The racial dynamic between teachers and students in the United States is increasing. The population of racial minority students continues to grow while the teacher population stays predominantly White. Equity and inclusion, often the foreground in an educational setting, are now being undervalued when needed the most. This study examined and compared pre-service and in-service teachers' implicit attitudes toward racial minority students while also looking at their self-efficacy beliefs in teaching diverse classrooms. Participants included nine pre-service teachers from a four-year university and nine PreK-3 in-service teachers. All participants were from the Southeastern part of the United States. To test the hypothesis that pre-service teachers will have more negative implicit attitudes toward racial minority students, this study used an Implicit Association Test. Although the t-test result comparing both groups, pre-service teachers versus in-service teachers, showed insignificant differences, raw data from participants' Implicit Association Tests showed that more pre-service teachers showed a slight bias towards students from racial majority groups. Results support recommendations and implications for practitioners to better understand how biases may occur in classrooms and how pre-service teachers can be better prepared to teach in diverse classrooms. Keywords: implicit attitudes, implicit bias, racial dynamics, racial minority students, early childhood education

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No description available.

Europe in the 21st century is a continent of cultural and ethnic diversity. Recent enlargement of the European Union to 27 states, constant flows of free trade and the migration of people have resulted in an increasingly diverse Europe. National health systems face the challenge of accommodating the cultural diversity of healthcare providers and service users. The Irish health system is an example of a national health system which has attempted to implement adequate planning and delivery of care and support services, encompassing the needs of minority ethnic communities (MECs) in a new and rapidly changing multicultural Ireland.This research focuses on the challenges of recent multiculturalism in Ireland and describes the Irish health sector's process in the construction of the Whole Organisation Approach (WOA) as the framework for Irish hospitals to respond to the management of diversity and the provision of culturally sensitive healthcare service delivery to members of MECs.The aim of the research is to investigate how six hospitals have implemented the Whole Organisation Approach as recommended in the Irish Health Services Executive's National Intercultural Health Strategy 2007-2012. Research findings indicate to what extent the Irish strategy has been implemented in each hospital and outline factors that promote and impede successful implementation at a hospital level and analyses how each of the three strands, i.e. organisational ethos, workplace environment and service elements necessary to support intercultural training, of the WOA have been implemented across the 6 hospitals.

Rationale: This study was conducted to help improve mental health care for Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) clients as previous research carried out in non-western countries has suggested that western-developed psychotherapies often need to be culturally adapted to become more effective in treating this client group. The aim of this study was to explore how CBT therapists deliver manualised CBT with BME clients and if they make any adaptations, how and to what extent are they implemented. Method: Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) guided the conduct and analysis of one-to-one, semi-structured interviews with six CBT therapists working in an Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) service. The inclusion criteria for participants was accreditation with the BABCP, completion of an IAPT programme CBT diploma and to be currently working in an IAPT service, at least two years experience as a CBT therapist and at least four cases of completed therapy with BME clients. Findings: Four master themes emerged (1) CBT is based on western principles, (2) The complex nature of CBT, (3) Changing practice of manualised CBT and (4) The influence of therapist factors. Conclusion: The participants experienced many issues in their practice of manualised CBT with BME clients which led them to make changes including adaptations to manualised CBT. They described their current practice as being integrative as they incorporated therapeutic approaches other than pure manualised CBT, making them more flexible and adaptable. The adaptations involved altering the cognitive and behavioural interventions to better suit the individual needs of the client. The adaptations took into account the client’s culture, religion, language, psychological mindedness, acculturation to their host country, education and age. The participants’ confidence in CBT and their self-identity as therapists also influenced their overall practice of therapy. Recommendations for practice are discussed in relation to therapeutic practice, training of therapists, supervision and policy makers.

