The sociocultural model of eating disorders suggests that awareness of a thin physical ideal directly affects internalization of that ideal, which in turn, directly affects body dissatisfaction. The current study evaluated the general accuracy of the sociocultural model and examined the potential for ethnicity to protect against eating disorder symptomatology by moderating the relationships between awareness and internalization and between internalization and body dissatisfaction. Spanish (n = 100), Mexican American (n = 100), and Euro-American (n = 100) female participants completed various questionnaires measuring sociocultural attitudes towards appearance and body dissatisfaction. Analysis of covariance with tests of homogeneity of slope and path analysis using maximum likelihood with robust standard errors tested the two relationships by ethnic group. Results supported the sociocultural model: there was strong evidence for the mediational effect of internalization on the relationship between awareness and body dissatisfaction. Furthermore, ethnicity moderated the relationships such that both relationships were significantly stronger for Euro-American women than for Mexican American or Spanish women. Within the Mexican American group level of acculturation also moderated these relationships. Taken together, the results of this study highlight how ethnicity can protect against the development of eating disorder symptoms. Denouncing the thin ideal, minimizing appearance as an indicator of female value, and emphasizing personal traits other than appearance as determinants of worth are important in protecting against the development of body dissatisfaction and more severe eating pathology.

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La problématique de l'accès à la justice est habituellement liée aux questions de développement et de bonne gouvernance. L'effort pour améliorer l'accès se fait en encourageant l'État à entreprendre des réformes qui visent principalement à enrayer la corruption et à multiplier les infrastructures. Cette recherche abordera les problèmes entravant l'accès à la justice sous un angle différent en tentant d'établir un lien avec la protection des droits culturels. Une étude de cas sur la situation prévalant au Bénin permettra d'aborder le sujet des droits traditionnellement africains et de leur évolution au contact des systèmes juridiques importés par les pays colonisateur. Le premier chapitre mettra donc en lumière la notion d'acculturation juridique et les différentes formes qu'elle peut prendre. Le chapitre suivant analysera quel est le discours actuel sur l'accès à la justice et quelles sont les mesures prises pour remédier aux problèmes d'accès. La situation qui prévaut au Bénin sera présentée, grâce à un recensement des différentes raisons expliquant les entraves auxquelles font face les justiciables béninois. Finalement, l'état actuel de la protection des droits culturels sera présenté suite à un rapide survol des instruments juridiques onusiens ayant une portée universelle, de l'édifice normatif africain et de l'effort de protection entrepris pas l'UNESCO. L'approfondissement des développements récents notamment quant à la protection des patrimoines culturels immatériels et l'importance accordée aux identités culturelles permettra d'établir un lien entre le respect des droits humains et l'accès à la justice via la protection des droits culturels. Le texte se terminera en évoquant de nouvelles pistes de recherches, notamment en lien avec le pluralisme juridique. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Droits traditionnellement africains, coutume, acculturation juridique, accès à la justice, Bénin, droits culturels, identité, patrimoine immatériel, pluralisme juridique.

While the first entry of Chinese immigrants to Canada dates back to more than a century, in 1967 when the Canadian immigration policy changed, Chinese immigrants from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan became the top source of migration. Over the past few decades, the process of acculturation and mental health of Chinese immigrants has received attention in cross-cultural research. Researchers are particularly interested in investigating the stress experienced by immigrants during the process of acculturation and the ways of dealing with such stress. The thesis reports on a study that explores acculturative stress, length of residence, and cohesion of Chinese immigrants in Canada. The results from this study showed that enmeshment (a high level of family cohesion or family togetherness) and flexibility (a high level of adaptability to change family rules and roles) are related to a lower level of acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant mothers in Vancouver, British Columbia. Of particular interest was the effect of cohesion and adaptability on the social dimension of acculturative stress. Additionally, the results showed that length of residence did not predict acculturative stress in Chinese immigrant families. Limitations, contributions, and implications of the present study for future acculturation research are discussed.

