In connection to an existing research project, Micro-migration and Integration with relevance for Uddevalla, this study aims to analyse and compare the subjective understandings of Somali women’s experiences in the integration process in the Swedish society. Integration is a multifaceted and ongoing process in which the self-understandings of this notion is bound to change over time in relation to socio-economic and cultural contexts. In light of this, the thesis employs a comparative case study that is based on data collected through focus group discussions with newly arrived women and women who have stayed in Sweden for a longer time. The analytical framework utilizes acculturation theory to study what traces of integration, assimilation, separation and marginalization can be identified in the selfunderstandings and how they develop over time. Some of the conclusions from the study by the interviewees notify language being crucial. Both groups understand that Swedish constitutes a step in the overall process for establishment and the newly arrived women showed an awareness about it being the ultimate factor that can speed up their own integration process. The findings of the research include that there is a deviation of the understandings between the groups when it comes to housing and identity. The group of newly arrived women with the exception of one participant, indicated a clear separation in regard to both aspects above whereas the women who have lived in Sweden for 9-10 years showed clear traces of integration. Hence, in the beginning of the integration process a person might have a theoretical understanding that indicates separation but experience a discursive shift towards the lens of integration.

abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the contributions of language anxiety, acculturation and social connectedness with American people to the counseling self-efficacy of international counseling students (ICSs) in the United States. The study used hierarchical multiple regression analysis with a sample of ICSs from counseling, counseling psychology and related programs in the U.S. (N=72). Major findings indicated that ICSs’ language anxiety was inversely associated with their counseling self-efficacy; neither ICSs’ acculturation nor social connectedness with American people had a significant relationship with counseling self-efficacy. Further, there was no significant interaction between language anxiety and social connectedness with American people; language anxiety, acculturation, social connectedness with American people, and the interaction between language anxiety and social connectedness with American people together did not account for a significantly different amount of variance in counseling self-efficacy over and above the variance accounted for by language anxiety alone. Implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Counseling 2016

abstract: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic disease affecting more than ten percent of the U.S. adults. Approximately 50 percent of people with diabetes fail to achieve glycemic targets of A1C levels below seven percent. Poor glycemic control disproportionately affects minority populations such as Korean Americans (KAs). Successful diabetes self-management requires a comprehensive approach that takes into account depression, sleep, and acculturation to achieve good glycemic control. Therefore, the purposes of this study were to: 1) describe the levels of glycemic control, depressive symptoms, sleep quality and duration, and acculturation; 2) examine an association of depressive symptoms with glycemic control; 3) identify mediational roles of sleep quality and sleep duration of less than 6 hours between depressive symptoms and glycemic control; and 4) explore a moderation role of acculturation between depressive symptoms and glycemic control in KAs with T2DM. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive correlational study. A total of 119 first generation KAs with T2DM were recruited from Korean communities in Arizona. A1C levels, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation scale, the International Physical Activity Questionnaire, and the Berlin Questionnaire were measured. Descriptive statistics, multiple regression analyses, path analyses, and the Sobel tests were conducted for data analyses of this study. Poor glycemic control (A1C ≥ 7 %), high depressive symptoms (CES-D ≥ 16), poor sleep quality (PSQI > 5), and short sleep duration (< 6 hours) were prevalent among KAs with T2DM. The mean score of acculturation (2.18) indicated low acculturation to Western culture. Depressive symptoms were revealed as a significant independent predictor of glycemic control. Physical activity was negatively associated with glycemic control, while cultural identity was positively related to glycemic control. Sleep quality and sleep duration of less than 6 hours did not mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and glycemic control. Acculturation did not moderate the association between depressive symptoms and glycemic control. Diabetes self-management interventions of a comprehensive approach that considers depressive symptoms, sleep problems, and cultural differences in minority populations with T2DM are needed. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Nursing and Healthcare Innovation 2017

