Contemporary media audiences expect to be able to interact with content, but in a minority language context, audience participation presents challenges related to audiences’ linguistic confidence. This thesis focuses on Wales, where media producers have suggested that audiences are often reluctant to interact with broadcast and online content in Welsh. To begin to understand this unwillingness, and how it might be overcome, the concept of willingness to participate (WTP) is coined as an extension of willingness to communicate (McCroskey & Baer 1985). First, interviews with producers are analysed qualitatively to identify potential influences on audiences’ WTP. The analysis aims to assess the relative importance of various factors: audiences’ feelings of apprehension, self‐perceived competence, language background and Welsh language ability, as well as the modality of participation (oral/written) and the level of demand placed on the audience. Second, a questionnaire is designed and administered to 358 Welsh speakers, to examine audiences’ perceptions of different opportunities to participate in media content. A path model of WTP is proposed and tested using quantitative data from the survey. The results support the hypothesis that audiences’ apprehension and self‐perceived competence predict WTP and that audience response varies according to the media context. While audiences’ Welsh language skills are important in explaining their WTP, other aspects of language background, such as Welsh language acquisition context, are found to be less important. Third, the survey sample is grouped according to common patterns of WTP, to test whether the above effects are consistent across the population or whether different ‘types’ of audience exist. Using a combination of cluster analysis and thematic analysis of audience comments, four types of audience are proposed and described in detail. Finally, implications for sociolinguistic theory, language maintenance and media production practice are considered and recommendations made.

The diploma thesis focuses on the acculturation strategies which are used by young adults belonging to Vietnamese ethnic minority in long-term contact with majority. The main goal of the study is to analyze negotiation of identity in young adults from families with migration experience. The research question is how they reflect own previous and recent experiences and I strive to understand what meaning it has for them. In the theoretical part, I introduced the basic concepts and theories of acculturation psychology, acculturation strategies, development of identity, ethnic identity, context of ethnic communities, etc. Furthermore I deal with a number of significant links which have influence to formation of identity, for example family background, attitudes towards their own culture, possibilities for cultural transmission, language skills, context of majority. Thanks to autobiographical narratives we can see the way of daily negotiation of the identity at the young adult ethnic Vietnamese. By using the biographical design method, we will look at the strategies of acculturation, the view of actors and the subjective meanings of moments in their lives. The main research method is biographical narrative interviews with the participants. KEYWORDS acculturation, acculturation strategy, identity, ethnic...

According to science teacher educators, science teachers often struggle to embrace and implement multicultural teaching practices due to limited awareness of the biases, assumptions, and oppressive structures that hinder the success of Students of Color in science classrooms. At its core, teachers lack this awareness due to incomplete understanding of the ways identity markers, such as race, gender, and socioeconomic status, work together to shape one’s coming into, understanding of, and success in the sciences. To this end, this case study features four science teachers of diverse backgrounds who engaged in a book club structured to support their understanding of their intersectionality and their identity development. These four science teachers met as a science department to engage with the text Black Feminist Thought (BFT) (Collins, 2009) and other critical texts over a six-month period at a New York City, charter high school. The findings revealed the ways racial stereotypes, propagated by many factors ― including images of scientists, relationships with teachers, and expectations of peers and family ― influenced their coming into and understanding of science. Additionally, the findings show the ways teachers discovered their intersectionality —particularly the interplay of their race and gender— influenced their approaches to teaching science. As teachers learned about the multidimensionality of their positional identities, they became aware of discriminatory structures of power that disadvantage their Black female science students and reported implementing more student-centered pedagogical practices. Altogether, this study offers a professional development model for building critical consciousness with inservice secondary science teachers.

This thesis examines the interplay between regional, national and transnational dimensions of identity and language in the Danish and, to a lesser extent, the German minority communities of Sleswig. It also investigates the relationship between subjective and objective interpretations of minority membership. Obtaining data from a survey study carried out on 208 individuals from the Sleswigian minorities, this thesis maps out the composition of minority identity in the 21st century, whilst also using historical evidence as an explanation for the findings. The study shows that the minorities function as two closely-linked and supplementary groups to the national majorities. German language dominates most spheres in both minorities, yet bilingualism and code-switching are essential to minority life and defining group identity. Furthermore, whilst national identities are of a lesser importance to the minorities today than regional or transnational identities, minority identity is still nonetheless hybridised from its roots in the national cultures and languages of Denmark and Germany. The minorities are thus able to "cherry-pick" social, economic, political and linguistic capital from both nations. I argue that although minority identity and language are constantly under negotiation, legitimising a claim to minority identity by way of subjective will is nevertheless juxtaposed with meeting certain objective criteria expected by members of the communities, such as bilingualism, ancestral and geographical links to the region, an understanding of regional history and shared political beliefs. The study seeks originality by mapping the interaction between the regional, national and transnational dimensions of identity in the Danish and German minorities and by examining the influence of social media on identity expression in Sleswig. It also provides a fresh critical understanding of the impact of language on minority identity formation across recent generations in Sleswig. Finally, the thesis proposes a theoretical framework for the study of hybrid and dual minority identities, rooted in theories from nationalism studies, sociology, anthropology and sociolinguistics.

