Comparing an education in India vis-a-vis one in the US

Sumit Gupta
September 1999

Important Note: The notes below apply best to an education in science and engineering (since I am a
electrical & computer engr). It does not apply to liberal arts and social science majors. The comparisons are
between public school and college systems in both the countries. Also, I am not beating up on any one
country, merely trying to discuss the relative merits of each system.

My views have been formed over the last 2 years of being in a PhD program at the University of California and
interacting with faculty and graduate and undergraduate students from various universities, besides, of course,
reading the newspapers. For example, read this Associated Press story about how 80 % of college seniors do not
know basic American history or this Washington Post story which talks about how US seniors rank near the
bottom compared to other countries. There are more links at the end of this article.

The basic and most important difference between the two educational systems is the stress on math that is
given in India (and Europe, I have been told) at the elementary and high school level itself. Mathematics, in my
humble opinion, teaches students logical and rational thinking - it lays the foundation of independent and lateral
thinking. Indian schools start teaching maths, like multiplication tables, at the elementary level itself. It is given
a lot of importance and is a must for students who plan to do science related study in college. On the other
hand, high school in America is so flexible that a lot of students who end up majoring in sciences in college do
not take advanced maths and calculus in high school. In general, I found that at the end of their 1st year of
university, math majors in the US are equivalent to high school graduates in India in terms of math study. This
emphasis on maths in high schools and engineering programs is also the reason why India produces so many
"good" software engineers. The analytical thinking taught by mathematics is exactly what is required for
software development.

The flexibility of the American education system is its greatest strength and also its greatest weakness.
Students can choose among a host of classes and courses in high school and college. This means they can
change their major (i.e. field of study) midway through college. This usually means that students in the US
receive more exposure to a variety of subjects and hence, are more aware of their career options and
opportunities. However, the downside is that they can avoid taking courses which are hard in their major. The
computer science students in my department in the US are often criticized for avoiding a lot of important
computer science courses by taking easier courses from other departments that fulfill their degree
requirements.

On digging deeper into the root of the problem, I realized that the general problem with the American education
(high school and college) system is that it is designed so as not to reduce/hurt the self-esteem of any kid in
class. So, the system is designed in such a way that nearly everyone can pass the high-school level. This leads
to lowering the standards at the high school, which in turn leads to lowering the standards for college entrance
too and subsequent college programs. So, college students in, say, computer science, are learning much less
and at a much slower pace than the students in computer science programs in India and Europe. This is one of
the main reasons why most of the graduate students in computer science in the US are foriegn students;
American students are just not able to compete with the quality of foriegn student applicants. College education
is becoming common place, with a large proportion of high school graduates opting for it. Universities are under
pressure from state governments to take in more students, that is, in turn, leading to reduced quality and lower
standards (quality*quantity=constant). Universities are just not able to cope with the quick increases and the
corresponding lack of good faculty.

The situation is not improving either ! People kick and scream about the fact that immigrants are taking over the
country and the hi-tech jobs, but very few people are examining the reasons why this is happening. Most
people are fiercely defensive about the country and refuse to believe that anything can be wrong with the
country's education system since they are the technology leaders. However, nobody realizes or admits that
this, to a great extent, is due to brain inflow of immigrants from Asia (India included) and Europe.

However, the flip side of the coin is that the Indian education and social systems are very hard on kids and
completely ignore their feelings, opinions and ambitions. Kids are pushed to study from the age of 3 and non-
performers are treated as dolts and ostracized by parents and society. The preferred choice of learning and
teaching is memorizing facts. These facts do help in the long run; the multiplication tables we learned in
elementary school keep us ahead of our American peers who need a calculator to find out what 6 times 7 is !
However, the memorization approach to study does not allow and teach kids to think independently. The
American school system lays stress on individual ability development and encourages kids to express
themselves and their opinions from an early age. As a result, most Americans are way better at getting their
point across as compared to people from other countries.

However, again, the downside of this is that students in the US who are more out-spoken do well in class and
outside class too only because they are more effective speakers. In the Indian system, individuals are not
asked to stand up infront of the whole class and recite something. Instead, the whole class reads books out
aloud together in unison. This allows more timid students to participate and overcome their fear of public
speaking (since they are actually speaking with a group). Individual speaking is only done with the teacher one-
on-one during "oral" examinations, where students are asked questions on the subject matter. Both systems
work, however, in the Indian system, just because you can't speak well, does not mean you don't do well in
class. But students in the US build more self-confidence and are much better at public speaking. Indian
students on the other hand find it hard to learn to speak up or express their opinions (I know those are really
broad generalizations). Classroom discussion and asking questions to the professors is encouraged. However,
in India, professors expect you to treat them like God and often use their almost dictorial powers against
students who upset them in some way.

