The preponderance of evidence from large-scale studies shows a detrimental association between greater acculturation (to mainstream U.S. values and beliefs) and mental health. Prior research also suggests that greater acculturation may be associated with a breakdown of adaptive behaviors and values (e.g., religiosity/spirituality) thereby negatively impacting mental health. In addition, literature generally suggests that enculturation (retention of culture of origin customs and values) is associated with better mental health. However, few studies have examined potential mediators between acculturation/enculturation and mental health; and research on this topic with patients with schizophrenia is particularly scarce. Using a sample of 44 Hispanic and African-American patients with schizophrenia, this study evaluated whether higher acculturation and lower enculturation would be associated with more symptoms of schizophrenia. Religiosity/spirituality, family cohesion, and religious coping were evaluated as potential mediators of these relationships. As hypothesized, greater family cohesion (measured by the Family Environment Scale) was associated with fewer schizophrenia symptoms (measured by the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale). However a meditational model was not supported. Contrary to hypotheses, when examining the total sample, neither acculturation nor enculturation (measured by the Abbreviated Multidimensional Acculturation Scale) were associated with schizophrenia symptoms. Ethnic subgroup analyses were conducted and will be discussed along with study implications, limitations, and directions for future research.

The increased racial and ethnic diversity in the U.S. has resulted in a greater number of minority children in the classroom. Misunderstanding of cultural differences of racial/ethnic minority groups can lead to a misdiagnosis of learning difficulties or a referral to be tested for special education services. The inappropriate placement of racial/ethnic minority students into special education programs has contributed to the trend of disproportionality -- the disproportionate representation of certain minority student populations in special education. The concerns of disproportionality, debated for more than forty years, are presented from two perspectives -- the view that disproportionality is no problem and the opposing view that the negative implications of disproportionality are dangerous. Although there is little disagreement on how to define disproportionality and outline the statistics, the research on determining the cause of disproportionality is more controversial. A range of issues, a few of which include race, culture, and disability definitions, can contribute to the problem of disproportionality. By taking into account social and environmental factors that influence school readiness of ethnic minority students as a likely source of disproportionality, the recommendation of access to early childhood opportunities such as Head Start or other preschool programs has been suggested as one solution to help decrease the disproportionality trend. A review of current research and identification of key issues for further study on the effect of pre-Kindergarten (pre-K) educational services on disproportionality is one way to confront the issue of disproportionality and thereby help our nation's commitment of educational equity for all children. / text

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Master of Arts / In the southwest corner of China, the confluence of cultural diversity and national integration have produced a new kind of voice in the Chinese language: an ethnic voice. Speaking fluently in the Chinese nation’s language and culturally beyond its Han foundations, minority ethnic writers or shaoshu minzu in China are inciting a challenge to the traditional conceptions of Chineseness. In the PRC, the re-imagining of the boundaries between ethnicity, nation, and the globe is being produced in ethnic voices that resist the monopolizing narratives of the CCP and the Han cultural center. Furthermore, in the West where the antiquated conception of China as a monolithic Other is still often employed, the existence of these ethnic voices of difference demands a (re)cognition of its multifaceted and interwoven ethnic, political, and social composition. Three ethnic poets from the southwest are examined in this thesis: Woeser (Tibetan), He Xiaozhu (Miao), and Jimu Langge (Yi). They represent the trajectory of ethnic voice in China along the paradigms of local/ethnic vision, national culture, and global connections. By being both within and outside the Chinese nation and culture, they express a hybrid struggle that exists within the collision of ethnic minority cultures and the Han cultural center. Like the hybridity of postcolonial literature, this is a collision that cannot be reduced to it parts, yet also privileges the glocal impetus of ethnically centered vision. The poets’ voices speak the voice of difference within China, the Chinese language, and Chineseness throughout the world.

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京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(地域研究) / 甲第22559号 / 地博第262号 / 新制||地||99(附属図書館) / 京都大学大学院アジア・アフリカ地域研究研究科東南アジア地域研究専攻 / (主査)教授 速水 洋子, 准教授 伊藤 正子, 准教授 小林 知, 教授 松岡 悦子 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Area Studies / Kyoto University / DGAM