Notre thèse est structurée en trois parties : Le concept d'identité et l'identité narrative, Le contact des cultures et l'identité culturelle, Devenir écrivain français et nous nous sommes proposée d'y répondre à la problématique énoncée dès le titre, à savoir comment un écrivain qui n'est pas né en France peut arriver au statut d'écrivain français. Nous avons examiné le problème de l'identité, ses différentes composantes (personnelle / sociale / culturelle), analysé comment ce concept est illustré dans l’œuvre des quatre auteurs qui nous intéressent aussi bien au niveau thématique que de point de vue narratologique. Nous avons essayé de présenter la problématique assez complexe du contact culturel, quelles en sont les étapes (déculturation, acculturation, ré-cultururation, transculturation), les conséquences, comment ces quatre écrivains ont vécu ce contact culturel et comment ils en témoignent dans leurs romans ou textes autobiographiques. La troisième partie illustre la problématique de l'identité littéraire d'un autre point de vue. Il est certain que les auteurs que nous étudions ont perdu une patrie (ils ne sont pas retournés vivre dans leur pays natal - sauf Alexakis, qui a opté pour un va et vient permanent entre les deux contrées - même si les facteurs qui les ont déterminés à le quitter ont disparu) mais ils ont acquis une nouvelle langue (une langue de lumière et de bonheur qui leur a également ouvert la grande porte d'entrée de la Littérature Française) et une nouvelle nationalité. C'est le cas d'Andreï Makine et de Milan Kundera. Amin Maalouf a opté pour la double nationalité, franco-libanaise, alors que Vassilis Alexakis a refusé d'acquérir la nationalité française. Les quatre auteurs ont atteint le niveau de transculturation, dans le sens défini par Todorov, c'est à dire celui d'acquisition d'un nouveau code culturel sans que l'antérieur soit complètement effacé, et nous le remarquons bien dans leurs écrits. Le changement de langue a déterminé des variations esthétiques et génériques (Kundera, Maalouf), formelles (Kundera : les différences entre le cycle tchèque et le cycle français, Makine : les différences entre les premiers écrits et les derniers) et le problème de l'autotraduction dans le cas d'Alexakis mais de Kundera aussi. Nous nous sommes également intéressée à leur activité professionnelle en France (professeur, journaliste, etc.), aux distinctions et aux prix littéraires reçus et le rôle de ceux-ci dans leur naturalisation. Ils sont tous quatre lauréats de prix les plus prestigieux (Goncourt, Médicis, Prix de l'Académie Française, pour n'en citer que quelques uns), ce qui a déterminé des changements importants dans leur vie et dans la réception de leur œuvre. / Our paper is structured in three parts : The concept of identity and narrative identity, The contact of cultures and the cultural identity, Becoming a French writer and we intend to answer the problem announced in the title, determining how a writer who was not born in France can reach the status of a french writer. We have analysed the issue of identity, its different components (personal/social/cultural) and the manner in which this concept is illustrated in the work of the above mentioned authors who are under our scrutiny both on a thematic level and on a narratological one. We have attempted to present the quite complex issue of the cultural contact, with its stages (deculturalization, aculturalization, re-culturalization, trans-culturalization), its consequences, the manner in which the four authors have experienced this cultural contact and how they presented it as testimonials in their novels or autobiographical texts. The third part of our paper illustrates the problem of literary identity from another point of view. It is certain that the authors we are studying lost a country (they did not return alive to their country of origin - with the exception of Alexakis, who as opted for a permanent coming and going between the two countries - even if the circumstances that had made him leave disappeared eventuelly) but they gained a new language (a language of light and happiness which also opened the great gate of entering French Literature) and a new nationality. It is the case of AndreÏ Makine and of Milan Kundera. Milan Maalouf opted for the double citizenship, French-Lebanese, while Vassilis Alexakis refused to obtain French nationality. The four authors reached the level of trans-culturalization, in the meaning defined by Todorov, specifically that of acquiring a new cultural code without completely erasing the previous one and we can clearly remark this in their works. The change of language determined aesthetic and generic (Kundera, Maalouf), formal (Kundera : the differences between the Czech cycle and the French cycle, Makine : the differences between his first and his last writings) variations and issues of self-translation in the case of Alexakis but also Kundera. We are also interested in their professional activity in France (teacher, journalist, etc.), in distinctions and literary awards they received and their role in their naturalization. They are all four laureates of most prestigious awards (Goncourt, Médicis, the award of the French Academy, to mantion some of them) fact which determined important changes in their lives and in the reception of their work.

O objetivo desta pesquisa é mostrar, a partir do conceito de aculturação, presente sobretudo na obra de John Berry, quais são os reflexos da aculturação dos imigrantes japoneses na vida atual dos idosos isseis. Para se tentar responder a essa questão e mostrar o processo de aculturação, o trabalho foi dividido em três enfoques: o processo de aculturação na imigração japonesa no Brasil (enfoque histórico), a questão do envelhecimento na comunidade nikkei (enfoque coletivo), e a história de vida e produção poética de idosas haicaístas (enfoque individual). O enfoque histórico se deu basicamente em pesquisa bibliográfica sobre a história da imigração japonesa, verificando-se as mudanças de estratégias de sobrevivência desses imigrantes. O enfoque coletivo se deu pelos resultados da pesquisa de campo nas casas de repouso e instituições que tem preocupação com os idosos, nos fornecendo uma visão institucional de como a comunidade colabora no cuidado aos idosos. Já no enfoque individual, foi realizado um estudo de caso com uma turma de idosos que se reunem todo mês para uma atividade de composição de haikus, que são poemas curtos escritos em língua japonesa. Para esse estudo, foi assistido a oito desses encontros, feitas entrevistas com as participantes que aceitaram ajudar com a pesquisa e realizou-se a leitura e análise de suas produções poéticas. / The purpose of this research is to show, through the concept of acculturation present mainly in the work of John Berry, what are the reflexes of the acculturation of Japanese immigrants in the life of the issei elderly. This work was divided in three approaches to try and answer the above questioning while demonstrating the acculturation process. These three approaches are: the process of acculturation in Japanese immigration of Brazil (Historical Approach), the problem of aging in nikkei comunity (Collective Approach), and the history of life and poetic works of haiku elder poets (Individual Approach). The historical approach was based mainly in bibliographical research about Japanese immigration history, paying attention to the changes of strategy of survival of these immigrants. The Collective Approach was based in the results of a research done in Home for Old People and institutions worried about elders, giving us the institutional point of view of how the nikkei community helps taking care of the elderly. In the Individual Approach, a case study with a group of old people who meet every month for an activity of composing haiku, small Japanesewritten poems, was done. For this study 8 meetings were watched, interviews were done with the group members who accepted to help this work and some of their poetic works were read and analyzed.