Introduction: Colon cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death among women in Canada. Although regular screening beginning at age 50 years can significantly decrease risk of colon cancer mortality, many eligible Canadian women have never obtained screening. Cancer screening rates among immigrant women to Canada are even lower than for native-born women. Disparities in the use of preventive cancer services by immigrants have been linked to limited acculturation and speaking a language other than English. Poor prose comprehension may frustrate access and use of preventive cancer information by older ESL immigrant women to Canada. In order to develop useful and actionable cancer prevention information, it is necessary to understand the barriers ESL immigrant women face in obtaining and using health and cancer information. Therefore, the primary objective of this research was to assess the relationship of acculturation on the prose comprehension of older ESL immigrant women to Canada. Methods: Interviews were conducted with 78 older adult Spanish-speaking immigrant women (aged 45 to 73 years) residing in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario. Acculturation was inferred by length of Canadian residency and measured using the Bidimensional Acculturation Scale (BAS). Several measures were used to assess comprehension including the shortened Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (S-TOFHLA), the Rapid Estimate of Literacy in Medicine (REALM), the Newest Vital Sign (NVS), and a modified Cloze procedure. The modified Cloze procedure was constructed using a one-page colon cancer information sheet created for the public by the Canadian Cancer Society. Four multiple linear regression analyses were used to test the relationship between the independent variables of acculturation (BAS) and length of Canadian residency, age, Spanish language education, employment, and media variables (television and internet use) on each measure of prose comprehension (i.e., dependent variables of scores on S-TOFHLA, NVS, REALM and Cloze). Logistic regression was used to test whether acculturation and comprehension predicted screening intentions. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to identify the women’s cancer information needs and preferences as well as the barriers they experienced in obtaining and understanding English language cancer information. Results: Three significant models predicting comprehension of colon cancer and health information were identified. The independent variables BAS, Spanish language education and television viewing explained 23% of the variation in Cloze comprehension scores (F=6.76; df=3; p < 0.01; R2= 0.23). Approximately 42% of the variation in S-TOFHLA scores among older ESL immigrant women was explained by the independent variables BAS, age, television viewing and internet use (F=12.13; df=5; p < 0.01; R2=0.42). Using REALM as the dependent measure of comprehension, BAS and television viewing explained 17% of the variation in scores (F=7.54; df=2; p<0.01; R2=0.17). BAS was the only significant predictor of the dependent comprehension measure NVS (F=5.36; df=1; p=0.02; R2=0.07). Logistic regression models predicting colon cancer screening intentions were not significant. Qualitative data analyses revealed that women’s colon cancer information needs, preferences and perceived barriers accessing English language information did not vary according to BAS score or duration of residency in Canada. All women requested actionable information that was community and culturally specific. Additional factors related to older ESL immigrant women’s comprehension of cancer information were identified. These included self-efficacy, social networks and mode of information delivery. These additional modes of information delivery included receiving health information orally as compared to written information. Conclusion: Acculturation (as measured by BAS) significantly predicted prose comprehension by older ESL Spanish speaking immigrant women across four separate measurement tools (Cloze, S-TOFHLA, REALM, NVS). Yet, the proportion of the variance in comprehension scores explained by acculturation and other demographic variables was low to modest, ranging from 7-42%. In addition to acculturation, self-efficacy and social networks may also be associated with prose comprehension. Low self-efficacy among older ESL immigrant women may be a barrier to information seeking and perceived comprehension. However, strong social networks may provide women with the confidence and resources necessary to access health information and services. These results highlight the need for the additional research regarding the influence of self-efficacy on ESL immigrants’ ability to find and use health and cancer information. Recommendations: This research has important implications for public health educators. Health educators are encouraged to develop cancer and health information for ESL speakers in Canada that is community, culturally and linguistically specific and which provides actionable information. This is especially salient given the changing demographic and cultural profile of Canadians. Also, among older ESL immigrants who struggle with language barriers, receiving health information orally may be preferred.

