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The increasing need to select individuals for tasks suited to their personality make-up, has added to the challenge psychology faces of developing tests which can be applied to subjects from different cultures and environments. Many attempts at such designs litter the history of industrial and cross- cultural personality research. Among those to have survived years of reassessment, is the cognitive style approach developed by Herman Witkin. Intro., p. 1.

The topic of interpersonal relationships and the factors that enhance the longevity and strength of these have been well documented. Whilst there has been a steady increase in the occurrence of interracial relationships, it has not been matched by an increase in studies on the phenomenon and indeed very little empirical attention has been given to these relationships. Leslie and Letiecq (2004) highlight that the existing research on the phenomenon focuses primarily on the reasons individuals select partners outside of their own racial group. As interracial marriages are reportedly more vulnerable to divorce than marriages among same-race individuals, it seems important to examine the dynamics and quality of interracial relationships (Leslie & Letiecq, 2004). The goal of the study was therefore to explore the cross-cultural differences that inform the experiences, challenges, and strengths for partners in committed interracial relationships. In this qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual study, the author has explored and described the specific cross-cultural differences that the couple has encountered in their relationship and the impact that these differences have had on the quality of their relationship. Furthermore the study aimed to explore and describe the strengths the couple has drawn from these cross-cultural differences to enhance the quality of their relationship. A combination of purposive and snowball sampling techniques has been utilised to identify interracial couples who have been in a committed monogamous relationship of at least one year. The sample consisted of eleven individuals. Semi-structured individual interviews were utilised as the data collection tool, and Tesch‟s model of data analysis (in Creswell, 1998) has been employed. This model of data analysis consists of eight steps that have been used to analyse the data. Five themes emerged from the study: (1) cultural difference factors, (2) negative factors that influence the couple‟s coping with cultural differences, (3) positive factors that influence the couple‟s coping with cultural differences, (4) factors relating to cultural differences that strengthen the relationship and (5) recommendations to other interracial couples. The findings of the study make a meaningful contribution to couple counselling interventions for interracial couples, and also add to the body of knowledge on this sparsely researched topic.

Literature reviews (Casas, 1984, 1985; Ponterotto, 1988) on the status of racial/ethnic minority research indicate that one of the problems in coming to definite conclusions about the effectiveness of counseling with the culturally different is the lack of research accounting for heterogeneity within ethnic groups. This study investigates ethnic identity as a possible variable tapping into intra-group variability with persons of Chinese origin currently living in Canada. Specifically, Atkinson, Morten & Sue (1979)'s model of ethnic identity development is examined in relation to its validity with this ethnic group. Atkinson et al.'s (1979) Minority Identity Development model postulates five stages minority persons experience in trying to discern and appreciate themselves based on their culture of origin, the mainstream culture and the relationship and meaning between the two. These stages are Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, Introspection and Synergetic Articulation and Awareness. Based on the model, 81 items were generated, translated and administered to 44 participants via Q-Sort Methodology. Also, relevant demographic information was collected. Factor analysis and qualitative analysis for Q-Methodology as suggested by Talbott (1971) generated four factors. The emerging factors reflected the Conformity, Dissonance, Resistance and Immersion, and Synergetic Articulation and Awareness Stages. Thus, based on the partial support for the five-stage model among persons of Chinese origin; a four-stage model was generated. The analysis of results suggests the following conclusions: (1) heterogeneity within ethnic groups must be accounted for it is accounted for within the mainstream culture; (2) ethno-cultural identity emerges as a viable construct (variable) tapping into intra-group differences; (3) Q-Methodology appears as a culturally non-intrusive method; and (4) ethno-cultural identity may mediate the counseling process. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

This study was designed to elicit Indo-Canadian women immigrants' experience of childbearing. Health care professionals do not know enough about the childbearing experiences of this cultural group. This may lead to conflicts and discrepancies of viewpoints between clients and professionals which may result in nurses providing care that is not perceived as relevant by the individual. This study was directed by the following questions: What are Indo-Canadian women's beliefs about childbearing? What are their perceptions of their traditional practices, in their ethnic community, surrounding childbearing? What are the western health care resources utilized by the women during childbearing? How are these western health care resources perceived by the women? Phenomenology, a qualitative research methodology, was used in this study. Data were collected through a series of indepth interviews with eight women. The initial audiotaped interviews were guided by the research questions and addressed the women's perceptions of their childbearing experiences. The data were comprised of the accounts given by the women in these interviews. Data collection and analysis occurred simultaneously throughout the study. Analytic material was thus used to focus and clarify the ongoing construction of accounts. The women described very different childbearing experiences. Dissimilarities in the phenomena under investigation were more evident than similarities and were attributed to the concept of acculturation. Two themes emerged from the data: the subjects' relationships with their families and the subjects' relationships with health care professionals. Each theme affected and was affected by the concept of acculturation. Influencing factors within the two themes were respect, authority, lack of knowledge and, in the case of the family, shyness. Perceived discrimination was an influencing factor in the subjects' relationships with post-partum hospital nurses. This study concluded that dissimilarities in the childbearing experiences of Indo-Canadian immigrant women are attributable to the process of acculturation; and that the women's childbearing experiences are located within a broader context of meanings associated with the reproductive cycle. The subjects' relationships with their families and with health care professionals are significant aspects of their childbearing experiences and are influenced by authority, respect, lack of knowledge and shyness. Discrimination is perceived by the women in relation to the post-partum hospital nurses. These conclusions have implications for nursing practice, research and education. / Applied Science, Faculty of / Nursing, School of / Graduate