On a different note, another observation I made, while I was a teaching assistant (TA) for a senior level (3rd-4th
year) class of computer science undergraduates, is that their focus in class and attitude towards the course
was completely exam-oriented (ofcourse, there were some highly motivated and intelligent students too). They
constantly wanted to know if what was being discussed would be on the quiz or the final. Almost no one in the
class was attempting to understand concepts. They wanted to learn to solve all the kinds of problems that may
appear in the quiz. One may argue that this is a natural thing for students to want. But the fact of the matter is
that the American college education system is industry-oriented and hence, is structured so that it produces
people who can do a certain type of job efficiently. So it is like a custom-design factory which produces
engineers/workers who can do one or two jobs very well but require massive retraining if they have to do
something new. In contrast, the education in India (and Europe) is more towards teaching the basic concepts
and a broader mass of information. The products of this education system, are therefore capable of taking up
several different types of jobs and are not masters of any single job. To do any single job well, they have to go
through some amount of training at work.

Another realization that the other TA and myself made was that the students wanted to be "spoon-fed" and told
exactly what they needed to do, in order to do well in the course. This mentality of always being told to read
something, do some assignment and essentially, being given goal-oriented tasks to perform, works great when
students are being trained to work in the industry. And this is an admirable goal - America is built on the
strength of these students who can perform what they have been told to do. However, in the long run, these
people are not able to adapt quickly to changes in the industry. And they are definitely not prepared to go to
graduate school (for a master's or a Phd).

Graduate school is very different from undergraduate school. There is no single book being followed; the
reading and writing assignments require paper chases and are ambiguously defined. Also, most courses do not
have regular evaluations such as quizes etc. but rely on a final project or term paper - this makes it very hard
for one to know how much effort one needs to put into the course. One has to come out of the "spoonfeed me"
mode and learn to think independently. This lack of spoonfeeding in graduate school also means that one has
to be motivated by themselves - especially in PhD programs. The amount that you get out of your master's or
PhD depends on the amount of work you put in (more work also means faster graduation). There is no one
motivating you to work harder or checking on your progress regularly. (By the way, my arguments in the
Master's versus PhD debate are available here)

Something I would like to stress is that the situation I have described is for public universities in the US. Private
liberal arts universities provide much better personalized attention to students besides a broader education.
Also, non-science programs are stronger in general in the US due to the fact that they follow regular quarter or
semester systems - in India, non-science programs usually have year long schedules with exams at the end of
the year, whereas in the US, these programs have regular quizes and exams like all other science programs.
On the other hand, most university students in India waste their whole year doing nothing; attendence
requirements are very low and usually can be bypassed.
Overall, I feel that the high school system in the US leaves students at a disadvantage when compared to their
peers in India, Europe and perhaps the rest of Asia too. Some Americans cannot point out all the states in the
United States on a map, let alone know anything about India (read the humorous commonly asked questions about
India or watch Jay Leno's street walk).

This leads me to conclude that an Indian education is overall better atleast till the undergraduate degree (for
engineering). However, graduate programs in the US are probably far ahead of most other countries due to the
critical mass they have and the fact that they attract the best students and faculty from all over the world.

Well, I hope this has been a useful article. Please feel free to contact me at sumitg at gmail.com

Sumit Gupta
http://www.4bearsonline.com/sumitg
(I would like to acknowledge feedback from innumerous people who wrote to me after reading this article; in
particular, special thanks to Vijay Ganesh and Angie Mahtaney for making me see the upsides of American
education more clearly)

This article was recently quoted by Bloomberg News

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

ADULT STRESS IN US

Nearly one third of US adults are living with extreme stress, while half believe stress is damaging their
relationships, health, and work output, according to a new survey of American Psychological Association. Most
participants said that stress is a natural part of life, but the survey indicated that people are suffering
emotionally, physically, and personally due to stress.

Eight percent of the respondents linked stress to separation or divorce. Nearly 25 percent believed that Stress
was a reason for them being alienated from their family members or friends.

Psychologist Dr. Russ Newman, ED, Professional Practice at the APA said, “Stress in America continues to
escalate and is affecting every aspect of people's lives - from work to personal relationships to sleep patterns
and eating habits, as well as their health.”

Dr. Newman added, “We know that stress is a fact of life and some stress can have a positive impact, however,
the high stress levels that many Americans report experiencing can have long-term health consequences,
ranging from fatigue to obesity and heart diseases.”

About 82 % adults said that they were able to manage their stress quite well. 3 in every 4 respondents were
suffering from physical and psychological symptoms of stress. Fatigue, headache, change in appetite and
upset stomach remained the main physical symptoms of Stress.

Nearly 73 % participants reported stress-related psychological symptoms in previous month, including

irritability, anger, lack of energy, nervousness and feeling on verge of tears.
Nearly half of participants were awake at night during last month. As per the reports, they lost nearly 21 hours
of sleep during the month.