Meningen med LIV1: Semiotisk karaktärsdesign för animation är en rapport skriven för ett examensprojekt utfört av Kaj Banfather och Kristofer Johansson som studerar Medie- och kommunikationsvetenskap: Visuell kommunikation och design vid Karlstads universitet. Projektets uppdragsgivare var organisationen Fryshuset, där en animation som beskriver ett av deras många sociala projekt LIV1, som går ut på att belysa det positiva med etnisk, kulturell och religiös mångfald, skulle skapas. För att gå i linje med Fryshusets värderingar och målet med LIV1 blev det därför av stor vikt att designa de karaktärer som skulle komma att finnas i animationen på ett etiskt sätt som inte förstärker stereotyper. Med teori om stereotyper och banal nationalism utforskades även idén om förekomsten av banala stereotyper. Stereotypa representationer som blivit så pass normaliserade att de ofta inte ses som direkt kontroversiella. För att identifiera de tecken och koder som kom att användas (eller undvikas) för att representera etniska och kulturella minoriteter utan att bygga på befintliga stereotyper, vare sig banala eller inte, utfördes en semiotisk analys av de två populära, svenska TV-serierna Bonusfamiljen och Torpederna. Analysen utfördes genom att undersöka tecken inom kategorierna det estetiska, beteende och kontextualitet. Resultatet visade att kontextualitet var avgörande för hur etniska minoriteter representeras i de båda serierna. När narrativet kretsar kring vad som ska föreställa svenska familjeliv och de relationer och konflikter som förekommer där, visade det sig att etniska minoriteter fick betydligt mindre betydelsefulla roller och därmed kortare skärmtid. När det istället handlade om kriminalitet ökade skärmtiden för etniska minoriteter då de fick viktigare roller, men detta kopplades starkt till att de representerades som kriminella. Beträffande det estetiska och beteende påträffades inga större avvikelser mer än att etniska minoriteter oftare observerades med våldsamma beteenden, men enbart i den serie som handlade om kriminalitet. Även detta kopplades till kontextualitet och hur etniska minoriteter oftare representerades som kriminella då det övergripande var de brottsliga karaktärerna som iakttogs utföra våldshandlingar. Slutresultatet diskuterades i koppling till de nämnda teorierna och även tidigare forskning om representationer av etniska minoriteter och karaktärsdesign. För att undvika att förstärka stereotyper designades karaktärer utifrån undersökningens resultat. De fyra, unga karaktärerna fick därför olika etniciteter och en jämnare fördelning av skärmtid. De placerades även i kreativa miljöer och representerades med intressen därefter för att motverka stereotypen av att etniska minoriteter oftare är kriminella. / The meaning of LIV1: Semiotic character design for animation is a report written for a graduation project by Kaj Banfather and Kristofer Johansson who studies Media and Communication Studies: Visual Communication and Design at Karlstad University. The project's commissioner was the organisation Fryshuset, where an animation describing one of their many social projects, LIV1, that aims to highlight the positive effects of ethnic, cultural and religious diversity, was to be created. To keep in line with Fryshuset's values ​​and the objective of LIV1, it was therefore important to design the characters that would exist in the animation in an ethical way that did not amplify stereotypes. With theories concerning stereotypes and banal nationalism the report also explored the idea of ​​the existence of banal stereotypes. Stereotypical representations that have become normalised to the extent that they are often not seen as directly controversial. To identify the signs and codes that came to be used (or avoided) to represent ethnic and cultural minorities without building on existing stereotypes, whether banal or not, a semiotic analysis of the two popular Swedish television series Bonusfamiljen and Torpederna was performed. The analysis was conducted by examining signs within the categories the aesthetics, behaviour and contextuality. The results showed that contextuality often was crucial for the representation of ethnic minorities in both series. When the narrative revolves around what is supposed to represent Swedish family life and the relationships and conflicts that occur within that, it turned out that ethnic minorities gained significantly less important roles and thus, shorter screen time. When crime was the main topic, screen time for ethnic minorities increased as they were assigned more important roles, but this was linked to being represented as criminals. Regarding the aesthetics and behaviour, no major discrepancies were found more than that ethnic minorities more often were observed with violent behaviours, but only in the series revolving crime. This was also linked to contextuality and how ethnic minorities more often were represented as criminals and how criminal characters mostly were the ones observed to carry out acts of violence. The final results were discussed through the perspectives of the mentioned theories and also previous research on representations of ethnic minorities and character design. In order to avoid enhancing stereotypes, characters were designed based on the results of the analysis. The four young characters therefore received different ethnicities and a more even distribution of screen time. They were also placed in creative environments and then represented with the interests to counteract the stereotype that ethnic minorities more often are criminals.

