This dissertation is a multi-sited ethnographic study of the cultural formations of moral and political community among Tamils displaced and dispersed by three decades of war and political violence in Sri Lanka. Drawing on twenty months of field research among Tamils living in Toronto, Canada and Tamil Nadu, India, I inquire into the histories, discourses, and practices of diasporic activism at the end of war between the Government of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). Tamils abroad were mobilized to protest the war, culminating in months of spectacular mass demonstrations in metropolitan cities around the world. Participant-observation among activists and their families in diaspora neighborhoods and refugee camps, and their public events and actions, as well as semi-structured interviews, media analysis and archival work, reveal how “diaspora” has become a capacious site of political becoming for the identification and mobilization of Tamils within, across, and beyond-nation states and their borders. Part One of this study considers how migration and militancy have historically transformed Tamil society, giving rise to a diasporic politics with competing ethical obligations for Tamils living outside Sri Lanka. Chapters One and Two describe and analyze how distinct trajectories of migration and settlement led to diverse forms of social and political action among diaspora Tamils during Sri Lanka’s 2002 ceasefire and peace process. Chapter Three turns to the history and historiography of Sri Lanka to contrast narratives about the emergence of Tamil politics, nationalism and militancy with diaspora narratives developed through life history interviews with activists. Taken together, these chapters provide a layered social and historical context for the ethnography of Tamil diaspora life and activism. Part Two of the dissertation ethnographically explores how and why Tamils in Canada and India protested the recent war, soliciting their states, national and transnational publics, and each other to “take immediate action” on behalf of suffering civilians. Chapter Four examines diaspora community formation and activism in Toronto, a city with the largest population of Sri Lankan Tamils outside Asia, in the wake of Canada’s ban on the LTTE. Chapter Five turns to refugee camps in Tamil Nadu, India, to discuss how camp life shaped refugee politics and activism, while Chapter Six follows the narratives of two migrants waiting and preparing to migrate from India to the West. Chapter Seven examines how Tamil activists in Toronto and Tamil Nadu publicly invoked, represented, and performed suffering to mobilize action against the war. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of the modes of Tamil migration, asylum-seeking, and diaspora activism that emerged in response to the war’s end and its aftermaths. In their actions of protest and dissent, I argue that Tamils from Sri Lanka create new modes of belonging and citizenship out of transnational lives forged from wartime migration and resettlement in multicultural and pluralist states. A political subject of “Tamil diaspora” has thus emerged, and continues to shape Sri Lanka’s post-war futures. This ethnography contributes to scholarly debates on violence, subjectivity and agency; the nation-state and citizenship; and the politics of human rights and humanitarianism at the intersections of diaspora, refugee and South Asian studies.

Using a grounded theory methodology, this research sought to describe the occupational change process Indian women experience as they settle in a new environment, with a focus on how they sustain their sense of self and well-being. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight women of Indian origin who had immigrated to New Zealand within the past five years in an attempt to generate theory about the processes that these immigrants' experience. A constant comparative analysis revealed a central change process, Two Becoming One, which encompassed three interconnecting occupational processes. The first process women experience is Oh God, Where Did I Come?. In this process, where the environment is new and unfamiliar, the women feel compelled to do familiar activities that they know they can accomplish, thus increasing confidence and supporting well-being. The second process, Being In The Change, sees the women learning more about their new environment and engaging in new occupations, while continuing to hold on to doing familiar activities. A New Zealander with an Indian Soul finds the women doing more as they embrace a strengthening sense of self and well-being and strive to build their future in a new land. Central to these three processes is the core category Two Becoming One. This process is a commentary on the women's journeys of integrating the demands of two cultures, each with its own unique environment and ways of doing things, while supporting a healthy sense of self and well-being throughout the experience. The study findings demonstrate the dynamic interplay that occurs within a person-environment-occupation interface. Situating the findings within current literature reveals the limitation of previous understandings of the person-environment-occupation dynamic, in relation to people performing in an unfamiliar environment. With an increasing trend of immigration worldwide, this study brings to light the importance of understanding the bearing that environmental context has on occupation and the resulting impact for persons' sense of self and well-being. Further research in this area is required to gain deeper awareness of the ways in which people interact with their environment over time, and the resultant effect on occupation.