Participants, about 32 % reported the extreme stress, and 36 % of Americans said they had skipped a meal in
last month due to stress.

The drinkers (39 %) and smokers (19 %) said that they drank or smoked more when highly stressed.

The online survey of the Stress in America is part of the APA’s Mind/Body Health Public Education Campaign.
It involved 1,848 adults and was carried out in September 2007 on behalf of the APA by Harris Interactive.

Stress & burnout statistics: Physical &

psychological symptoms of anxiety stress

Three quarters of Americans experience symptoms related to stress in a given month:

- 77% experience physical symptoms
- 73% experience psychological symptoms

Source: American Psychological Association study, 2007.

- One-third of Americans feel they are living with extreme stress.

- About half of Americans (48%) feel that their stress has increased over the past five
years.

- Money and work are the leading causes of stress (mentioned by three quarters of
Americans).

Source: American Psychological Association study, 2007.

Physical symptoms of stress include:

- fatigue (51%);
- headache (44%);
- upset stomach (34%);
- muscle tension (30%);
- change in appetite (23%);
- teeth grinding (17%);
- change in sex drive (15%);
- feeling dizzy (13%).

Source: American Psychological Association study, 2007.

Psychological effects of stress include:
- experiencing irritability or anger (50%);
- feeling nervous (45%);
- lack of energy (45%);
- feeling as though you could cry (35%).

About half of Americans (48%) report lying awake at night due to stress.

Source: American Psychological Association study, 2007.

Stress impacts lives in a dramatic way:

- About one half of Americans say that stress has a negative impact on both their personal
and professional lives.

- About one-third (31%) of employed adults have difficulty managing work and family
responsibilities.

- Over one third (35%) cite jobs interfering with their family or personal time as a
significant source of stress.

- Stress causes more than half of Americans (54 percent) to fight with people close to
them.
-- One in four people report that they have been alienated from a friend or family member
because of stress.
-- 8% connect stress to divorce or separation.

Source: American Psychological Association study, 2007.

Workplace stress costs more than $300 billion each year in health care, missed work and
stress-reduction

Source: American Institute of Stress, NY.

Workers who report that they are stressed incur health care costs that are 46 percent
higher, or an average of $600 more per person, than other employees

Source: Steven L. Sauter, chief of the Organizational Science and Human Factors Branch of the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

Workers in the United States already put in more than 1,800 hours on the job a year: 350
hours more than the Germans and slightly more than the Japanese
Source: International Labor Office.

More than 30 percent of workers say they are "always" or "often" under stress at work. A
quarter of those surveyed in 2002 said there often were not enough co-workers to get the
job done

De-stress

Quality time at home makes a difference

.
"It doesn't occur to parents that it's the emotional climate around working or being at home that have an
impact," said Jennifer Stuart of New York University Psychoanalytic Institute.

"There are a number of things to help people manage their stress," Galinsky told LiveScience.

For instance, take time out when you get home to unwind with the proverbial warm bubble bath. If all else
fails, talk to your children (if they're old enough) and let them know you had a bad day at work, Galinsky
suggested.

The most important piece of information to impart to kids is that your bad mood isn't their fault, she said.

One boy interviewed in Galinsky's study offered another idea: "If you're stressed out and tired, take a little
nap. But don't take a long one."

APA Stress Survey: Children are More Stressed Than

Parents Realize
For the first time, APA's Stress in America survey included results of a survey of young
people on what causes their stress and how that stress manifests itself.

by Public Relations Staff

November 23, 2009 — Stress related to school pressure and family finances has a greater
impact on young people than parents believe, according to the American Psychological
Association's (APA) 2009 Stress in America survey. Building on past research indicating
that stress is a top health concern for U.S. high school students, psychologists say that if
teens don't learn healthy ways to manage that stress now, it could have serious long-term
health implications.

The third annual Stress in America survey polled 1,568 adults from around the nation on
the stress in their lives and its effects. This year, for the first time, the report also included
the results of a YouthQuery survey among 1,206 young people aged 8-17 years old on
what causes their stress and how it manifests itself, among other things.

The surveys, conducted online by Harris Interactive on behalf of APA between July and
August 2009, are a key component of APA's Mind/Body Health public education
campaign. The campaign emphasizes the role of psychologists in health promotion and
how they help pe ople with behavioral and emotional issues.

APA released the survey on November 3 at a well-attended media event in New York City. More than 20
prominent outlets-most of which share the campaign's target audience of women and families-attended the
event, including the Wall Street Journal, Prevention, Self, Ladies Home Journal, Family Circle, Women's Day
and Redbook. (See Related story on media coverage of the 2009 Stress Survey.)

APA Executive Director for Professional Practice Katherine C. Nordal, PhD, health psychologist Helen
Coons, PhD, and Barbara Roth, national director for youth and family programs at the YMCA of the USA,
addressed the audience.