The interaction between culture and consumption of immigrants is an important research area in a number of fields including consumer behaviour, marketing, and ethnic studies. This article offers a specific look at issues related to the impact of acculturation on dining-out behaviour of Chinese immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area in Canada, and the influence of individual factor of acculturation process (i.e., ethnic identification, length of residence, and age at immigration). This study focused on the similarities and comparisons between recent Chinese immigrants who have been in Canada for ten years or less and established Chinese immigrants who have been in Canada for more than ten years, in terms of their dining-out behaviour in the Greater Toronto Area. There were two samples, the recent Chinese immigrants and the established Chinese immigrants in this study. Snowball sampling was applied to recruit the total 30 participants (15 of each sample). The author started to recruit from two participants of each sample among her friends and relatives and asked the interviewers to recommend another two qualified participants. Semi-structures, in-depth interviews were employed in this study to explore the impact of culture, levels of acculturation, ethnic identity, situational factors of ethnic identification and dining-out behaviour. The interviews were audio-recorded by permission and conducted in the participant’s preferable language (in English or in Mandarin Chinese). Data analysis was guided by several previous conclusions and model in the literatures and conducted in both qualitative (coding) and quantitative (SPSS) methods. The findings resulted in some major conclusions. In terms of similarities, it is found that recent Chinese immigrants and established Chinese immigrants obtained restaurants information mostly from friends and relatives. They also searched on internet for other’s reviews, menus, and printable coupons. Secondly, result showed that Chinese immigrants perceived that because they have a long history of food, Chinese people are more willing to try different types of food when immigrated to Canada. Thirdly, situational factors such as peer influences played more significant role on dining-out decision making and self ethnic identifications than parental influences. In terms of differences, data indicated that among Chinese immigrants living in the Greater Toronto Area, recent Chinese immigrants had stronger ethnic identity to their original culture, and dined out more frequently than the established Chinese immigrants. Future, the result suggested that the highest level of Chinese ethnic food purchasing behaviour were reported by highest ethnic identifiers (ones who identified themselves as more Chinese). However, there was another important factor that influenced the levels of acculturation in dining-out behaviour more greatly than the length of immigration: the age at immigration. The study found that Chinese immigrants who immigrated at early age had the highest level of acculturation and identified themselves as more Canadian, while ones who immigrated at late life had the lowest level of acculturation and identifies themselves as more Chinese. The findings reflected the impact of culture and consumer acculturation in dining-out among Chinese immigrants in the Greater Toronto Area and could potentially contribute to the marketing implications to both ethnic and mainstream restaurant marketers. This study also gives some future thoughts on the exploration of more variables at individual differences, as well as other perspectives of research conducting such as from psychological or economic perspective.

The purpose of this study was to examine the Spanish-speaking newcomer middle school students’ perceptions of school, expectations from school, and attitudes toward school. Of particular concern was how these students’ perceptions, expectations, and attitudes developed over a 5-month period. The theoretical framework for the study was derived from Vygotsky’s (1978) sociocultural theory; second language acquisition (SLA) theories (Dulay & Burt, 1973; Krashen, 1982; Johnson, 1996; Long, 1985; Schumann, 1978); and Norton’s (1997) theory of identity, investment, and imagined communities. The participants in this study were 4 Spanish-speaking middle school students enrolled in an Intensive English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) class for students who have recently arrived in the United States, their parents, and the teacher-researcher. The study took place during the 2006-2007 school year at a diverse metropolitan city in the southeast region of the United States. Data sources included student and parent tape-recorded oral interviews, informal interviews, field notes, ethnographic participant observations, field notes, and a researcher journal. Through constant comparative analysis (Creswell, 2006), data were analyzed for themes relating to students’ perceptions, expectations, and attitudes. These themes were analyzed using the sociocultural and SLA frameworks. The analysis of the findings indicated that most participants entered U.S. schools with preexisting positive perceptions about school and that they maintained these positive perceptions during the time of the study. The data revealed that the participants had high expectations from school and overall positive attitudes toward school. An analysis of the data demonstrated that the participants’ new school environment was a critical factor in their perceptions, expectations, and attitudes. Implications of the study include the importance of honoring students’ culture, previous learning experiences, and language abilities in order to facilitate SLA, literacy development, and teacher-student relationship development.

