The relationship between Black Americans and African immigrants can be described in many ways, and one of those descriptions is distant. Due to a number of reasons, relationships between the two ethnic groups sometimes result in dissociation. In understanding the dissociation between Black Americans and African immigrants, this study takes a look at cultural identity, ethnic identity, avowal and ascription, and how they connect to the issue of dissociation between the two ethnic groups. This study uses social identity theory and mediated intergroup conflict as its theoretical foundation. Narrative approach and grounded theory approach are used as the study’s methodological approaches, and the study also analyzes its findings using three phases of data analysis; memo-writing analysis, narrative analysis, and hermeneutic analysis. Only a few studies concerning the dissociation between Black Americans and African immigrants have been conducted, and it is this study’s objective to add to the current literature. It is important to note that this study is an exploratory research on the dissociation between the two ethnic groups. Overall, the study’s findings indicate that the dissociation between Black Americans and African immigrants is due to the cultural differences between the two ethnic groups and how those differences are communicated.

Immigrants live transnational lives when they maintain transborder social ties, participate simultaneously in multi-local social relations, and engage in self-transforming identity negotiations that also impact their host societies and their communities of origin. Their social organizations manifest identity construction as agency, with their objectives reflecting particular culture production activities. This native ethnography of Atlanta’s sub-Saharan African immigrants combines 115 surveys of the general population, and 13 in-depth interviews of their organization leaders and members, to examine the potential problem solving instrumentality of social organizations. Study results show that organizational objectives do not reflect top community problems, but prioritize projects that confirm immigrant transnational lives. The organizations’ early potential for engineering non-tribal nationalism within the specific countries and the continent is a surprising finding. African philosophy is evoked to illuminate the relevance of pre-migratory identities and socialization as a possible homogenizer, but also a source of friction for immigrant integration.

There is an on going debate in academia on the health of immigrants in their host countries. Many studies have indicated that immigrants tend to have poor health as compared to the native born population. Researchers in this field however hold divergent views on the causes of the poor health of immigrants. One school of thought attributes poor health of immigrants to premigration period. The contenders of this theory argue that during this period immigrants experience and are subjected to hardships which will affect their health later on in their lives. On the other hand, some researchers view post migration period as an ultimate determinant of the poor health of immigrants in their host country. These researchers ascertain that during this period immigrants are faced with many challenges of adaptation and most often lack good integration in their host countries which hampers their health. The aim of this study is to explore and describe the impact of migration and integration on the health of African immigrants in the Swedish society. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to collect and analyze data with the help of the “triangulation “technique. A structured questionnaire was used as a guideline to the in-depth interviews conducted with African immigrants who have lived in Sweden for a period of five to twenty years and plus. Twentyfive African immigrants from fourteen African countries took part in this research. This study was conducted in the city of Linköping in Sweden. Results from this study revealed that majority of African immigrants self rated their health as being good. Many affirm to be in good health. However, a majority of African immigrants reported psychosomatic symptoms such as stress, fatigue, and other illnesses such as high blood pressure, and diabetes. It was also observed that African immigrants hardly seek medical help except when necessary. Health as defined by immigrants is “a combination of physical and mental well being”,” health is ” happiness and joy”, health is “self realization and self esteem”, health is “vitality”, Health is a “sine qua non condition to good life”. However mastery of the Swedish language, and flexible opportunities, which will enable immigrants to access the labor market and be self-sufficient, may improve the immigrants health condition. Also integration of immigrants’ health professionals in the Swedish health care system may be a vital tool to encourage immigrants to seek health attention and improve their health condition.