Yes / In this paper we introduce Morgan’s (1986, 1997) eight metaphors for making sense of entrepreneurs’ motives and their view of ‘reality’. Employing Burrell and Morgan’s (1979, 2003) four paradigms for the analysis of organisational theory, we propose a methodology to capture the ‘longitudinal’ journey of minority ethnic entrepreneurs’ original motives for setting up business; and, current and future perceived image. We use a deductive approach by developing a multiple-choice questionnaire based on eight metaphors. The data is collected from 30 small business owner managers/entrepreneurs based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Our initial findings show that the assumptions of most of the respondents conform to the “functionalist” paradigm that place emphases on order, objectivity, rationality and tangible view of ‘reality’. Accordingly most of the respondents selected the functionalist metaphors like ‘Brain’, ‘Machine’ and ‘Psychic Prison’. Interestingly, most of the respondents selected and re-selected functionalist paradigm to indicate their past and future aspirations, perhaps due to their need for business stability and to subside any insecurity feelings with regards to their future. However, interestingly many respondents selected “radical Humanist” or “interpretivist” paradigms to map their current situation. These paradigms portray relatively more entrepreneurial and explorative mindset, perhaps mimicking unease with the current situation and a desire by the respondents to introduce some kind of a change in their current business and social settings. We believe that their metaphorical assumptions could determine their decision making, policy and strategy setting, and, actions. In our view our research instrument is appropriate for conducting ‘longitudinal’ studies for eliciting past, current and future assumptions of entrepreneurs.

The diploma thesis focuses on the acculturation strategies which are used by young adults belonging to Vietnamese ethnic minority in long-term contact with majority. The main goal of the study is to analyze negotiation of identity in young adults from families with migration experience. The research question is how they reflect own previous and recent experiences and I strive to understand what meaning it has for them. In the theoretical part, I introduced the basic concepts and theories of acculturation psychology, acculturation strategies, development of identity, ethnic identity, context of ethnic communities, etc. Furthermore I deal with a number of significant links which have influence to formation of identity, for example family background, attitudes towards their own culture, possibilities for cultural transmission, language skills, context of majority. Thanks to autobiographical narratives we can see the way of daily negotiation of the identity at the young adult ethnic Vietnamese. By using the biographical design method, we will look at the strategies of acculturation, the view of actors and the subjective meanings of moments in their lives. The main research method is biographical narrative interviews with the participants. KEYWORDS acculturation, acculturation strategy, identity, ethnic...

Students of color experience numerous educational disadvantages compared to White students. These disadvantages begin in elementary school and continue into college and adulthood. Ethnic minority students typically have less resources available to them than White students and are typically less prepared for college—academically and financially. Once students of color enroll in college, they face additional barriers due to discrimination and negative attitudes towards diversity. These factors play a key role in student engagement and persistence. The campus racial climate of a university, defined as the overall racial environment of the campus, has been shown to strongly influence students’ feelings of belonging to an institution. This study examined the links among experiences of discrimination, campus openness to diversity, multicultural experiences, academic success, and feelings of school belonging for students of color, in order to identify ways in which we can improve the educational experiences of disadvantaged students. The current study found evidence that many diversity-related experiences such as cross-racial interactions, campus racial climate, cocurricular diversity activities, and discrimination, strongly influenced feelings of school belonging for students of color. These findings add support to previous research that suggests that diversity experiences on college campuses play a significant role in making students feel welcome at an institution. However, diversity-related experiences examined in this study appeared to have little correlation to academic performance and retention. School belonging did not correlate with academic performance. It seems students’ grades may be better explained by internal factors, like motivation, rather than external factors, like the campus environment. Perceptions of more negative cross-racial interactions and more discrimination experiences were linked with more negative perceptions of the campus racial climate. Campus racial climate was linked to students’ desire to pursue higher education in the future. As the amount of positive cross-racial interactions students experienced increased, so did the amount of negative cross-racial interactions. This suggests that higher levels of cross-racial interactions result in both positive and negative experiences. More cross-racial interactions and cocurricular diversity activities were associated with more experiences of discrimination. This suggests that students of color are likely to experience discrimination when interacting with persons of different racial backgrounds or engaging in conversations related to diversity. Overall, diversity-related experiences linked to feelings of school belonging more than academic performance. Findings provide guidance for college-based initiatives to improve campus racial climates, in order to create more welcoming environments for students of color.

Research has shown that body image plays a principle role in predicting the occurrence and extent of eating disordered symptomatology. The term 'body image' has multiple definitions but is most commonly used to refer to self-perceptions of body weight and shape. Evidence shows that Western socio-cultural beliefs encourage females to strive for an extremely thin, unrealistically small figure. The difficulties obtaining this thin-ideal have lead to the development of body image dissatisfaction (BID). Because the thin-ideal is a Western construct, BID was thought to effect only Western, White women, however, research shows that body image concerns and consequently eating pathology are appearing in non-Western, ethnic minority groups where they were once unknown. This has been attributed to increasing contact between ethnic minority groups and Western cultural mores. This would suggest that the degree of attachment a minority individual feels towards their ethnic identity is likely to moderate the development of BID and thus eating concerns. This thesis compared levels of body image dissatisfaction amongst ethnic groups in New Zealand, focussing particularly on Māori and Pakeha. No differences were found to exist amongst these groups with regards to body image dissatisfaction and eating pathology regardless of ethnic attachment. The information found has consequences for clinicians working with clients of Māori extraction and those researching body image dissatisfaction in New Zealand.