Internalization and trafficking of ligand-receptor complex rely on a particular set of proteins, e.g. small GTPase protein Rab5 and its activators called guanine nucleotide exchange factors. Rab5-activating protein 6 (RAP6), a Vps9-containing protein, may participate in Rab5-mediated insulin signaling and receptor trafficking. A dicarbonyl compound methylglyoxal was found to alter insulin signaling in preadipocytes. This dissertation aimed to investigate the association of RAP6 activity on 3T3-L1 preadipocyte differentiation and those driven by methylglyoxal. Overexpression of RAP6 inhibited preadipocyte differentiation, Ser473-phosphorylation of Akt1, and expression of adipogenic marker PPARγ, but not C/EBPα. Methylglyoxal (10 µM) increased preadipocyte differentiation, proliferation and expression of PPARγ, C/EBPα and p-Akt1-Ser473, but appeared to be neutralized by RAP6 overexpression. The findings suggest that RAP6 may be a key modulator in regulating the stimulatory effect of methylglyoxal on preadipocyte differentiation. The associations of predominant methylglyoxal-derived adduct, methylglyoxal hydroimidazolone 1 (MGH1), with selected risk factors of chronic diseases in Black participants with and without type 2 diabetes (n=234 controls and n=254 cases) were also investigated. Only in individuals with diabetes, MGH1 levels were positively associated with fasting plasma glucose (B=0.240, p=0.037), homocysteine (B=0.355, p=0.014) and triglyceride (B=0.190, p=0.049). Being African Americans with type 2 diabetes was associated with lower MGH1 levels as compared to being Haitian American with diabetes (B=-0.334, p=0.016). The findings suggest that methylglyoxal may be linked to hyperglycemia and metabolic changes in type 2 diabetes, and may differently impact the development of diabetes across Black subgroups.

Background: Domestic violence and abuse is a public health problem affecting more than one third of all women globally. It usually takes place between individuals in intimate relationships and/or within the family. In the United Kingdom (UK), while theoretical and policy interventions have led to an increase in domestic violence and abuse service provision for women, there is paucity of research on the disclosure and help-seeking practices of women from ethnic minority populations. Aim: To identify factors influencing disclosure and help-seeking practices of Nigerian (ethnic minority population) women resident in England with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse, in order to make recommendations to relevant stakeholders on domestic violence service provision and utilisation. Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative research design was utilised. This included a qualitative systematic review of literature on domestic violence research among women from ethnic minority populations in the UK; individual, in-depth semi-structured interviews with 16 Nigerian women resident in England with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse, and with nine Nigerian religious and community leaders based in England. The interviews were conducted between May 2012 and April 2014, and data were analysed using thematic analysis technique. Findings: Three main themes were identified as factors influencing the disclosure and help-seeking practices of Nigerian (ethnic minority population) women in England, UK. These are socialisation from country of birth, immigration status, and acculturation in the country of immigration. These findings were discussed using the modified sociological theory of domestic violence and abuse. Conclusion: There is a need for appropriate gender socialisation, and collaborative working with ethnic minority community groups and faith-based organisations to enhance access and facilitate utilisation of existing domestic violence services by Nigerian (ethnic minority populations) women resident in England with lived experience of domestic violence and abuse.

The purpose of this study was to test the applicability of the theories of selective perception and selective exposure among ethnic minority viewers of the satirical, ethnic humor of the television program, "All in the Family." This study statistically related the Dogmatism Scale responses to selected program opinions among Jewish and non-Jewish high school students. The results of this survey were inconclusive. None of the hypotheses presented were supported by the evidence of the study; however, unexpected data were found that suggests previously unexplored interpretations of the program.

Background Large proportions of the populations in many European countries, including Germany, are migrants. Migrant children and adolescents tend to be less physically active than their non-migrant peers. However, current research is limited as it does not sufficiently consider different domains of physical activity. Using a representative dataset, the present study examines the patterns of sports participation and other domains of physical activity among migrant and non-migrant children and adolescents residing in Germany. Methods Nationwide data from the Motorik-Modul (MoMo) Study is used. Five different domains of physical activity participation (sports clubs, outside of sports clubs, extra-curricular physical activity, physical activity, outdoor play and active commuting to school) were compared between children and adolescents with no, one-sided and two-sided migration background using logistic regression adjusted for demographic factors. Interaction terms were included in order to examine whether difference between the three groups differ by age and gender. Results Information on n = 3,323 children and adolescents was available. As compared to non-migrants, children and adolescents with a two-sided migration background had a 40% (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 0.60, 95%-CI: 0.44–0.81), those with a one-sided migration background a 26% (aOR = 0.74, 95%-CI: 0.55-<1.00) lower chance of participating in sport club activities. In contrast, children and adolescents with a two-sided migration background were at 65% higher chance of participating in extra-curricular physical activity than non-migrants (OR = 1.65, 95%-CI: 1.15–2.36). Conclusion The study shows that differences in levels of physical activity between migrant and non-migrant children and adolescents are less pronounced than previous research has suggested. In particular, it reveals that migrants are only disadvantaged regarding participation in sports clubs whereas they fare better with respect to extra-curricular physical activity. Interventions should therefore address barriers migrant children and adolescents encounter in the access to sport clubs while maintaining their high level of extra-curricular physical activity.