<p>There is an on going debate in academia on the health of immigrants in their host countries. Many studies have indicated that immigrants tend to have poor health as compared to the native born population. Researchers in this field however hold divergent views on the causes of the poor health of immigrants. One school of thought attributes poor health of immigrants to premigration period. The contenders of this theory argue that during this period immigrants experience and are subjected to hardships which will affect their health later on in their lives. On the other hand, some researchers view post migration period as an ultimate determinant of the poor health of immigrants in their host country. These researchers ascertain that during this</p><p>period immigrants are faced with many challenges of adaptation and most often lack good integration in their host countries which hampers their health.</p><p>The aim of this study is to explore and describe the impact of migration and integration on the health of African immigrants in the Swedish society. A combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods was used to collect and analyze data with the help of the “triangulation “technique. A structured questionnaire was used as a guideline to the in-depth interviews conducted with African immigrants who have lived in Sweden for a period of five to twenty</p><p>years and plus. Twentyfive African immigrants from fourteen African countries took part in this research. This study was conducted in the city of Linköping in Sweden.</p><p>Results from this study revealed that majority of African immigrants self rated their health as being good. Many affirm to be in good health. However, a majority of African immigrants reported psychosomatic symptoms such as stress, fatigue, and other illnesses such as high blood pressure, and diabetes. It was also observed that African immigrants hardly seek medical help except when necessary. Health as defined by immigrants is “a combination of physical and</p><p>mental well being”,” health is ” happiness and joy”, health is “self realization and self esteem”, health is “vitality”, Health is a “sine qua non condition to good life”. However mastery of the Swedish language, and flexible opportunities, which will enable immigrants to access the labor market and be self-sufficient, may improve the immigrants health condition. Also integration of immigrants’ health professionals in the Swedish health care system may be a vital tool to</p><p>encourage immigrants to seek health attention and improve their health condition.</p>

Thesis (M.A.)--Indiana University, 2009. / Title from screen (viewed on February 1, 2010). Department of English, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). Advisor(s): Ulla M. Connor, Frank M. Smith, Honnor Orlando. Includes vitae. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 138-139).

There are a growing number of continental African immigrants in the United States who are changing the face of Black identity and politics in the USA. Whereas this group is largely invisible to mainstream media, they are visible in online diasporic media. However, there has been very little research done on this group. In addition, scholars and policy makers are concerned that that diasporic media may erode people's sense of nationalism and their level of integration into the host society. Isolation of these communities could lead to potential conflict with mainstream society. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the following questions: (a) How do Kenyans domiciled in the United States construct their collective identity in online discourse? (b) What topics dominate the online discussions of the Kenyan diaspora in the United States? (c) How is the relationship between the host nation and the migrant community portrayed in these websites? (d) What does the online discourse reflect about the interests, concerns and positions of the diaspora on issues in the homeland? (e) How are Kenyan migrants perceived by fellow Kenyans in their homeland, within website commentary? These questions were investigated based on theories of media, diaspora, identity and globalization. The researcher selected three websites created and patronized by Kenyans living in the USA based on their internet traffic ranking. The texts were then analyzed using Wodak's discourse historical analysis (DHA). The results show that Kenyans participating in the diaspora websites studied construct various identities in their website talk. These identities ranged from essentialist and cultural identities that support the status quo, to hybrid identities that indicate various levels of integration into the host society. The results also indicate new forms of identification that differ from U.S. and Kenyan official designations of identity and represent active resistance to dominant discourses. Among these emerging identities were "new Americans", "African born Americans", and "Kenyan born Americans." Women in particular use the discourse of freedom drawn from the host culture, to express their new identities in the diaspora in ways that challenge Kenyan male cultural dominance. The relationship between migrants and the host US culture was largely positive; however, some migrants described negative experiences involving depression, difficulty in adjustment to work place cultural values, and racial discrimination. Many expressed concerns about the slow pace of immigration reforms in the USA and that the discussions overly focused on Mexican immigrants. These results have several implications. First, this study supports theories of diaspora, media and globalization with findings based on empirical research. In particular, it supports the theory that migrants construct hybrid, multiple and transitional identities in their media. The study expands our knowledge by relating the migrant online texts to the broader local and global contexts. Second, the results call attention to the need for U.S. policy makers and politicians to consider expanding the discussions of immigration reform to involve non-Mexican immigrants in the framing of immigration policy. It also points out that many of the African immigrants are elites or professionals and they can be beneficial to U.S. foreign policy initiatives and the economy. As far as Kenyan policy makers are concerned, the study suggests that the frequency and fervency of migrant ethnic identifications is a challenge to the government's construction of a common national and cultural identity. This demands change in the way the Kenyan government communicates about ethnicity and nationalism. The study recommends several areas of further study.

