Thesis (M.A.)--Guo li Taiwan da xue, 1977. / Reproduced from typescript; on double leaves. Includes bibliographical references.

Includes bibliographical references (p. 178-203).

Thesis (M.S.)--State University of New York at Binghamton, Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science, Department of Computer Science, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Dept. of Economics, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 1997. Graduate Programme in Geography. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 182-185). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL:http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pMQ27340.

As the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) deepens its economic and political integration, the development of the CARICOM identity is seen as both a natural outgrowth, and as paramount to its success. This is because a regional identity can promote social cohesion and shape political objects, including social policies. Regional identities are also shaped by politics, social relations and personal attributes. Using data from a cross-national survey and semi-structured interviews, this thesis examines the nuances of identity formation in CARICOM. It specifically asks three questions: a) how do intra-regional CARICOM migrants negotiate their identities and self-identify? b) How do intra-regional CARICOM migrants construct their lived-experiences in other CARICOM countries? And c) how do intra-regional migrants rationalize the impact of CARICOM regionalism on their identities? These data are analyzed statistically, and through the interpretations of migrants’ discourses and experiences. The study identifies six factors that determine attachments to CARICOM: education level, citizenship region, the meaningfulness of CARICOM, benefits of CARICOM, belonging in member countries, and the nature of migratory experiences. All these variables moderately impact attachment to CARICOM except perceived benefits, which is strongly associated with identification with CARICOM. Perceptions of benefits also impact how migrants rationalized regionalism and their experiences. Overall, support for regional integration and a regional identity are strong, but the CARICOM identity is weak and non-salient primarily because expectations of benefits do not match lived realities. The deepening of the CARICOM identity are therefore contingent on: people experiencing CARICOM’s expected benefits; the development of policies that address perceived failures; CARICOM rebranding itself and being more engaged with its constituents; and on collaborative actions being taken to embed the regional identity into national ones.

Recent literature on gender and migration demonstrates that gender plays an important role in human mobility. Men and women hold different positions in households and communities, and gender norms both shape migration decisions and are shaped by the migration process. The literature on gender aspects of migration has remained largely separate from the literature that identifies socioeconomic conditions and human capital characteristics that predict migration, leaving open questions of how gender norms and gender ideology in origin countries might interact with socioeconomic conditions to shape migration patterns. I seek to integrate these two areas, clarifying the ways in which performances of gender can influence migration and destination decisions, and providing a better understanding of which contexts are more conducive to men’s migration and which to women’s. My dissertation incorporates both semi-structured interviews and nationally representative survey data. The mixed methods approach is valuable because the interviews allow for a more detailed analysis of gender norms than would be possible with survey data, while the survey data allow for a systematic comparison of migrants and non-migrants and help to contextualize and generalize the findings from the interviews. I use survey data to test associations between human capital, socioeconomic status, family status, patriarchal gender ideology, and migration. As migration theories predict, measures of human capital and relative deprivation are strongly associated with men’s migration. For women, socioeconomic status and human capital matter, but family status is also strongly associated with migration. Patriarchal gender ideology is positively associated with men’s migration, and negatively with women’s. Survey data also show strong gender and demographic differences in destination patterns among Georgian migrants. Qualitative data complement and expand these findings. Migrants’ narratives show that women’s ability to migrate is limited by their primary responsibility for care giving and domestic work. In more strongly traditional, male-headed households, women’s migration may be further constrained by unwillingness of male relatives to allow women to migrate. On the other hand, the growing popularity of Turkey, Greece, and other European destinations encourages women’s migration, as many Georgians believe that the labor markets in these countries are more open to female migrants. / text

In American medicine, research has consistently shown disparities between the health experiences of non-Hispanic whites and minority groups (Shervington, 2000); but the practice of racial discrimination within the medical profession is less well acknowledged. Unlike other professions, medicine is a person-oriented field, where Indian physicians are susceptible to facing discrimination on a daily basis. My in-depth interviews with 108 Indian physicians show that individual physicians may achieve social mobility and gain economic parity in the United States, but only as exceptions to the rule, as evident by racial discrimination in promotions, referral patterns, and the 'glass ceiling' faced by them 'when it comes to really rising to the top'. Moreover, the social incorporation of Indian physicians is itself tied to paradoxes and discontents, when minority group members are not fully accepted either by the dominant group or by their own ethnic community. It is in this context that I seek to analyze the influence of social interactions at work on the social incorporation of first and second-generation Indian physicians and in determining their workplace experiences and migratory outcomes. Likewise, with the effects of discrimination being greater for men than for women, the existing gender inequalities in American medicine have differential impacts on the workplace experiences of Indian men vis-à-vis women. However, much of the production of gender and racial inequalities in organizations at large (Acker, 2006) and particularly in medicine, have focused on one or another of these categories, seldom attempting to study them as complex, mutually reinforcing or contradicting processes. My dissertation research strives to make this dimension a crucial part of the analysis. This study should contribute to our understanding of the interaction of recent migration of skilled personnel with developing racial/ethnic and gender relations in US workplaces. The healthcare workforce in the developed world has become increasingly dependent on immigrants from the developing world. I see addressing issues of racial and gender bias in American medicine as a priority in the social sciences and a necessity for a holistic healthcare system in the 21st century. My research is an effort in this direction. / text