The research literature documents the relative disadvantage of widows in coping with grief, both in a greater vulnerability themselves for mortality or ill health, but also for a sudden loss of resources from losing a spouse. Moreover, widowhood in the Canadian cultural communities may be an additional burden if met with service from mainstream care professionals and agencies at variance with their culturally-appropriate grieving practices and assumptions. Specifically, the meaning(s) of bereavement and grief for Hindu-Canadian widows are not well understood, and the goal of this study is to enhance transcultural understanding of this population in counselling and beyond. An inductive, descriptive qualitative method focusing on the subjective, lived experience of key co-researchers, using selective and nonprobability sampling was utilized to maximize the relatively small sample size typical of a phenomenological approach. This was used to describe and explain the meanings and experiences of grief for five older Hindu-Canadian widows within the context of their own cultural setting and world view. Data were collected from five female members of the Hindu- Canadian communities. An additional triangulation method of a general class of culmraUy-informed co-researchers was used to help corroborate the obtained themes. The co-researcher's responses were the data for this study, and a method of "constant comparative analysis" (I^ininger, 1985) was utilized in a search for themes through a process of higher abstraction. Data analysis of the verbatim transcripts occurred simultaneously with data collection and, guided by Leininger's (1990) 'Thases of Analysis for Qualitative Data," the process unfolded with: (a) collecting and documenting raw data; (b) identification of descriptors; (c) pattern analysis; and (d) theme formulation. Ultimately six themes were abstracted from forty-five sub-categories as a portrait of the meanings and experiences of widowhood for this group of Hindu-Canadian widows. Themes for this group of key co-researchers are as follows: First, status transition from wife to widow meant resignation to the husband's death, rather than acceptance through discrete stages of recovery: Second, meanings and expressions of grief centered on beliefs about the enduring and eternal quality of the husband's life force as intrinsic and essential to the widow's own lifeways: Third, the transition from wife to widow entailed a double affliction in status loss as well as in the personal domain of intimacy and partnership: Fourth, the meanings and expressions of both grief phenomena and status transition reflect an ethic of collective good and duty-based interpersonal morality, but with acculturation causing a nascent and generational transition in such moral orientation: Fifth, status transition can entail a degree of liminality, out of bicultural dislocation and transformational variables such as education: Finally, a fundamental meaning of their Hindu-Canadian widowhood experience is its spiritual opportunity. Despite some diversity in their Hindu diaspora and sect, the explicated themes illustrate a common experience and meaning attendant on widowhood for the co-researchers. This study investigated a portion of the underlying cultural logic of widowhood and grief phenomena for these constituents of Hinduism, and highlighted their cultural constructions of meaning and experience, allowing us to improve our transcultural knowledge and understanding of the unique needs of this population in the field of Counselling and beyond. As a phenomenological study, themes and suppositions abstracted from this relatively small sample are limited beyond the precisely-defined context of its five co-researchers. Nevertheless, a counsellor might well benefit from the potential offered here for finer-grained assessments and therapeutic relationships with widows in our Hindu communities. / Education, Faculty of / Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of / Graduate

The purpose of this project is to outline a validation study demonstrating the utility of the Mulicultural Education and Training Structured Interview for Cultural Formulations (METSICF).

Women's access to elective political office, an indicator of political inequality, was studied by surveying the percentage of women holding elective political positions in national legislatures of 74 countries. This study used a cross-sectional research design with multiple regression analysis.

This study addresses the challenges of developing the intercultural competency of global leaders within the context of the U.S. multinational corporation (U.S.M.C.). This research seeks to examine how organizations develop managers capable of leading in a pluralistic work environment and the implications of this kind of learning on the current assumptions held by intercultural academia and the business community. The research approach was interdisciplinary: combining adult learning theory (self-directed and transformational learning), international business communication and leadership, systems thinking, organizational development and learning, and intercultural theory. The following questions were addressed: How is cultural competence developed, supported, and integrated by the U.S. multinational organization? What challenges and obstacles do organizations face in effectively developing globally competent leaders? How can the intercultural academic community help to facilitate cultural competency development in the organizational context? The study found that, although global leadership competency is largely undefined in organizations, the mandate "to be global" is pervasive. In spite of this, culture in the organizational context and its impact on leadership development and performance are not widely understood in U.S.M.C.s. Yet, the study also found that most organizations do not have programs of any kind that promote intercultural competency development. Reasons for this discrepancy centered mostly on lack of awareness and support at the highest levels in organizations, business cost justification, and the lack of collaboration among (corporate) departments as well as between organizations and the intercultural academic community. Two data sets were used to complete this research. The first set included members of the corporate business units of Learning and Development.(L&D), Human Resources (HR), and Diversity. The second data set was comprised of interculturalists who hailed from the academic community, the business community, or both.

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