Following through with specific member concerns or issues, recognizing different perspectives of team members, and recognizing the team members themselves are additional communication norms that must be instilled in virtual teams to facilitate the strong imprint of the team's norms within each member/individual. These communication norms will respond to the need of team members to not feel detached and isolated from their own team, considering the nature of virtual teams (Kirkman, 2002:par
1). Moreover, team norms are reinforced primarily in groups with specific characteristics, such as those who are known to have high perceived social cohesion and performance within the team or group (Patterson, 2005:482)
The Europeans could not comprehend the behavior and features of these individuals because, to them, one could strictly be either male or female, and not both. Since intersex individuals somehow blurred these lines, they were branded 'two spirit' people (Eskridge Jr., 1993)
David eventually committed suicide. Possible Reason for the Observed Cultural Differences Charles Darwin has a lot to do with the way westerners interact with, and treat ambiguities (Harvey, 2013)
Inglehart and Baker (2000) point out that such births occur more often than most people think; approximately 4% of the total births in America each year fall into the intersex category. A significant number of intersex individuals have been greatly affected by attempts to fit them into the strict female and male gender categories, just so their families would be saved from the social stigma of being associated with a hermaphrodite (Inglehart & Baker, 2000)
These individuals are gender variants; they neither take on typical gender roles nor cross fully to the opposite gender. A male (female) gender variant is a male (female) who displays a feminine (masculine) character in their hairstyle, dressing, and interests (Martin, 2013)
The Mohave culture has two gender-variant roles in addition to the usual male and female roles. Hwame is the name given to a female gender variant, whereas the male one is referred to as Alyha (Nanda, 1999)
Like the two previously mentioned changes, cohabitation was once viewed as morally reprehensible. Beginning in the mid-60's and continuing through the next two decades and into the present, co-habitation has lost its social stigma and is readily acceptable by most members of society as an acceptable life-choice (Coontz)
Similarly, the increased incidence of same-sex marriage and cohabitation has also been more widely accepted. Both developments have also contributed to the deinstitutionalization of marriage and have also redefined the concept of what constitutes a family in American society (Zinn)
The group sessions can provide the acceptance, understanding and social interaction that obese persons might lack in their daily life. Besides sharing information, the participants share a common set of problems and the feeling of belonging, of being integrated in a group can provide additional elements to make therapy efficient and the patients more able to cope with their issues (Allon, 1975)
First of all, women are more concerned with and more affected by the aesthetic norms than men, which is basically a reflection of a socially manufactured division of roles and of a certain definition of feminity (Hopwood, 1995). Second, the cultural factors are corroborated with the family environment, particulalrly a stress placed on the importance of appearance for future success in the discourse of the adults, when socializing the female child for her future social and family life (Boskind-Lodahl, 1976)
Moreover, the methodological theoretical framework of constituting the groups and the work with the patients will be presented and detailed below. To begin with, group therapy is not designed to replace completely the individual counselling and therapy, but "is construed as group methods employed to assist individuals who present maladjustment problems in personality and interpersonal relationships which call for corrective and remedial action" (Dreese, 1957; 219)
As it was pointed out before, obesity affects the self-esteem and the self-worth, both because of the social perspective (as I see myself through the eyes of the others) and because of internal factors. Moreover, obesity does not only stand as an obstacle for the development of a social identity and social networks, but also represents a serious health risk (Dwyer et
(Powdermaker & Frank, 1953) The importance of the group for the effectiveness of the therapeutic program consists also in the fact that there is a leader of the group, who will control and focus the discussion, encouraging the patients to express their emotions and helping them find solutions for their problems, cope with the difficult issues they encounter, develop their social skills and etc. In the particular case analyzed here, the issues to be confronted and solved are the unhealthy eating habits, perceived as forms of compulsive behaviour or as addictive consumption (Faber et
Being overweight represents a certain source of distress for those suffering from it, producing a distortion in the creation and shape of self-image and having a durable influence over self-perception and self-esteem. The studies analyzing the issue of obesity dwell onto multiple aspects, such as - the connection between overweight and psychological well-being (Hayes & Ross, 1986; Ross, 1994), the "risk factors," namely the role of culture and family over eating disorders (Howarth-Hoeppner, 2000), the social constraints in eating patterns (Maykovitch, 1978), management and therapy of obesity (Stewart, 1987)
Furthermore, studies indicate that between 60 and 80% of college women engage in regular binge eating and other abnormal behaviours that fall short of the criteria set by clinical scales. Many college women who are at normal weights continue to express a strong desire to be thinner and to hold beliefs about food and body image that are similar to those of women who have actual eating disorders" (Hesse-Biber et
The fact that the persons involved in this therapeutical project are exclusively women can be supported by several theoretical arguments. First of all, women are more concerned with and more affected by the aesthetic norms than men, which is basically a reflection of a socially manufactured division of roles and of a certain definition of feminity (Hopwood, 1995)
Moreover, not only consumtion patterns or eating habits are to be approached by therapy, but they should be perceived as just one side of the coin, the other being represented by personality disfunctions (low or decreasing self-esteem and self-value) and social inadaptation (diminished social skills). Compulsive consumption (of commodities or of food) is, some might say, a characteristic of the late modern society, where the protestant ethic of production has been replaced by the hedonistic ethics of consumption (Illouz, 1997)
The fact that the study will take place in an educational institution will guarantee the cultural diversity of the participants, which can bring a new perspective over the importance of cultural factors in perceiving obesity. Some studies have shown, for example, that "African-American women appear to be more satisfied with their weight and appearance than are white women, and they are less likely to engage in unhealthy weight control practices, yet they are more likely to have high rates of obesity" (Lovejoy, 2001)
Being overweight represents a certain source of distress for those suffering from it, producing a distortion in the creation and shape of self-image and having a durable influence over self-perception and self-esteem. The studies analyzing the issue of obesity dwell onto multiple aspects, such as - the connection between overweight and psychological well-being (Hayes & Ross, 1986; Ross, 1994), the "risk factors," namely the role of culture and family over eating disorders (Howarth-Hoeppner, 2000), the social constraints in eating patterns (Maykovitch, 1978), management and therapy of obesity (Stewart, 1987)