Magister Administrationis - MAdmin / This study is an investigation into how the Site C, Action Committee Against Xenophobia (SACAX) in Khayelitsha was able to mobilise the community, community based organisations, and governance structures alongside national and international Non-Governmental Organisations working with refugees to successfully challenge prejudice towards African immigrants in the period leading to the World Cup 2010. The primary objective of this mobilisation was to raise consciousness about the plight of African immigrants; prevent a new round of attacks; and also to ensure that state officials were better prepared to intervene in future outbursts. The various stakeholders that took part in this cogovernance space are unanimous that the SACAX programme ushered in a new era of creating awareness and civic education that changed significantly the perception of the community towards African immigrants during the World Cup 2010. The thesis will also show how SACAX also encourage a more active citizenship and also built network between civil society including national and international NGOs and local state. These efforts created a new set of relations and saw the construction of new sets of relations in terms of capacity building across civil society, the state and local and international actors. This resulted in both the creation of an early warning mechanisms and also networks to coordinate efforts in future outburst. This was an example of a Co-governance space or nascent „participatory sphere‟. The example of SACAX is thus a case of civil society deepening democracy in three ways: expanding democratic values, building democratic citizenship and creating new participatory institutional capacity. This then elucidates the role civil society can play in influencing citizens directly, government and public policy. Indeed, to the extent that this network forms the basis of a substantive partnership between state and civil society from local to international levels, such co-governance around the policy issues can be seen as a nascent form of participatory space as identified by Cornwall and Coelho (2007:1).

African immigrants in the United States (U.S.) experience immense challenges in the form of poverty, unemployment, and underemployment. One strategy used by community development organizations to address these challenges is the development of farm entry programs that assist immigrants in beginning and sustaining farm operations in the United States. Organizations such as Cooperative Extension, resettlement agencies, and African mutual aid associations have developed beginning farmer programs that provide a supportive foundation for immigrant farmers to gain access to farmland, technical training, and markets.  Returning to farming provides African immigrants with a series of benefits including supplemental income, food security, and social integration. Drawing upon social capital theory, this study offers a novel approach to measure the community and economic development outcomes of immigrant farming programs. In this mixed-method program evaluation, immigrant farming programs are analyzed as social networks that connect immigrants to technical training, farming resources, and community members who can provide access to markets. Data were collected through a survey of 112 agricultural educators working with immigrant farming programs across the United States. Data were also collected through case studies of a Midwestern program and a Southern program. The case studies include two focus groups and 20 interviews with individuals associated with the programs as participants, agricultural educators, and community partners. Regression tests were conducted to determine the social capital factors associated with well-being outcomes occurring through the programs. The models show that interaction outside of the program, and access to information are positively associated with well-being outcomes. Analysis of variance tests show differences between programs with African immigrant participants and programs with participants from other world regions. Programs with African immigrants tend to have more requirements to use farming resources compared to programs with immigrants from other world regions. Qualitative analysis found that female African immigrant participants have a lower levels of agency compared to male African immigrant participants. The study concludes with a discussion of recommendations for implementing and evaluating immigrant farming programs, as well as applying social capital theory to the field of agricultural education. / Ph. D.

The number of African immigrants in the United States is increasing. The incidence of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in the United States is also on the rise. Despite these increases, little information exists about the adequacy of care for African immigrants with autistic children in the United States. The purpose of this grounded theory study was to understand the factors that affect use of care for African immigrants with autistic children in the United States. Using Aday-Anderson model of health care utilization framework, this study focused on African immigrants in the United States who had children with Autism Spectrum Disorder from age 2- to 15-years-old. I used open, axial and selective coding to analyze my data and come up with a theory about utilization of care for African immigrants with autistic children. The results of this study showed a need for education to influence African immigrants to use care for their autistic children. Despite cultural stronghold, the use of care for African immigrant with autistic children was influenced by education, experience, need and recommendation. The African immigrant ASD Utilization of Care Model emerged. The positive social change implication of this study is improving the use of care for African immigrants with autistic children. African immigrants with autistic children in the United States will benefit from this study.

No description available.