<p> Using historical and spatial methods to analyze a model academic medical center built after the 1965 Watts Riots&mdash;King-Drew Medical Center&mdash;in South Los Angeles, <i>Worthy of Care?</i> argues that multiculturalism was productive in dividing society between a multicultural mainstream and a <i>&ldquo;permanent underclass.&rdquo;</i> Shaped by new possibilities for citizen inclusion, greater participation in mainstream society, and access to healthcare under President Johnson&rsquo;s landmark health and antipoverty laws, black medical professionals pioneered the design of the first federally-funded and black-led urban academic medical center attached to new cutting-edge health infrastructure&mdash;comprehensive health clinics, community mental health centers, and modern emergency rooms. It was important to black medical and political leaders that this new health system not only produce individual bodily health in black citizens but also fight the racial stigma of biological inferiority, poverty, and mental illness in black communities by producing heterosexuality, able-bodiedness, and employment as normal and natural to black health. </p><p> By the time King-Drew opened in 1972, however, medical and political leaders had to contend with the changing landscape of Los Angeles&rsquo; globalizing economy. Sizable numbers of immigrants from Asia and Latin America and new social movements associated with welfare, disability, women&rsquo;s, and gay rights constitutive of these economic changes also began to impact the mission and function of the medical center. Faced with new phenomena such as &ldquo;new homelessness,&rdquo; undocumented immigration, &ldquo;working poverty,&rdquo; and gang and drug violence, the dissertation illustrates how medical infrastructure stigmatized urban residents of color for the ways they countered normative expectations of race and sexuality. The dissertation ultimately contends that, rather than eradicate poverty, the publicly funded medical center became productive for its capacity to contain and manage it by making working motherhood, racialized violence, and homeless health and mental health services profitable for a new enlarged free market healthcare and social service industry.</p><p>

This research was concerned with how parents from different ethnic groups manage their children's respiratory and febrile illnesses, and their consultations at the general practitioner (GP). A review of the few British studies looking at parental health behaviour revealed that parents are continually having to make complex decisions, in which the clinical characteristics of the illness and the behaviour of the child are the most important factors in predictions of what the parent will do. Despite the belief among some GPs that their Asian patients consult more often and for trivial illnesses, we predicted that consultations, however many there are, will reflect rational decisions on the part of the parents. What may appear trivial to a doctor may not be for a parent. Including our pilot studies, we interviewed parents of 159 children - aged between two and eleven years - from three general practices in the inner-city area of Leeds. These parents were either white and indigenous, Muslims, Sikhs or Afro-Caribbeans; and approximately half of the children had been taken to see the doctor in the previous fortnight with a respiratory/febrile complaint, whereas the other half had not been to see a doctor for at least four months.

<p> This dissertation studies the survival, or resistance, of regional languages in France through the use of two case studies: Picard in Picardy and Proven&ccedil;al in Provence. In order to create the French nation, the revolutionaries of 1789 decided upon the necessity of political unity. In order to facilitate, or to create, this unity, the cultural provinces were abolished and generic <i> d&eacute;partements</i> were created in their stead. However, when political unity did not occur immediately after the territorial change, the revolutionaries determined that national unity, both political and cultural, would be attained through the imposition of the French language. It was thus language that was deemed to be the greatest separating factor of the French at this period. In 1794, Abb&eacute; Gr&eacute;goire called for the &ldquo;programmed demise&rdquo; of the regional languages through education in and of French. While this program was not officially enacted until the Third Republic (1870&ndash;1914), due to numerous factors, these languages were supposed to have died long ago. While their numbers of speakers have decreased, and there are no longer any monolingual regional language speakers, they still exist. How is this fact possible? Despite explanations attributed to enduring diglossia, the extended process of language shift or time itself, this study focuses on regional identity and posits that the durable bond between regional identity and language is the explanation.</p><p>