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Traditional indicators of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk may not be appropriate for Asian Indians. We designed a cross-sectional study of body fat distribution, apoB/apoA1 ratio and adipokines of Northern Indians compared to Caucasians to determine if there is a different relationship between these parameters. Indian (men: n = 54; women n = 28) and Caucasian (men: n= 32; women, n = 51) subjects were recruited who were between the ages of 20 and 60 years. Subjects were excluded if they had a history of CVD or were taking lipid lowering medications. Body fat percentage (BF%) was measured using bioelectrical impedance analysis. Indian subjects had a substantially higher waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) ratio than Caucasian subjects (men: 0.93 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.86 +/- 0.01, p < 0.001; women: 0.88 +/- 0.01 vs. 0.76 +/- 0.01, p < 0.0001). Interestingly, while WHR correlated strongly with BF% in Caucasians (men: r = 0.63 p = 0.0002; women: r = 0.74, p < 0.0001, respectively) there was no correlation in Indians (men: r = 0.22, ns; women: r = 0.23, ns). The regression lines for WHR vs. BF% of Indians compared to Caucasians was significantly different (men p = 0.02, women p = 0.002). A similar pattern of correlation was seen with WHR and BMI. In addition, Indian men and women had a higher apoB/A1 ratio than Caucasians: the most powerful lipoprotein measure of CVD risk (men: 0.84+/-0.04 vs. 0.66+/-0.04, p=0.001; women: 0.70+/-0.04 vs. 0.56+/-0.03, p = 0.003, respectively). Leptin levels were higher and adiponectin levels in lower in the Indian men and women. Hypothetically, these alterations in body composition, apoB/apoA1 and adipokines could be due to alterations in adipocyte number.

This thesis examines how physicians in the Indian diaspora living in Canada---both those trained in Ayurveda in India (vaidyas) and those trained in Western medicine in India (MDs)---view the practice of Ayurveda in Canada. More specifically, it examines how their views have been influenced by New Age thought in general and Transcendental Meditation in particular and how these perceptions reflect the changing relation of religion and Ayurvedic medicine. It is the intent of this thesis to show that Ayurveda in Canada exists mainly as part of the greater New Age movement, as a transformed system that is inspired by both Hinduism and New Age thought, and that this transformation of Ayurveda evokes two distinct responses from Indian diaspora medical personnel in Canada---one unsupportive and one partially supportive. To the dismay of "traditional" Indians and to the praise of "modern" Indians, New Age Ayurvedic organizations strongly emphasize their version of "spirituality" as the primary goal of Ayurveda, whereas Indian forms of Ayurveda---both in the past and today---generally approach religion and spirituality secondarily. Thus, the role of religion and spirituality become major controversial issues in New Age Ayurveda. From the "traditional" point of view, the commercial achievements of New Age organizations (such as the Transcendental Meditation Movement) are not indicative of a successful introduction of Ayurveda in North America and run contrary to classical Ayurvedic principles, with regard to religious and medical practice. But, from the "modern" point of view, the New Age Ayurvedic emphasis on spirituality is indicative of an inevitable evolution of the system in North America.

Using a grounded theory methodology, this research sought to describe the occupational change process Indian women experience as they settle in a new environment, with a focus on how they sustain their sense of self and well-being. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight women of Indian origin who had immigrated to New Zealand within the past five years in an attempt to generate theory about the processes that these immigrants' experience. A constant comparative analysis revealed a central change process, Two Becoming One, which encompassed three interconnecting occupational processes. The first process women experience is Oh God, Where Did I Come?. In this process, where the environment is new and unfamiliar, the women feel compelled to do familiar activities that they know they can accomplish, thus increasing confidence and supporting well-being. The second process, Being In The Change, sees the women learning more about their new environment and engaging in new occupations, while continuing to hold on to doing familiar activities. A New Zealander with an Indian Soul finds the women doing more as they embrace a strengthening sense of self and well-being and strive to build their future in a new land. Central to these three processes is the core category Two Becoming One. This process is a commentary on the women's journeys of integrating the demands of two cultures, each with its own unique environment and ways of doing things, while supporting a healthy sense of self and well-being throughout the experience. The study findings demonstrate the dynamic interplay that occurs within a person-environment-occupation interface. Situating the findings within current literature reveals the limitation of previous understandings of the person-environment-occupation dynamic, in relation to people performing in an unfamiliar environment. With an increasing trend of immigration worldwide, this study brings to light the importance of understanding the bearing that environmental context has on occupation and the resulting impact for persons' sense of self and well-being. Further research in this area is required to gain deeper awareness of the ways in which people interact with their environment over time, and the resultant effect on occupation.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 118-121).

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-134).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 155-183).

Thesis (Psy. D.)--Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, IL, 2003. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 115-134).