Many four year institutions are reorganizing their processes and structures to develop a more inclusive model related to campus diversity efforts. Minimal information has been reported about two year institutional efforts toward inclusive excellence. Given the predicted demographic shifts of the nation and more specifically, the projected increase in enrollments of racially and ethnically diverse student bodies in community colleges, it is essential for higher education administrators and policymakers to understand the structures needed to support minority student success at community colleges. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine institutional support structures around inclusive excellence. An Institutional Diversity Practice Index (IDPI) was created using eleven key indicators found within the literature related to institutional practices that enhance minority student success. The absence or presence of practices at each school were tallied to create two groups. Groups were then compared to determine whether significant differences existed between retention and graduation rates, as well as differences in selected items on the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE) related to diversity and support. Due to the sample size limitations of minority student enrollment, the 13 community colleges in this study were classified into one of two groups: Higher Institutional Diversity Practice Index (6 practices or more) and Lower Institutional Diversity Practice Index (5 practices or less). Archival data were used to examine retention rates, graduation rates, and student engagement indictors from the CSSE survey. The sampling frame for the study included all 13 TBR community college students during the academic 2013-2014 academic year. Findings indicated that institutions who were classified in the higher practice group reported higher retention rates of African American and Hispanic students. There were no statistically significant differences between the high and low group with regard to graduation rates or student engagement indicators on the CSSE survey. A larger sample size would be required to determine what combination of institutional practices predict minority student retention and graduation rates. Overall, this study plows new ground and provides information related to the current landscape of institutional structures that support minority student success in Tennessee.

Thesis (Ph. D. (Education)) -- University of Limpopo, 2000 / Refer to document

Scholars have utilized the Minority Stress Model to explore external and internal stressors, coping mechanisms, social support and mental health outcomes for sexually marginalized populations. However, scarce studies examine Latinx sexually marginalized experiences and associations within the model. Thus, the goal of this study was to integrate sexually marginalized Latinx experiences in the Minority Stress Model. The theoretical frameworks utilized were Minority Stress Theory, Intersectionality and Experiential Theory rooted in the Couple and Family Therapy field. First, an explanation of the Minority Stress Model, influences of prominent Latinx cultural factors (i.e., tradition, familism, gender, and acculturation) in model processes, and a proposed Latinx Minority Stress Model is provided. Further, clinical implications are discussed through intersectional multicultural competency and Experiential Theory techniques. Second, a quantitative study with a sample comprised of 76 Latinx lesbian women in romantic relationships will be discussed. Regression analysis indicated that participants with family closeness and positive romantic relationship quality reported lower internalized heterosexism (i.e., internal stress). Additionally, higher internalized heterosexism outcomes predicted higher reports of anxiety and depression. Positive relationship quality perception also statistically mediated internalized heterosexist thoughts and depression. Implications for clinical work are discussed using Experiential Theory. Finally, research and clinical implications are examined through an integration of the proposed Latinx Minority Stress Model and quantitative analysis results. Limitations and future directions are discussed.

Students who have been identified as gifted have the opportunity to participate in enrichment activities in many but not all school districts across the United States. Students from disadvantaged populations who are underrepresented in gifted programs fail to advance academically at the same rate as other students. The problem addressed in this study was the lack of an official gifted program in a high ethnic minority low-income school district in Illinois. The purpose of this study was to examine how leaders of school districts with demographics similar to the district lacking a gifted program create, implement, and sustain gifted programs. Using Senge's systems thinking theory as the conceptual framework, the research questions examined the creation, implementation process, and support needed to sustain the programs. A collective instrumental multicase study design was employed. Data collection included semistructured interviews with 7 school administrators from 2 districts using predetermined interview protocols. District financial documents and strategic plans were used as a secondary data source. Within-case and cross-case analysis was used to identify common themes, including vision-supported decision-making and planning to create gifted programs, team member collaboration to implement gifted programs, and values-driven leadership structures to sustain gifted programs. A white paper based on these themes was developed containing recommendations for school districts to incorporate shared vision, strategic planning, and innovative organizational structures. These recommendations may lead to more gifted students from disadvantaged populations reaching their academic potential, creating social change for students, families, and communities.

The challenge facing liberal theories of democracy is to describe an organization of state that both legitimates state power and protects individual liberty. In Democratic Rights: The Substance of Self-Government, Corey Brettschneider develops the value theory of democracy that resolves this tension. By locating the democratic ideal in a set of core values with both procedural and substantive implications, the value theory legitimates state coercion only when it protects citizens’ rights. While the value theory guarantees both substantive and procedural rights, this thesis will show that Brettschneider fails to account for the necessity of a secure cultural context, without which members of a minority culture may not be able to enjoy the core values as Brettschneider intends. Yet, the value theory of democracy can maintain a commitment to equality and autonomy when amended to have specific ethnic and cultural identity protections. Ultimately, this thesis will argue that the amended value theory provides a framework for citizens to both evaluate laws and correct injustices based on whether or not the policies uphold the core values.

The amount of force used by law enforcement officers has become a highly-charged topic, especially among racial minority citizens and the law enforcement community. While the use of force by police officers is permitted by law enforcement agencies and expected by citizens, the amount and type of force used can trigger or cause problems, such as distrust or loss of confidence for the police agency, if the public perceives the force to be unjustified. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the use of force by police officers and how to improve the relationship between racial minority citizens and law enforcement. Using Rawls' social justice theory as the foundation, the purpose of this qualitative study was to examine how the perceptions of the police use of force differ among racial minority citizens and police officers in a southern state. Data were collected from 20 racial minority citizens over the age of 18 from two southern cities who agreed to participate in my study. Additionally, 21 completed surveys were collected from current or retired law enforcement officers. Interview and survey data were inductively coded and subjected to a thematic analysis procedure. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings indicate there needs to be more accountability on the use of force by the police, with many citizens feeling the police cannot be trusted. Both groups suggested perceptions are often influenced by the media, which may provide incorrect information. Results of this study may lead to positive social change with racial minority citizens and the law enforcement community by refining police policies and enhancing police training programs on the use of force. If changes are made, the relationship between the law enforcement community and racial minority citizens could ultimately improve perceptions on the use of force.