The YMCA and APA are partnering to provide families with resources and strategies for healthy living. The
partnership addresses the impact individual behaviors such as healthy eating and regular physical activity
can have on reducing risk factors for chronic diseases and managing stress. Roth spoke about the
importance of family-strengthening activities, such as eating meals together or taking walks, to enhance
communications in a family, ultimately helping to increase parental awareness of kids' stress and worries.

According to the survey, many parents don't realize how stressed their children are. Nearly half (45 percent)
of teens ages 13-17 said that they worried more this year, but only 28 percent of parents think their teen's
stress increased.

And while a quarter (26 percent) of tweens ages 8-12 said they worried more this year, only 17 percent of
parents believed their tween's stress had increased. Similarly, only 2-5 percent of parents rated their child's
stress as extreme (an 8, 9 or 10 on a 10-point scale) when 14 percent of tweens and 28 percent of teens
said they worry "a lot" or "a great deal."

Parents' responses about sources of stress for their children were out of sync with what children reported as
sources of worry. Children were more likely to say they worried about their family's financial difficulties than
parents were to say this was a source of stress for their children (30 percent vs. 18 percent of parents). In
addition:

 Tweens (30 percent) and teens (42 percent) said they get headaches vs. 13 percent of parents
saying that their children get headaches,
 Tweens (39 percent) and teens (49 percent) cited difficulty sleeping vs. 13 percent of parents
saying that their children have difficulty sleeping, and
 Tweens (27 percent) and teens (39 percent) reported eating too much or too little vs. 8 percent of
parents saying that their children eat too much or too little.

Lifestyle and Behavior Change

Also new this year, adult survey responders were asked about any chronic health conditions and their efforts
to make recommended lifestyle and behavior changes. APA gathered the information in the hopes of
illustrating the value of psychologists as health-care providers who serve as agents of lifestyle and behavior
change and enhancing the association's health-care reform initiatives. The survey showed that two-thirds (66
percent) of adults living in the United States have been told by a health care provider that they have one or
more chronic conditions, most commonly high blood pressure or high cholesterol. The vast majority of adults
indicated that their health care provider has recommended lifestyle and behavior changes (70 percent).

But few adults reported that their health care provider offered support to help them make lasting changes:
only 46 percent were given an explanation for the recommendation; only 35 percent were offered advice or
shown techniques to help make changes; and only 5-10 percent were referred to another health care
provider to support the adoption of lifestyle changes.

Further, only 48 percent of adults reported that their health care providers followed up with them to check on
their progress in making lifestyle and behavior changes - such as quitting smoking, getting more sleep,
reducing stress, exercising, losing weight and choosing healthier foods.

Those polled cited a number of barriers in their efforts to make lasting lifestyle and behavior changes -
including lack of willpower (33 percent); not enough time (20 percent); and lack of confidence (14 percent).
More than one in ten people cited stress as the barrier preventing them from making lifestyle and behavior
changes (14 percent of adults reported they are too stressed to make these changes).

Perceptions of Stress in Adults

Results show that adults continue to report high levels of stress; many said that their stress has increased
over the past year. Additionally, many adults are reporting physical symptoms of stress.

Nationally, 75 percent of adults reported experiencing moderate to high levels of stress in the past month (24
percent extreme, 51 percent moderate) and nearly half reported that their stress has increased in the past
year (42 percent). Nearly half (43 percent) of adults say they eat too much or eat unhealthy foods as a result
of stress. Thirty-seven percent reported skipping a meal because they were under stress.

While 44 percent of adults report that they exercise or walk to relieve stress, many Americans also say they
rely on more sedentary activities to manage stress (49 percent listen to music, 41 percent read, 36 percent
watch TV or movies more than two hours per day, and 33 percent play video games.) While these activities
may be helpful in alleviating stress, they do not provide the extra benefit of improving overall physical health
or maintaining a more healthy weight that more active forms of stress management afford.

Overall, many adults say they have felt the physical effects of stress in the past month:

 47 percent of all adults report that they have lain awake at night;
 45 percent report irritability or anger;
 43 percent report fatigue;
 40 percent report lack of interest, motivation or energy;
 34 percent report headaches;
 34 percent report feeling depressed or sad;
  32 percent report feeling as though they could cry; and
 27 percent report upset stomach or indigestion as a result of stress. 

Also this year, the survey took a snapshot of stress in eight major cities: Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, Denver,
Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Washington, DC, comparing the changes over the past year. The city
surveys allowed state psychological associations to localize the survey information for outreach to their local
and regional media.

STRESS IN CHINA

Abstract:

This research examines the levels of stress recorded in working individuals over a range
of industries in China's third largest city. In total 38 company employees were tested via a
four-part questionnaire to determine overall stress levels. It was found that the mean for
stress was 89.97; this falls easily within the norm for working stress of 80 to 110 as
determined by the instrument. While clearly some occupations exhibited high stress
situational factors others were below the norm showing a lack of challenge in the work or
non-commitment to the employer. All abnormal scores were examined and followed up
with the offer of counselling at the employees discretion. All employers received a
written report of overall stress levels but without identifying individual employees.