The potential applications of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely advocated, however, many barriers hinder their clinical utilization. Enhancement of the homing of human MSCs (hMSCs) to the target tissues remains a clinical challenge. To overcome this hurdle, the mechanisms responsible for migration and engraftment of hMSCs have to be defined. My study aimed to explore both the underlying mechanisms and means of enhancing the migration of hMSCs. A graft versus host disease (GvHD) injury model and a novel orthotopic neuroblastoma model were established to delineate the distinct property of hMSCs homing towards either injured or cancerous tissues. This highly specific homing process was further revealed to be in a CXCR4-dependent manner. Notably, a novel gene, exchange protein directly activated by cAMP (Epac), was demonstrated to be actively involved in the hMSCs homing process. hMSCs expressed functional Epac and its activation significantly enhanced the migration and adhesion of hMSCs. Furthermore, Epac activation directly contributed to the chemotactic response of hMSCs to SDF-1, suggesting that Epac is linked to the stromal cell derived factor-1 (SDF-1) signaling cascades. Importantly, the homing of hMSCs towards injured tissues in vivo could be dramatically increased by Epac activation. hMSCs are adherent cells and their migration to distant tissues thus requires detachment into a suspension state. This disruption of cell-extracellular matrix interaction, known as anoikis stress, triggers programmed cell death, leading to a marked decrease in the efficiency of cell trafficking and engraftment. Anoikis stress induced massive cell death has emerged as the major challenge in the application of hMSCs. How some of the hMSCs can overcome this adversity and migrate towards distant destinations remains largely unexplored. It was observed that the surviving hMSCs circumvented anoikis stress by forming self-supporting cellular aggregates. Compared to adherent hMSCs, aggregated-hMSCs had better migratory response to both SDF-1α and SDF-1α analogue (CTCE-0214). Such enhanced migratory effect was proven to be CXCR4-dependent both in vitro and in vivo by using a CXCR4 specific antagonist (AMD3100). Although the viability of hMSCs under anoikis stress dramatically decreased, CTCE-0214 could promote cell survival and facilitate the migration of hMSCs towards injured targets. This phenomenon could be partially explained by the increase in anti-apoptosis effect via up-regulated Bcl-2 expression and autophagy activation under CTCE-0214 treatment. The exact effects of hMSCs on tumor growth and progression have long been controversial. Significant fasten growth and promoted metastasis of neuroblastoma in vivo was observed in hMSCs co-transplanted mice in this study. Reciprocally, hMSCs could not only be recruited by primary tumor, but also be selectively attracted by metastatic loci. This recruitment was significantly reduced when hMSCs were pre-treated with AMD3100, suggesting that the SDF-1/CXCR4 axis was a prime mover in this process. In summary, my study demonstrated that the migratory property of hMSCs could be enhanced by novel intrinsic and extrinsic factors using both in vitro and in vivo models. This study provides a new prospective on MSCs biology during the ex vivo manipulation process and I proposed means to overcome some of these hindrance so we can maximize the efficacy of clinical MSCs application in the future. / published_or_final_version / Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

In recent years, many ethnic Armenians from Iran have come to the US as refugees, resettling in a diverse landscape that already includes large Armenian and Iranian diaspora communities. Soon after arrival, they also interface with US institutions in a home visit from a refugee resettlement case worker. In this thesis I adopt constructivist understandings of identity-in-interaction to examine the identity work that older Armenian Iranian immigrants do during these visits, reproduced here as life history interviews. I argue that Armenian Iranians use the home visit to discursively construct an Armenian Iranian identity that addresses the tension between institutional and community pressure to represent themselves as uniquely discriminated against in Iranian society while still identifying with an Iranian national identity. The more localized and temporary identities and interactional roles that speakers – including the researcher – adopt in the interviews also contribute to gender asymmetries in the interactions to the effect that men most often command the floor. Therefore, while the home visit format provides insight into the ways Armenian Iranians articulate an identity that is at least in part “Iranian” amidst normative pressures to do otherwise, it can also translate into an interaction that privileges men’s perspectives and allows them to largely determine its direction and content. / text