Cette thèse sur le management des systèmes comptables dans les fusions-acquisitions repose sur l'étude de vingt-deux opérations de fusions-acquisitions réalisées entre 1992 et 2007 par quatre groupes, cotés ou non, opérant dans des secteurs différents (distribution, vins et spiritueux, champagne, sidérurgie). L'analyse des données est effectuée en utilisant la cartographie cognitive pour les entretiens et la matrice chronologique pour les autres données recueillies (observation directe, études de documents in-situ et externes). Les résultats montrent des approches différenciées et non linéaires selon les groupes acquéreurs. En s'inspirant des modèles d'acculturation, une double typologie des déterminants et des conséquences de l'intégration des systèmes comptables dans chaque groupe étudié et un modèle général ont été élaborés en distinguant quatre logiques d'intégration : l'absorption, la séparation, l'adoption partielle inversée et la combinaison. A partir de ce modèle, nous recensons les caractéristiques de l'intégration des systèmes comptables dans les quatre groupes étudiés en isolant les facteurs explicatifs et les conséquences dans chaque logique d'intégration. Ensuite, nous construisons une typologie de l'intégration des systèmes comptables dans les fusions-acquisitions en mettant en évidence les facteurs explicatifs prédominants tels que le mode de gestion peu ou très centralisé du groupe acquéreur et le niveau plus ou moins avancé des systèmes comptables du groupe acquéreur et de l'entreprise acquise. Au niveau des conséquences, l'adaptation plus ou moins volontaire des salariés aux changements organisationnels proposés ou imposés par le groupe acquéreur se détache fortement hormis dans la logique séparation où ces changements apparaissent comme mineurs dans la mesure où les équipes en place et les méthodes de travail sont maintenues.

Tyrimo tikslas - įvertinti emigracijoje gyvenančių lietuvių asmenybės bruožų, sveikatos rodiklių ir prisitaikymo naujoje aplinkoje sąsajas, bei skirtumus su Lietuvoje gyvenančiais lietuviais. Tyrime dalyvavo 409 tiriamieji: 199 emigracijoje gyvenantys lietuviai ir 209 Lietuvoje gyvenantys lietuviai. Tiriamieji pildė klausimyną, kurį sudarė BFI (asmenybės bruožams tirti) skalė, HAD (nerimastingumo ir pablogėjusios nuotaikos skalė), nusiskundimų sveikata dažnumo vertinimas, ir prisitaikymo naujoje aplinkoje strategijų klausimynas. Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad Lietuvių emigrantai nepasižymi didesniu polinkiu į ekstraversiją, atvirumą patirčiai, neurotiškumą, sutarimą su kitais ir sąžiningumą, nei Lietuvoje gyvenantys lietuviai. Emigrantų stipriau išreikštas neurotiškumas siejasi su didesniu polinkiu į separatizmą, švelniau išreikštas neurotiškumas, ryškesnis sąžiningumas siejasi su geresne integracija. Nenustatyta neurotiškumo su asimiliacija ir atvirumo patyrimui su integracija sąsajų. Lietuvių emigrantai nurodo mažiau nusiskundimų sveikatos būkle, vyrauja stipriau išreikštas nerimastingumas ir pablogėjusi nuotaika, palyginti su Lietuvoje gyvenančiais lietuviais. Be to, emigrantų didesnis nerimastingumas siejasi su stipriau išreikšta ekstraversija, sutarimu su kitais ir sąžiningumu, blogesnė nuotaika būdinga pasižymintiems didesniu sąžiningumu, bei vyrams su stipresniu ekstraversijos ir sutarimo kitais bruožu. Mažiau nusiskundimų sveikata nurodo linkusieji į ekstraversiją... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The purpose of this study is to ascertain personality traits, health complaints and acculturation strategies in the sample of Lithuanian emigrants living abroad and compare with Lithuanian local inhabitants. The research involved 409 participants: 199 Lithuanian emigrants, living abroad and 209 local citizens that live in Lithuanian. Participants had to fill in a questionnaire made up of BFI (Big Five Inventory), HAD (Hospital anxiety and depression scale), health complaints scale and Acculturative Behavior Scale. The research results showed that Lithuanian