According to numerous studies, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) tend to fail more often than being profitable. While strategic fit seems to be a pre-requisit for M&A sucess, organizational culture differeces between merging organizations seem to set boundaries for achieving the synergies identified prior to the deal. This doctoral thesis deals with hybridization, i.e. the blending of organizational cultures, in the context of M&As and provides detailed insights into how this phenomenon shapes the outcome of such strategic activities. Based on a qualitative research design (3 case studies, grounded theory, 55 narrative interviews) five different forms of hybridization were identified: (1) Vintage concept of hybridization, (2) deck of cards concept of hybridization, (3) uncontrolled local adaptation of management knowledge, (4) boundary spannind, and (5) people's twist. Major findings of this doctoral thesis suggest, that most forms of hybridization have rather a negative impact on the M&A performance. Moreover, the outcome of such deals is strongly depending on contextual factors and the acculturation strategy chosen to harmonize existing cultural values, strategies, organizational structures and operations. Finally, financial key ratios to assess the success of M&As could only partly illustrate what had been found through narrative interviews,. Thus, measuring M&A success should not only be based on quantitative measures. This doctoral thesis suggest a more holistic approach to M&A research, when considering cultural effects on the organizational level of analysis. (author's abstract)

Cette thèse analyse le processus de diffusion des sports modernes dans les cinq territoires qui ont formé l’Indochine entre 1858 et 1945. Cette thèse a pour objectif de comprendre pourquoi et comment les mouvements de jeunesse et les sports occidentaux se sont développés, dans une société très majoritairement rurale avec un niveau de vie très faible. L’enjeu historique est de comprendre comment ces divers mouvements ont contribué à former une fraction de la jeunesse indochinoise – par hypothèse majoritairement urbaine et lettrée en français – et d’envisager le rôle de ces mouvements et activités dans la formation d’un nationalisme vietnamien moderne. Il s’agit également, sur un second plan, d’analyser les processus de transferts et d’appropriations culturelles qui sont au cœur de ces nouvelles pratiques et de comprendre comment celles-ci transforment les cultures locales. Dans cette perspective, on s’interrogera sur ces transformations : celles-ci sont-elles gouvernées par le mimétisme ou la concurrence mimétique, l’hybridation ou s’agit-il d’un simple transfert ? Ces questions engagent ensuite à comprendre comment ces deux plans – plan politique de la construction du nationalisme vietnamien, plan culturel des transformations impliquées par les nouvelles pratiques – s’articulent et s’alimentent. Par ailleurs, la genèse des politiques sportives coloniales est abordée. Enfin la comparaison avec d’autres espaces colonisés, français, britanniques ou hollandais, permet d’illustrer la singularité de la configuration indochinoise. / This doctoral thesis analyzes the process that led to the spreading of modern sports over the five States which formed Indochina from 1858 until 1945. This study aims to explain why and how the youth movements and western sporting activities spread in a predominantly rural society whose standards of living were low. The historical stake is to understand how these different movements contributed to shaping up a part of Indochinese youth assumed as mainly urban and literate in French, and to consider the part played by these movements and their activities into the development of modern nationalism in Vietnam. The second aim is to analyze the transfer process and cultural appropriation which are at the heart of these new practices and to understand how they change the local cultures. In that respect, we will examine these transformations: were they brought about through imitation, mimetic competition, hybridization or just through a plain transfer? Those questions then lead us to understand how the two levels, firstly a political one with the building up of Vietnamese nationalism, secondly a cultural one with the changes involved by those activities, link up and feed off one another. Moreover the genesis of sporting colonial policies is dealt with. And the comparison with other colonial territories, French, British or Dutch, helps to illustrate the particularity of the Indochinese configuration.