Introduction:

Stress is well known in Western countries for its disabilitating effects of the economy,
employee relations and health. However in China this area in not well understood by
employers or employees alike. When interviewed many respondents reported the effect of
overwork or strain as merely a lack of rest and saw the solution as simply having more
sleep. It is common practice in China for employees to start at 7.30 am for a normal day
and have lunch at 11.30 am and follow this by sleeping at their work station or on a cot.
At nearly 2 pm they resume work until about 6 or 7 pm on which they are free to return
home. However many employees continue to work until the boss leaves as this is seen as
being a good employee in waiting for him to leave. (The overwhelming majority of boss's
are male - in this investigation only the two schools had female leaders.)

The investigation was based on a four part questionnaire and informal discussions with
the employees post completion at which time the individual results were discussed and
explained. The four areas covered were General Stress, much of this based on the work of
Hans Selye (1956) and the General Adaptation Syndrome, the second area was Physical
complaints to see if any medical complaints were associated with overall stress condition.
The third area covered Mental Health, covering areas such as insomnia, depression and
similar reports and finally the last part was based on the idea of A - B personality types in
everyday behaviour such as fast driving and impatience. (Friedman & Rosenman 1974)
Life changes (Holmes & Rahe 1967) were ignored as to not confuse the employees with
work conditions and home life changes.
Culture

A word on culture is required; the questionnaires were not adapted in anyway except
being translated from English to Chinese. This was a difficult area as much time was
spent making sure the questionnaires still maintained the essential tone required to elicit
the same responsive thinking as Western subjects. Penny (1996) reported that Western
culture strives for achievement as capitalist goals but that traditional communal societies
may have different types of stressors involved in their cognitive makeup. However China
itself is now moving very rapidly towards capitalism and many of the ideas and goals of
Western employees are now being embraced in China. Particularly ownership of homes
and material possessions. As basic requirements for the new middle classes in China are
not essentially food anymore then other priorities are becoming much more like Western
living desirability's.

However some areas of Chinese business life and daily affairs are more prevalent in daily
living. Fear is a key management technique and all employees are aware of the lack of
security in their work place. Also the practice of "favours" (gwanshee) this is where you
may accept help from someone in authority and then are indebted to them both in the
favour and emotionally. These "favours" can take many forms such as cash support,
promotion (over more able employees), family considerations and the dark side of this
practice - bribery. The Chinese do not see this practice the way a Westerner would as
corrupt and controlling but as a normal way of life in a society where you cannot succeed
without the help of the "leaders" or influential friends. However it is expected that one
day the person has to "pay back" and this is often well in excess of the original support.
Unconfirmed reports of employers requiring sexual favours from young attractive but
ambitious girls are not unheard of here. The girls often do not see this as harassment but
as using their biological looks for the best advantage. This also flies in the face of the
strict moral society that China displays on the surface but see corruption of this kind as
perfectly normal and not to be discussed.

Much of the cultural understanding came prior to this research by the author after three
years living and working in China. This is the subject of other papers.

Hypothesis

In this research the investigation was to establish the Stress levels compared to those
normally scored in a four part questionnaire adapted for language. It is expected that
different occupations will show diverse scores above and below the norm but overall the
Stress level will be similar to that experienced in Western countries.

Methodology

Design

The investigation was carried out by a four part questionnaire (see appdx 1) in which four
areas of stressors were surveyed and analysed. The four areas were as follows:
1.General Stressors
2.Mental Cognitive levels
3.Physiological Reports
4.A - B personality

Each area was scored and the four scores added together to reach an overall stress level.
The scoring was devised over many years and used in other investigations since its
inception in the early 1980's by the author. The questionnaire has been used extensively
in clinical practice and previous research and has proved reliable. The normal stress levels
experience in daily life in England (where it has been used in the past) was between 80
and 110. Those in excess of 110 were seen as suffering abnormal stress levels - the
highest possible score is 280. Those lower than 80 were seen as either in very sedate work
or alternatively in denial about their real levels of stress. (Bearing in mind boredom as a
stressor itself). Each area was divided into statements in which the subject could agree on
a Likert scale of 1 to 4 - this being the regularity of occurrence of the statement being
read by the subject. The questionnaire was translated by four Chinese students of English
and the translation then given to four other students of a different major (psychology) to
read back to the researcher in English to check for loss of understanding or emphasis.
Corrections were then applied before giving to the research assistants.