emigrants and non-emigrants do not differ in the level of extraversion, openness to experience, neuroticism, agreeableness and consciousness. Higher level of neuroticism tends to correlate with higher rates of separatism, lower neuroticism and stronger consciousness correlates with better integration. The results also showed that Lithuanian emigrants report less health complaints, but tend to have more anxiety and state of mind symptoms to compare with non-emigrants. The greater degrees of anxiety result in higher rates of extraversion, agreeableness and consciousness. Lithuanian emigrants with higher rates of consciousness and especially men with higher degree of extraversion and agreeableness tend to have worse state of mind. It is noticed that less heath complaints demonstrate those who are more extraverted, agreeable, less neurotic and men who are more open to experience. Moreover, higher degree of separatism enhances... [to full text]

Tautiškumo, etniškumo, tautinio identiteto klausimų nagrinėjimas pasaulinėje mokslo plotmėje nėra naujas dalykas. Šie klausimai jau keletą dešimtmečių aktyviai tyrinėjami užsienyje (A. Smith, B. Anderson, M. Castells, J. C. Phinney, H. Tajfel, J. W. Berry, X. Chryssochou ir kt.) - ypač tose šalyse, kuriose gausi gyventojų tautinė įvairovė (Jungtinėse Amerikos Valstijose, Kanadoje, Australijoje, Didžiojoje Britanijoje ir kitur. Tautinės tapatybės klausimais, priverstinai pamirštais nuo pirmosios Lietuvos Respublikos laikų, prieš keliolika metų labiau susidomėta ir Lietuvoje - tautinį, etninį ar nacionalinį (individualų ar kolektyvinį) identitetą įvairiais aspektais yra tyrinėję: V. Leonavičius, D. Antininė, V. Liubinienė, R. Trimakas, A. Valantiejus, P. Subačius, V. Legkauskas, R. Grigas, I. Trinkūnienė, S. Kraniauskienė, V. J. Černius, V. Čiubrinskas ir kt. Daugelis autorių, kalbėdami apie tautinį identitetą, sutaria, kad jam išryškėti, atsiskleisti, keistis palankiausios sąlygos susidaro individui (ar tautinei grupei) atsidūrus multikultūriškame kontekste. Vienas pagrindinių šio darbo tikslų – ištirti, kaip konstruojamas lietuvių tautinis identitetas emigracijoje, koks yra jo turinys, kaip jis yra veikiamas vietinės kultūros. Taipogi aktualu sužinoti, ar stebima lietuvių tautinė saviugda išeivijoje. Šiame magistro darbe, remiantis Lietuvos ir užsienio moksline literatūra, analizuojamas tautiškumo / tautinio identiteto sąvokos turinys, tautiškumo ugdymo (saviugdos)... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / Research of questions of nationality, ethnicity and national identity is not new within world’s scholar area. It has been in the field of attention of numerous foreign academics - A. Smith, B. Anderson, M. Castells, J. C. Phinney, H. Tajfel, J. W. Berry, X. Chryssochou and many others – especially in the countries with wide ethnic variety of population (the USA, Canada, Australia, the Great Britain, etc.). Questions of national identity were forcibly forgotten in Lithuania during the years of Soviet occupation (2nd half of XX century), but local academics regained interest in them after Lithuania became independent again in 1990. Since the national identity (individual and collective) has been analysed in various aspects by V. Leonavičius, D. Antininė, V. Liubinienė, R. Trimakas, A. Valantiejus, P. Subačius, V. Legkauskas, R. Grigas, I. Trinkūnienė, V. J. Černius, S. Kraniauskienė, V. Čiubrinskas, etc. Most of the authors agree, that national identity is best exposed when an individual (or a social group) is placed in a culturaly heterogenous context. One of the core ideas of this Master’s thesis is a research of Lithuanian emigrants’ national identity: what is the content of migrants’ identity how is it constructed and how does local cultural environment affect it. Another important issue is to find out if Lithuanian migrants tend to practice national self-education (if they consciously seek to maintain the features of national identity). Considering previously done... [to full text]