Soisuda Vittayakorn

Cross-cultural understandings of festival food-related activities for older women in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Eastern Kentucky, USA and Auckland, New Zealand.

This cross-country, cross-cultural study explored the meaning of older women’s food-related activities for the annual festivals of Songkran (Thai New Year) in Chiang Mai, Thailand; and Christmas in Richmond, Kentucky, USA; and Auckland, New Zealand. A derived etic method was used. The community-dwelling participants were 33 Thai women, aged 60 and older, and 16 New Zealand and 23 eastern Kentucky women, aged 65 and older. This article focuses on the final cross-cultural analysis of the data. Emic, or within-country, findings are presented, followed by the derived etic, or cross-cultural, interpretations for two themes of meaning; older women’s ‘protecting what matters’ and ‘leading the way’. Applying derived etic methods helped reveal how, despite the highly different food-related practices, preparing and sharing celebratory foods at Songkran or Christmas held related meanings for older women in Thailand, Kentucky USA, and New Zealand.

Respecting regional culture in an international multi-site study: A derived etic method.

In order to look across three cultures at the meanings of celebratory food preparation for older women, researchers in Thailand, America and New Zealand collaboratively designed a derived etic method that respected each culture while allowing cultural comparison of food-related occupations. Anticipating differences in practices at each site, the inquiry broadly addressed who was involved, the tasks of preparing, sharing and offering food, and the physical and social contexts in which the tasks were performed. A seven-step process emerged with alternating collaborative action to design the study and advance analysis, undertake site-specific data collection and analysis of emic and later, conduct etic interpretation. Strategies to support collaboration, address issues relating to translation of data and analysis, and minimize domination of the western researchers are reported, along with critical examination of the method as enacted. Challenges and benefits of working as an international collaboration are identified.

The Promise of Internationally Collaborative Research for Studying Occupation: The Example of the Older Women's Food Preparation Study

Growing awareness of the Western perspectives underpinning occupational science and occupational therapys values, theories, and evaluation tools has given rise to questions about culturally relevant knowledge and practice with non-Western populations. To make sense of attempts to develop cross-cultural knowledge taking place within the profession and discipline, the authors review epistemological perspectives and methodological advances in anthropology and psychology. Thus informed, they both summarize and critique constructivist and positivist approaches to knowledge development and practice that cross or resist the crossing of cultures. The authors outline a multicultural collaborative research method that supports extending and refining the professions knowledge in a way that both honors local perspectives and reveals concepts that cross cultures. Insights from a study that explored the meaning of food preparation to older Thai, American, and New Zealand women provide illustrative examples.

Thai Elephant-assisted Therapy Program: The Feasibility in Assisting an Individual with Autism

Abstract Occupational therapy has a history of using animals as part of the therapeutic medium. Few studies have investigated animal assisted therapy for individuals with autism whose profound impairments have been seen in social interaction, communication, and restricted interests. This study explored the feasibility of using the Thai elephant in a treatment program. The purposes of the study were to (1) create a new treatment program using a Thai elephant to assist the individual with autism; and (2) examine theeffect of the program and the feasibility of using it with individuals with autism. The new treatment program was created by a team of occupational therapists and elephant experts. The participants’ performance was examined before and after the treatment program. The results showed that the participants improved in adaptive behaviour, sensory processing, postural control, and balance after receiving three weeks of the programe. Parents also reported satisfaction with the program results.

Refining the Occupation of Research Across Cultures

This chapter discusses an 8-year international collaboration involving research teams from three countries: New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. The purpose of the research was to explore and compare the meanings that the foodrelated occupations associated with potent cultural celebrations (Christmas and Songkran, the Thai New Year) hold for elder women. The researchers began with what seemed a straightforward multi-site study in three countries, and then found that the richness and complexity of the data and analysis required the development of methods to work across all three cultures. The team created and lived a lengthy and rigorous process as the methods were implemented and refined. This process was informed and enriched by growing understandings of our participants’ cultural uniqueness as well as our own cultural differences. We discuss our team process as we learned to communicate effectively and with integrity for our study. The team’s development will be illustrated with some of the data, methods and findings as they emerged. We conclude the chapter with a summary of what was helpful to this team of international researchers to look across cultures in a trustworthy way.

Research as relationship: engaging with ethical intent

Abstract This international research collaborative undertook what became a decade long process to look at meanings of celebratory food related occupations of elder women across three cultures in New Zealand, Thailand and the United States. Cross-cultural research comes with inherent ethical issues related to cultural lenses, use of instruments and potential biases of investigators. The many views of what cross cultural research is and how it might be done and the very general ethical codes from professional institutions provided guidance for protections of participants, however, gave little direction regarding ethical interaction amongst researchers. The team was committed to open, interpretive and unbiased engagement with each other, study participants and data. Critical engagement supported this, including the development of methodology to assure trustworthiness of data interpretation and creation of in person and virtual communication strategies to give all cultures voice. We found ways to negotiate language barriers and collaborated to deal with inequity in resources. We consciously addressed issues of equitable distribution of labor and authorship. We educated each other about our cultures by design and circumstance. Our satisfaction with the research process and outcomes is directly related to our adherence to its basic integrity.