock, Wilson & Frederick, with a division into natural and supernatural causes. While belief in natural causes is more common, belief in supernatural causes persists despite modernizing and acculturative influences. Different types of causal beliefs are held in relation to somatic or mental illness, and a variety of apparently logically incompatible beliefs may be concurrently held. Illness causal beliefs are dynamic and are related to demographic, modernizing, and acculturative factors, and to the current presence of illness. Any assumption of uniformity of illness causal beliefs within a community, even one that is relatively culturally homogeneous, is likely to be misleading. A better understanding of the diversity, and determinants, of illness causal beliefs can be of value in improving our understanding of illness experience, the clinical process, and in developing more effective health services and population health strategies.

This pilot secondary consultation program provided clinicians in a rural area with a forum in which to reflect on cross-cultural mental health issues. This pilot has informed the development of subsequent VTMH cultural consultation services.

This article describes the expansion of a transcultural secondary consultation model run by a state-wide transcultural unit. The model aims to enhance cultural responsiveness in partnership with mental health services. We discuss a series of 12 consultations that occurred between 2011 and 2012. We outline the processes of setting up the structure of secondary consultation, the actual consultation-facilitation format, and methods of evaluation. Evaluations were done in two phases: the first immediately after the consult and the second after a period of 3-6 months. The discussion highlights the usefulness of a transcultural model of consultation and, based on the evaluations, identifies the benefits the model brings to understanding and intervening with clients, culture, and systems. The results emphasise the need for multidisciplinary collaboration and a facilitated space for clinical teams to explore culturally responsive therapeutic practices.

The recent developments in computer and Internet technologies and in three dimensional modelling necessitates the new approaches and methods in the education field and brings new opportunities to the higher education. The Internet and virtual learning environments have changed the learning opportunities by diversifying the learning options not only in general education but also in the field of foreign language for teachers, curriculum designers and students. Many higher education institutions are employing one of the most widely used virtual worlds the Second Life Platform and are conducting classes on their virtual campuses, and organize meetings, seminars and conferences. In this study, it has been aimed to devise and implement learning applications on the 3D Second Life Platform for the prospective foreign language preservice teachers of Istanbul University, Hasan Ali Yücel Faculty of Education, English Language Teaching Department. The study will report a research Project on Second Life aiming at introducing foreign language pre-service teachers with 3D Virtual Learning Environments and enabling them to use this environment for language teaching at Istanbul University, Hasan Ali Yucel Faculty of Education, English Language Teaching Department. In the scope of the Project, "Comparative Education" class has been conducted both face to face and in World. The method of the study is descriptive. Furthermore, a mixed model, where qualitative and quantitative research techniques have analyzed, has been used. Thus, triangulation of the data has been aimed. In the study, a description of the project, methodology, results and student work will be given.

The 60-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) was translated into Turkish and administered to a community sample of 437 Turkish-speaking immigrants resident in Melbourne, Australia. The factor structures of the 60-item and 28-item versions of the GHQ were examined to determine the cross-cultural validity of the four subscales of the 28-item GHQ "anxiety/insomnia", "social dysfunction", "severe depression" and "somatic complaints". Four-factor principal components analyses yielded factors which corresponded to similar underlying traits, but the pattern of symptom loadings differed in several ways. Insomnia was less closely associated with anxiety, and general illness ratings such as "not feeling perfectly well" were not uniquely associated with somatic symptoms. The "anxiety/insomnia" and "severe depression" factors overlapped, with many symptoms partially correlated with both factors. These factors appeared to be due to variations in the frequency of occurrence of these symptoms rather than a qualitative distinction between anxiety and depression.

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Differentiation works on both individual and social levels; the immediate outcomes in the classroom have an influence on the whole life of the society. The learning process could be differentiated in terms of content, process, and product by taking students' readiness, interest, and needs into account. Our research has shown that using tablets in classrooms provides a useful implementation tool for differentiation. However, attitudes and beliefs of teachers are as important as experimental studies to understand the advantages of using tablets to ensure the differentiated curriculum and its implementation. Participants' ideas on using tablets in classrooms for differentiating the classroom were documented in a bootcamp that includes ICT, English, Math, and class teachers who use tablets, ICT experts, and academicians. Questions included topics like the need for differentiation, the advantages and disadvantages of using tablets for implementing the differentiated curriculum, and the teachers' attitudes on using tablets. They pointed out that differentiation via technology is able to meet the different needs of students. They reported that technology degradation and tablets were useful tools for differentiation. However, they all agreed that a successful organization was needed to be able to include technology to the existing practice and curriculum.