<p> Abstract This work advances a practical theology of relationships that attend to the narratives, struggles, and needs of Christians caught in ethnic and religious violence in Taraba, a northeastern state in Nigeria. The study re-visions dialogue, in particular, the 'dialogue of life' which leads to fostering inter-community relations, advancing lasting peace in Nigeria, Africa and beyond. This work utilizes the praxis method that is interpretive and dialogical. It builds on John Baptist Metz&rsquo;s categorical Method and incorporates the praxis aspects of the Cardijin method (see, judge and act). The purpose of the praxis is to transform difficult pastoral situations into life flourishing situations. The study seeks to motivate a re-examination of the design and governance of conflicting communities and contribute towards developing an inclusive, interreligious and ecumenical ecclesiology. The research describes the reality of social context in order to discern conflicting cultural and religious understandings that inform the use of social medium for dialogue. Granted there are challenges of social violence across contemporary Nigeria, and the impact of ethnic and religious crises that have led to so many ruptures in Nigeria, in particular, Taraba State the church can be an effective instrument in rebuilding these relationships and fostering reconciliation.</p><p> As dialogical research, this study adopts a method of practical theological reflection that builds on three categories of Metz&rsquo;s method that explores the &ldquo;judging&rdquo; portion of the work in order to engage both African tradition and Catholic theological wisdom. In this way, a deeper consideration of the impact of violence both interpersonal and structural is brought forth. Notably, evidence from contemporary social science in terms of analysis of the people involved in Taraba State and similar conflicts show that the social psychological dimension of violence is long-term stress that ultimately destroys both personal and social relationships. Knowing that identity and social experiences are shaped by relationships Christians are called to understand their interpersonal social relationships in the light of scripture and tradition. God's self-revelation can only be in relationship since God reveals God self as a Trinitarian community of persons. This is well expressed in the experience of the Eucharist which further reveals a profound sense of relationship where divine narrative intersects with human narrative.</p><p> Finally, this study explores narratives as another critical category in the theological reflection on violence in Nigeria and the &ldquo;dialogue of life&rdquo; as a Catholic response. The study examines the African understanding of community, which itself builds on narratives and relationships. Ultimately, the understanding of community also shapes everyday ecclesiology. When these categories are, therefore, taken together, they confirm the value of connecting magisterial teaching regarding a &ldquo;dialogue of life,&rdquo; developed in the context of interreligious dialogue, with magisterial social teaching. </p><p> The strength of this work is its major contribution to method which builds on Metz&rsquo;s categorical method utilized here in relationships, narratives, community and the dialogue of life. It is hoped that the work brings reconciliation in Taraba State, and leads to healing among warring communities both within and without Nigeria. The journey begins with the daily Christian practices of community living surmised here as the &lsquo;dialogue of life.&rsquo;</p><p>

<p> This research explores Chicanx identity and how <i>cultura,</i> specifically <i>son jarocho,</i> can be used to reshape and remake identity. <i>Son jarocho,</i> a musical and cultural tradition from Veracruz, M&eacute;xico, has moved across borders, and is now present in the U.S. (D&iacute;az-S&aacute;nchez and Hern&aacute;ndez, 2013). However, there is little documentation as to how <i>son jarocho</i> is embodied in the communities that are practicing this music. This research documents how an intergenerational collective of Chicanxs in San Antonio, <i>Tejas </i> is using <i>son jarocho</i> and its <i>cultura</i> to decolonize their identities, reclaim indigenous and afro-mestizo roots, and as a vehicle for social justice. Through <i>testimonios</i> from Chicanxs, this thesis documents how <i>son jarocho</i> traditions and culture have formed transnational communities between Chicanxs and communities in Veracruz, <i>M&eacute;xico.</i> Through Chicana feminist epistemologies (Delgado Bernal, 1998) and decolonial research methods (Tuhiwai Smith, 2012), this thesis documents Chicanx stories through Chicanx voices. This research aims to help fill the need for documentation&mdash;through Chicanx voices&mdash;on how Chicanxs today are using the arts to build community. </p><p>

This thesis examines the cultural identity of Franco-American teenagers living in Berlin, New Hampshire. Many questions lie at the core of the research: Do these adolescents speak French? If so, in which context do they speak it? How do they interpret their French roots? How do they identify themselves in regards to the Franco-American community? These questions are answered by closely looking at the roles played by language, culture and milieu in cultural identity. In November 2000, a questionnaire was distributed to 342 teenagers attending Berlin High School. Interviews of leaders of the Franco-American community were conducted to determine their views on Berlin's Franco-American youth. The teenagers revealed many interesting details about family members who speak French, the contexts in which French is spoken, their own attitudes towards the French language, their interest for the French culture, the key elements, in their view, that comprise Franco-American culture and the way they chose to identify themselves. The majority of the teenagers have "symbolic" Franco-American identities that are no longer rooted in the knowledge of the French language. Their parents represent Berlin's last generation who know and speak French. As a result, a cultural divide lies between the teenagers, of whom many speak only little French, and their parents, who identify much more with the French culture and of whom many still speak French.