The acculturation process for international students is influenced by several factors such as experiences of discrimination, economic condition, language fluency, and social support. Discrimination, which refers to negative or prejudicial behavior towards an individual or a group of individuals, takes place towards international students due to their poor grasp of the English Language (Lee & Rice, 2007), cultural differences (Cole & Ahmadi, 2003), and racial differences (Hanassab, 2006). Perceived discrimination (among other factors) has been identified as a potential moderator of the relationship between acculturation preferences and psychological functioning in acculturation theory (Berry, 2003). Apart from perceived discrimination, gender has also been recognized as predicting adjustment among international students (Lee, Park, & Kim, 2009). This study investigated the role perceived discrimination plays in the relationship between acculturation orientation and psychological functioning (i.e., depression and global life satisfaction), and the influence gender has on the relationship between acculturation orientation and psychological functioning among international students from South Asia and South East Asia. A series of mediational and moderational analyses were performed with hierarchical multiple regression analyses. The mediation effect of perceived discrimination on the relationship between acculturation orientation and psychological functioning was not significant for either factors of psychological functioning. While the interaction between identification with host culture and gender did not predict depression, it predicted global life satisfaction (GLS). Specifically, men who identified with their host culture had higher global life satisfaction scores. However, the interactions between identification with heritage culture and gender did not predict depression or global life satisfaction. The findings suggest that the Berry’s (2003) acculturation model may not fit for international students. Future research on acculturation orientation as a variable mediating the relationship between perceived discrimination and psychological functioning is recommended.

Magister Psychologiae - MPsych / Diversity is an inevitable aspect of organisational life, which has to be dealt with at one time or another. How employees perceive diversity impacts on their behaviour and therefore managing it is imperative. The purpose of the study is an evaluation of employee perceptions towards diversity management in a glass packaging manufacturing concern in the Western Cape. There has been a movement by many organisations over the last two decades to place more emphasis on valuing employee differences, and developing diversity management initiatives (policies and programs that benefit all employees regardless of differences for a common goal).Organisations are faced with understanding the importance of valuing differences and instituting effective diversity management initiatives as counter-measures to protect themselves from such negative consequences as lawsuits, loss of competitive advantage and diminished legitimacy in the eyes of the customers they serve. The increase in females and previously disadvantaged groups in the work force, along with employers’ concerns about motivating and obtaining 6 satisfactory levels of performance from a diverse group of employees, has created an urgency to understand and recognize the value of differences.A quantitative, cross-sectional research design, based on analysis of questionnaires administered within one of the manufacturing plants of the organisation based in the Western Cape, was undertaken. The Workplace Diversity Survey was used to measure employees’perceptions and attitudes towards diversity. Significant differences in the perceptions of employees (n=80) on the basis of age, race and gender, were found. However, there was no statistically significant difference in perceptions towards diversity on the basis of job status.While some methodological issues remain problematic, the researcher is of the opinion however, that the study will be useful for the intended organisation and its management in that no scientific information pertaining to managing diversity, exists within the business.

This mini-dissertatation is aimed at critically analysing the importance of Setswana culture in relation to problems experienced today due to adaptation to Western culture. The mini-dissertation is discussed within the framework of the formalist approach. The proponents of this theory focus on treating literature as a special use of language that achieves its distinctiveness by deviating from distorting practical language. The concept of western culture and its influences on Setswana culture pertaining to love and marriage is strongly emphasised because it is the crux of this research study. Concepts such as acculturation, culture and influence as well as types of poems, also receive attention. Throughout the centuries, in Setswana poetry, love and marriage have been defined, analysed and portrayed in a positive manner. While in Western literature, the positive and the negative sides of love and marriage have been dealt with interchangeably on an ongoing basis. It is in this context that this research attempts to show how authors like Motlhake broke the cultural taboos, and wrote about the pains, miseries,disappointsments and conflict in love and marriage in particular. The investigation critically analyses the impact Western civilization has on the characters portrayed in motlhake’s poems which dwell much on the sorrows, bitterness and eventually divorce that are caused by marriage as portrayed in four of his poems. The content of these poems are analysed in the following chronological order that shows progression of: <ol> <li> Falling in love as portrayed in the poem : Noka ya lerato <li> Rejection asportrayed in the poem: A o a ntlogela <li> Reasons for celibacy: Goreng ke sanyale <li> Aspects of marriage in the poem:Lenyalo</ol> The discussion of the style of the poems deals with the mood and intention of the poet. In this discussion, diction as style markers and stylistic techniques, are examined. It is clear that the poet Motlhake has used quiet a number of techniques, the most frequently used being repetition, elision, opposition, rhythm, figures of speech and imagery. These techniques have been used to highlight the bitterness, the anger as well as the themes of the poems which are: frustration in love and marriage and to go back to cultural practices in Setswana to avoid divorce. / Dissertation (MA(African Languages))--University of Pretoria, 2008. / African Languages / unrestricted