Participants

The investigation was carried out over 38 companies, (listed in the results section) and
541 individual subjects ranging from 5 to 39 with an average of 10 per company. Some
questionnaires were discarded for incompletion or being non-readable content. All
companies were in the Wuhan city area of P.R. China. Wuhan is a semi-modern city in
Central China with some Western influences evident but not on the scale of Beijing or
Shanghai. Therefore a balance of traditional thinking and modernity were evidenced.

Materials

1.Four part questionnaire in both Chinese and English

2.Supply of pens for participants.

Procedure

Each company was approached at management level for permission to carry out the
survey with in the company. A summery report of findings was offered to employers on
completion of the investigation - on their company only (not other participants) as an
individual report. (No individual subject being identifiable from the findings).

The employees were then briefed as to the purpose of the questionnaire and given some
example questions to consider. Difficult words or concepts were explained in advance
without influencing outcomes. Confidentiality of individual questionnaires was assured
and that employers would not be able to see the originals or any notes taken. Follow up
counselling was discussed for those who desired it (this would be carried out under the
supervision of the clinical director of therapy at the University).

The researcher did not apply questionnaires directly but used senior fourth year
psychology students to deliver and administer the questionnaire after training from the
researcher in technique and follow up procedures.

Post questionnaire and scoring those results out of the normal range were discussed in
detail by the researcher with the student assistant and any follow up counselling and
guidance discussed.

All subjects were debriefed and thanked for their participation.

All companies received a thank you letter from the University and summery report of the
findings of stress within their organisation and some feedback as to possible problem
areas and solutions. This was kept very broad in approach and not specific as to enable
identification of individual participants.

All results were compiled and compared. Student assistants wrote individual papers for
University credit for taking part. The researcher in turn thanked the student assistants
from psychology and English for their support in collecting the data.

Results:

The results are shown here in summery form for a detailed company by company analysis
see appendix 2.

All Companies

Mean
89.96612287
Standard Error
2.913948602
Median
89.35833334
Mode
#N/A
Standard Deviation
17.96278557
Sample Variance
322.6616653
Kurtosis
-0.002179463
Skewness
-0.040895169
Range
80.95
Minimum
48.6
Maximum
129.55
Sum
3418.712669
Count
38
Largest(1)
129.55
Smallest(1)
48.6
Confidence Level(95.0%)
5.904220649

The questionnaires normal distribution of everyday stress is determined at between 80

and 110 - from the above mean of 89.97 the overall stress levels experienced in China
compare with that of Western companies average.

The smallest score clearly shows denial or apathy at 48.6 and the largest score is showing
mild stress experienced at 129.55.

Discussion

In this research the hypothesis was to establish if stress levels in China were comparable
to those measured in Western countries. The results clearly show a perfect correlation for
the questionnaire in stress scores. Investigation of individual scoring and question
analysis is beyond the scope of the present paper but the subject to a follow up paper in
due course.

Culture did not have a significant effect on the overall results however the base cause of
the stress may be different particularly with the tradition of "favours" seen in business and
government. In Chinese thinking this practice is actually seen as a way of cementing close
relationships through emotional debt. Also in traditional thinking charity is self-serving -
they do not help for altruistic reasons but for their own future benefit almost like putting
money in the bank for future use and security. Family fealty also plays its part in the
system in that "favour" is given and expected by the family and that the young are
expected to pay-back the cost of bringing them to adulthood through future financial
support. Western influence is starting to erode this system from two converging points,
one education; many modern Chinese students have access to the internet, foreign
teachers, commercial advertising and cultural changes to the environment such as a
McDonald's on every corner and KFC amongst other particularly American influence.
This is starting a more materialistic attitude in the young who want the lifestyles seen in
Western movies and the illustrated packaging on goods. The second is the importance of
English for international trade and business. Almost every educated Chinese person you
meet wants to learn and practice their English. This also exposes many to material written
by American and British writers of text books much of this exposing Western ideas of
moral behaviour and so undermining the system of "favours".

An environmental change is Chinas entry into the World Trade Organisation and the new
restrictions on conducting business and government policy. Many companies wishing to
trade in the new markets need to change the modus operanda of the way they have
conducted business in the past. Many employees are feeling these changes directly as now
skill and knowledge are required over family considerations.

At the lower end of work that exhibited the least stress were those employees working in
restaurants, schools, retail and government industries and the higher end were the heavy
industry and construction workers. At the high end of stress were such occupations as
University staff at 110 - the high end of normal where as school employees averaged at
about 86 the lower end of normal. The highest score was in the manufacturing area with
one electrical equipment company scoring a mean of 130.

The full list follows with company names and the mean score. Do bear in mind that the
range of participants varied from company to company and this should be seen in its
methodological consequence. Detailed scoring can be review in the appendices attached
to this paper.

Further analysis is required and another attempt at similar numbers in another

geographically area to arrive at a more accurate vision of a changing China. Also
investigation into illness and resistance to such ailments as high blood pressure and heart
disease need to be investigated.

