The purpose of this study was to examine how a select group of adults of African-American/Euro-American heritage came to choose or develop a sense of racial identity. The seven participants were women and men who ranged in age from twenty-one to fifty-nine, and who had chosen Black, White, or Mixed racial identities. Utilizing in-depth phenomenological interviewing, participants were asked how their life experiences had led them to choose a particular racial identity, how they experienced the world in light of their chosen identity, and the meaning which they made of their choice of identity given their actual biological racial heritage. The data was presented as in-depth profiles taken from transcripts of the interviews for each participant. In addition, themes which emerged when participants were compared within and across chosen racial identity groups, gender groups, and age groups were highlighted. The factors which were seen as having the most influence on choice of racial identity were past and current cultural affiliations, early experiences and socialization, and physical appearance. Additional factors which played a lesser role in racial identity development included the nature and extent of individual political experiences or orientation, the nature of social values within a given historical period, the biological racial heritage of the individual, and a participant's sense of spirituality and connection to other social identities such as gender, religion, age, and ethnic identity. An individual's awareness of him or herself in relation to race and racism as outlined in existing racial identity development literature was described as another factor which could be utilized to understand choice of racial identity. Each of these individual factors was defined and arranged into a conceptual framework. The interconnections between some of the factors, such as culture and early socialization, were also explored. The experiences of participants were compared with the processes of identity development outlined in select works on Black, White, and Bi-racial populations. The dissertation also presented a number of recommendations for individuals who worked with bi-racial people.

This descriptive study presents strategies and recommendations that, if adopted and implemented effectively, can lead to a significant increase in the acknowledgment of the importance of vocational education in Massachusetts' Black communities, as well as lead to an increase in the number of minority youth expressing interest in vocational technical education. This will lead to prospects for change. A closer look will be taken at the quality of education being offered in various vocational technical schools and programs especially by minority parents, educators, and civic leaders. The pressure for quality in vocational education will be very great in Massachusetts' Black communities; this means that educators, civic leaders, and parents will begin to ask more and harder questions regarding decisionmaking, allocation and use of resources, and the quality and profile of the teaching profession in vocational technical education in Massachusetts. An important expectation to be noted here, based on what some union officials have stated about vocational education and Blacks, is that the union community wants to cooperate with minority leaders and parents who are seeking to make vocational education work for their youth. This study began with the theme that vocational technical education can be a creative and exciting "public policy glue" tying together demography, the economic needs of Massachusetts, and the educational needs of Black communities. It raised the awareness of the importance of vocational education in minority communities through various forums and meetings; it brought together a network of individuals and organizations which could be the basis of renewed interest and attention to the role that vocational education can play in the economic development of minority communities, and in the improvement of the quality and relevance of education in these communities. Finally, the study resulted in several concrete strategies and recommendations which, if implemented effectively, could lay the foundation necessary to guarantee a significant presence of Blacks in the world of vocational education in Massachusetts.

Articles published in the Journal of Family Psychology over a 23-year period (1990-2012) were analyzed for their attention to ethnic groups in the United States. Articles were analyzed in terms of their ethnic population of interest, topic of study, funding sources, sample characteristics, and use of measures. Findings indicated that the journal has showed an increased focus on and sensitivity to issues relevant to ethnic groups in the U.S. However, there are several gaps in research for some groups, especially for Native American populations. Recommendations are offered to family science researchers, psychologists and other mental health professionals and educators.

No description available.

Available literature showed that the Egyptian diaspora (e.g., emigrants who share a common situations and work for the same cause) has been developing and engaging politically in the United States during the 2011 Egyptian revolution. The diasporas’ role was of interest to researchers and policymakers; however, the literature concerning diasporas has underexamined the Egyptian diaspora regarding its proliferation and active political engagement. Using the conflict and climate theories of Truman, and Cigler and Loomis in conjunction with the political engagement factors theory of Jang as the theoretical foundation of the study, the purpose was to explore how members of the diaspora explain and perceive their political engagement in Washington, DC. In this qualitative study, the key characteristics of diaspora and political and social factors of home and host countries that enable and inhibit that engagement regarding particular issues were addressed through 16 in-depth, face-to-face interviews with Egyptian-Americans. Maxwell and Miller’s doubled-strategy and Yin’s case study steps approach were used for analysis. The findings indicated that the engagement of the diaspora except Coptic and some Islamic groups are passive most of the time because of the political home culture; despite that fact, the diaspora became active for a short time because of the Egyptian revolution. Future research should exam those aspects to better understand the mechanism of building an Egyptian lobby to work continuously and effectively on Egyptian interests in the United States. The diaspora and policymakers may use the study results to help improve the role of this diaspora to impose positive social changes in Egypt and the future political engagement of Egyptian younger generations.

At the dawn of independence in Africa, colonial rulers hastily introduced new structures such as national parliaments, local councils, and opposition parties in a bid to channel popular demands into responsive policies. These structures while all laudable were no match for the ethnic identities that had been created during the colonial period. Colonial rulers had drawn ethnic and geographic boundaries arbitrarily perhaps as part of the divide and rule policy which are said to have contributed immensely to the development of ethnic identities. This seems to give credibility to Mngomezulu argument that the concept of ‘ethnicity’ itself was imposed by colonial administrators upon an otherwise undifferentiated group of people. Thus, while it may be true that Africans in the pre-colonial societies were not homogeneous as evidenced by the migration of various groups across the continent, the colonial era played on the divisions making them rigid. / Thesis (LLM (Human Rights and Democratisation in Africa)) -- University of Pretoria, 2011. / http://www.chr.up.ac.za/ / nf2012 / Centre for Human Rights / LLM

This volume (in 2 parts) is a study of 218 historical photographs in the collection of the Museum of Ethnography in Leipzig relating to three ethnic groups in East Africa - the Maasai, Chagga and Pare. / Dieser Band präsentiert (in zwei Teilen) eine Studie von 218 historischen Fotografien der Sammlung des Museums für Völkerkunde zu Leipzig im Bezug auf drei ethnische Gruppen in Ostafrika - die Maasai, Chagga und Pare.

This study focuses on the impact of parental native language proficiency on the ethnic identities of 30 biculturals. By completing a questionnaire, the individual's father's and mother's native language proficiencies are measured, as well as the salience of both of the individual's ethnicities. Approximately 43% of the participants are more proficient in the parental native language that corresponds to their salient ethnic identity, 23% identify with the ethnicity that corresponds to the less proficient native language, and 33% identify equally with both their parents' ethnicities, are equally proficient in their native languages, or both. The main implication of the study is, that language is an important but not sufficient ethnic identity marker. The results suggest that the salient ethnic identity is likely to be that of the more proficient parental native language. Other factors such as the father-figure effect, country of residence, multilingualism, and age are also determined influential.

No description available.

No description available.