The events and aftermath of the September 11th attack on the United States had profound effects on Canadians and Americans alike. For some however, the implications are deeply personal. Afghan-Canadians, particularly young men suddenly found themselves defined as "risky" in official discourses (i.e. legislation), in state practices (i.e. airports, borders), in the media and in social interactions. Ten in-depth interviews with Afghan-Canadian men where conducted in order to examine how they experience and manage this newly ascribed identity. Foucauldian governmentality and "risk" theories were employed to make sense of the structural stigma, its genesis and its impact on the lives of this minority group. In addition Goffman's symbolic interactionism approach provided the lens through which to understand Afghan-Canadian males' experiences of symbolic stigma and their stigma management techniques during personal interactions. The combination of these theoretical frameworks allows us to situate the individual within broader social, regulatory and discursive frameworks while attending to their subjectivity and recognizing their engagement with (and resistance to) regulatory discourses/practices. The accounts of my Afghan-Canadian participants affirm the experiences of structural stigma at governmental sites of regulation (i.e. borders & airports) and interpersonal stigma during social interaction. It also revealed these men to be active agents who, although intimidated, nonetheless challenged the dominant discourse through multifaceted alternate discourses and practiced "everyday acts" of resistance.

The flow of immigrants to Canada continues to increase steadily. Questions regarding identity are thus unavoidable in order to understand how diasporic identities are constructed within a multicultural Canada. An important contribution to this debate is embedded in the cinematographic expressions that immigrants produce. Such cultural products serve not only as mean to represent themselves, but also to negotiate their positions in regards to Canadian society, as well as their countries of origin. The Latin American community is an interesting example, as multiple cultures, nations, histories, and identities are included within it. This study critically analyzes how identity is represented in the films produced by Latin Americans in Quebec. The analysis takes into account the films, the filmmaker's perspective and the conditions these documentaries were produced in. Given these elements, this research looks at how a Latin American identity is constructed from the diaspora, and what kind of cinematographic strategies the filmmakers use to articulate such an identity.

The impact of ethnic residential concentration on the process of integration of ethnic minorities into the mainstream society has been increasingly debated among both scholars and policy makers across Europe. This thesis seeks to contribute to this debate by addressing the effect of ethnic residential concentration on the political participation of Black Africans in Britain. The study pursues three main objectives: investigating the marginalising or mobilising impact of co-ethnic residential concentration on political participation; disentangling the processes underpinning this relationship by focusing on the effect of ethnic-based social networks, represented here by voluntary organisations, religious institutions and informal social networks; exploring the influence of the immigration-related heterogeneity that characterises the Black African community on the relationship between residential concentration, ethnic social networks and political participation. A mixed-method approach is adopted. The quantitative enquiry focuses on the Black African community as a whole and relies on secondary data drawn from the 2010 Ethnic Minority British Electoral Survey. The qualitative enquiry is based on primary data collected through face-to-face interviews and participant observation among Ghanaians and Somalis in London. The quantitative analysis shows that, among Black Africans, residential concentration has a mobilising effect on voter turnout but a marginalising effect on non-electoral participation. Ethnic social networks do not seem to mediate this relationship. Residential concentration is significantly, and positively, correlated to individual participation in ethnic places of worship and embeddedness in ethnic informal networks but not to involvement in ethnic organisations. In turn, the latter positively influences non-electoral engagement whereas ethnic places of worship and informal networks are not related to political engagement. The qualitative findings suggest that residential concentration is more relevant for the creation of and participation in ethnic organisations among Somalis than among Ghanaians. However, this relationship is likely to be influenced by other contextual factors such as institutional support, ethnic diversity and tribal homogeneity. Somali organisations also seem to play a more active political role than Ghanaian groups with regard to both electoral and non-electoral engagement. The two communities appear to be more similar when considering the relationship between ethnic religious institutions and informal connections with co-ethnics. These networks are not necessarily dependent on ethnic residential clustering and their effect on political engagement is primarily linked to informal political discussion. Overall, the results suggest that the relationship between residential concentration, ethnic social networks and political participation of Black Africans varies considerably between the two national groups researched, primarily due to their immigration-related characteristics, as well as across modes of political engagement (i.e. electoral, non-electoral) and local contexts.

Ethnic identity development is a process that occurs for all individuals, and weakness in ethnic identity is associated with numerous psychosocial difficulties. Security in ethnic identity can be difficult for those exposed to varying attitudes and behaviors in a multicultural society. As such, the current study examined the influence of mindfulness and self-compassion on ethnic identity development. a sample of 479 undergraduate students completed online self-report questionnaires measuring demographic information, mindfulness, self-compassion, ethnic identity status, and self-esteem. Results suggested that mindfulness and self-compassion are significant negative predictors of ethnic identity, and that self-compassion was a better predictor of ethnic identity status than was mindfulness. Self-compassion did not moderate the relationship between mindfulness and ethnic identity status, as was hypothesized. the sample included primarily Caucasian (n = 278) individuals born in the United States, which likely limited generalizability of findings. Implications of the current findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.