In summery, Chinese stress levels seem on the surface to be comparable with Western
levels but underlying stressors as discussed in cultural and environmental changes may be
contributing factors to future stress le
 Stress in us
In this cross-national community study we investigated the applicability of the concept of
posttraumatic stress for youth from Russia, compared to youth from the United States. Although
culture-specific symptoms may occur, we propose that the main characteristics of traumatic
response are comparable across these cultures, as assessed by similar associations between PTSD
symptom severity and trauma severity and by similar increases in main symptom clusters and
levels of comorbid psychopathology with an increasing level of total posttraumatic stress.

There is a growing awareness that children, as well as adults, can experience posttraumatic stress
(2). Previous studies have demonstrated that traumatic exposure is often associated with a wide
range of psychopathological responses (27, 28) and can have severe developmental, behavioral,
and emotional sequelae (8, 11, 29, 30). In considering the application of the diagnosis of PTSD in
different cultural contexts, it is assumed that there are universal patterns of reaction to trauma.
Hence, it should be possible to identify similar factors associated with the onset of the disorder in
different cultures, individuals diagnosed with the disorder should reveal similar patterns of
symptoms that are considered specific for the disorder, and finally, associated comorbid
psychopathology should increase similarly across cultures.

Some symptoms may be expressed in culture-specific ways, since ways of coping with problems
may differ across the cultures. For example, a series of studies by Kinzie et al. (31) found that in
response to trauma, Khmer youths tended to suppress feelings. However, to argue for the
diagnostic universality of a particular disorder, one should be able to apply specific diagnostic
criteria that require the presence of a certain number of symptoms from each symptom cluster.
Thus, all three major symptom clusters should be present and should similarly increase with
increasing levels of posttraumatic stress. The present study has demonstrated that, although levels
of posttraumatic stress differed for the Russian and U.S. samples, symptoms in all three clusters
(reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal) similarly increased across cultures and across genders.

Trauma response usually correlates with the degree of exposure, measured by both physical and
emotional proximity (6), as well as with the number of traumatic events (32). For example,
witnessing and victimization, as integral components of violence exposure, have different degrees
of associated psychological and behavioral problems (8, 33, 34). The present study has
demonstrated that adolescents with increasing levels of posttraumatic stress report increasing
degrees of exposure (cumulative effect) to events of different proximity (i.e., witnessing and
victimization) in both countries.

Finally, posttraumatic stress is often associated with a wide range of co morbid psychopathology
(35), which tends to increase with the level of PTSD. In both the United States and Russia,
greater levels of posttraumatic stress were associated with higher rates of comorbid internalizing
psychopathology, whereas positive expectations for the future tended to decrease with increasing
trauma. The interaction effects for symptom levels by country were invariant. Taken together,
these findings suggest that the psychological consequences of trauma follow similar dynamics
cross-culturally.

Some controversy surrounds the gender-specific effects of violence exposure. Most studies have
suggested that females exposed to trauma are more likely to be diagnosed as having PTSD (7,
27) or at least to report more posttraumatic stress symptoms than their male counterparts (34). In
the present study, in comparisons of girls and boys with similar levels of posttraumatic stress, the
girls reported lower levels of violence exposure than the boys, in terms of both witnessing and
direct victimization. This finding may imply a lower threshold level of stress tolerance in girls,
since compared to boys, the girls in this study became symptomatic at lesser levels of traumatic
exposure. These findings are similar to those from a large community sample of adults in the
United States (27), suggesting that such gender-specific patterns are generalizable across
cultures. These conclusions are also supported by a large body of literature on the longitudinal
effects of child abuse and other types of victimization (e.g., reference 36).

The Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index is the most commonly used self-report measure of
posttraumatic stress symptoms in children and adolescents (2). Previous studies have
demonstrated that high levels of posttraumatic stress as measured by the Child Posttraumatic
Stress Reaction Index correlate highly with the clinical diagnosis of PTSD, and clinically
relevant Child Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index cutoff scores for children and youth have
been established (20). The present study suggests that as symptoms of posttraumatic stress
increase similarly in response to increasing trauma in the two cultures, the cutoff scores
established in American studies could potentially be applied in other settings. This is also
supported by results from our study of Russian juvenile delinquents (17) that demonstrated
significantly higher levels of posttraumatic stress, as assessed by the Child Posttraumatic Stress
Reaction Index, in delinquents with a clinical diagnosis of PTSD. Wider use of Child
Posttraumatic Stress Reaction Index cutoff scores across cultures, however, requires additional
studies with clinical diagnostic interviews to assess the sensitivity of this instrument in other
contexts.

The strengths of the current study include the assessment of large cross-national community
samples from diverse socioeconomic and ethnic regions with different levels of violence
exposure and psychopathology. Similar trends in the two study groups suggest that in the United
States and Russia posttraumatic stress reactions are comparably expressed. While several authors
have noted the importance of recognizing culture-specific diagnostic aspects of PTSD (e.g.,
references 37, 38), the present study provides support for the presence of culturally invariant
responses to trauma, providing direct implications for research and clinical practice. However,
while admitting the usefulness of the Western diagnostic approach to posttraumatic stress,
cultural differences in social support systems should not be ignored, and it is essential to consider
unique local specifics in order to provide culturally sensitive modalities of treatment (39).

Some limitations of this study should also be noted. Data were obtained through youth self-
report. It has been shown, however, that self-report surveys of adolescents often are a valid
source of information (40), especially with regard to exposure to violence and internalizing
problems, as adults may be unaware of these problems in their children. Also, this study used a
cross-sectional design and thus did not allow investigation of causal relationships. The small
number of Russian boys in the group with severe PTSD limits the generalizability of the
findings. The relatively low numbers of Russian boys reporting moderate and severe levels of
symptoms may be explained by the greater levels of traumatization reported by the U.S. youth
and a general tendency for girls to report higher levels of internalizing problems than boys, which
is also partly reflected by our findings. Finally, in spite of the potential powerful insight that
could have been obtained by using the questions on sexual attacks and abuse (for instance, it may
be that although girls were exposed to similar levels of trauma, they had been exposed to the
additional trauma of sexual abuse or attacks), these questions were excluded for ethical reasons in
the course of discussing the survey with the local departments of education.
The clinical implications of the current findings are straightforward. Although cultural
differences should be taken into account when devising therapeutic intervention programs, the
current cross-national findings suggest that adolescents from these two different regions react
with similar forms of psychopathology. From a public health perspective, these findings also
support previous research results that implicate exposure to violence in the development of a
wide range of internalizing problems, a finding with meaning for public policy, especially
primary prevention efforts for youth at risk.

CHINA

Education
The educational system in China today is more Socialist-oriented. Chinese classrooms are
typically packed with up to 50 students, and learning is often done in groups to emphasize
teamwork and cooperation, basic tenets of Socialism. But Chinese schooling is also
increasingly competitive, and students sit for entrance exams even at the grade school
level. This meritocracy is mingled with economics, and parents work hard to ensure they
can afford to send their kids to the best schools once they get accepted.

The Chinese value education as a stepping stone to success, and children - especially only
children - are under a lot of pressure to excel in school. There is also an unspoken code of
conformity, and there is a lot of pressure to fit in, for to be singled out is the penultimate in
humiliation, causing students to "lose face" in front of their peers. In addition to academics,
parents also try and enroll their children in a wide variety of after-school activities to
enhance their overall development.

What is strikingly different in China is the motivation for excellence. In the West, it is easy
to assume most kids work hard because they want to succeed and maybe become the next
Bill Gates someday. In China, the goal is to create productive citizens who can serve
society. Thus, a child excels to benefit China, not for his or her personal wealth.

While Confucius has become a rather comical figure in the West, associated with quips like
"Confucius says…," this Chinese sage has had a profound impact on the values of Chinese
around the world for over 2,000 years. Born Kong Zi (551 B.C. - 479 B.C.), Confucius has
been credited with stressing the importance of virtue and natural order in a civil society.
This has translated into an emphasis on values like filial piety and respect for authority,
which help establish order and subordination in the classroom.

Today, a noticeable departure from Confucianism is the greater equality Chinese parents
share. Under a more Confucian system, the mother was expected to be amiable and quiet,
and the father was the strict head of the household. Instead, the reality today is both
parents usually work, and they want to cultivate a more friendly, supportive relationship
with their child. This reflects most parents' attitudes towards discipline as well: rather than
a traditional beating or scolding, children are asked to reflect on and internalize the impact
of their bad behavior on others.

One-Child Policy
China's One-Child Policy has been in place since the 1970s in an attempt to curb population
growth. Chinese officials estimate their land can only support a 1% growth rate each year,
and have it made it mandatory for families to only have one child. This is strictly enforced in
the major cities, but rural governments tend to be more relaxed since extra labor is needed
in farming communities. Nonetheless, fines are imposed on parents who want more than
one child. The only exceptions are the minority indigenous people in China and remarried
couples. With a population of over 1.2 billion, the Chinese view this as a practical policy.
Abortions are state-funded but not mandatory.

The One-Child Policy has had many consequences, including the creation of an unusual
dilemma called the "4-2-1" problem. With 4 grandparents and 2 parents doting on an only
child, there is a high risk the child will be over-pampered, leading to the creation of a "little
emperor" or "little empress" in each household. It also means these children will not have
siblings or cousins to play with. These are realistic concerns, but for the most part, children
do seem very well-behaved because they know it is expected of them. Grandparents tend to
play a strong care-giving role, especially if both parents work

Stress levels are rising in emerging markets, where business leaders face both increased competition and increased
expectations