This thesis attempts to understand the value chain of ethno-cultural vegetables (ECV) in Ontario to develop recommendations to benefit farmers and other stakeholders. This research has used a mixed method approach. At present ECV demand is huge and much of it is imported which involves long food miles. Growing ECV locally has multiple benefits to the society and environment. Two types of major value chains with many variations can be identified due to a range of socio-cultural, economic and physical factors. Small and large scale farmers were involved in local ECV production. The Ontario Food Terminal and other importers play a significant role in ECV supply. Supermarkets and ethnic grocery stores were important in ECV marketing. Local producers have the opportunity to supply fresh ECV which requires knowledge about production under local conditions, raising consumer awareness, educating all the stakeholders of the ECV value chain regarding benefits and market potentials. / Vineland research and Innovation Center

This thesis contributes to the limited demographic literature on Central Asia – the region through which led the great Silk Road – an ancient route of trade and cultural exchange between East and West. We focus on Kyrgyzstan and countries in its immediate neighborhood: Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. We analyze the dynamic interplay between marriage, childbearing, and migration, and examine fertility intentions and intentions to migrate as predictors of demographic outcomes. The thesis consists of four co-authored and one single-authored paper connected through a common theme of ethno-cultural differences in demographic behavior. In the first three studies, we explore the link between migration and family formation. We demonstrate that increased fertility of recent migrants is attributable to marriage-related resettlements. In paper four, we provide an analysis of intentions to move abroad. Our results suggest that ethnicity plays a significant role, independent of other factors, in determining migration plans and preferences, and detect ethnic-specific effects of marriage, childbearing, and social capital on the inclination to migrate. In paper five, we compare the fertility and fertility intentions of ethnic majority and minority groups in three neighboring countries of the region. We explain fertility differentials between ethnic groups in terms of the combined effects of their status in society, country-level differences in institutional settings, and historical and cultural factors. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 5: Manuscript.</p>

This thesis investigated the retail market for ethno-cultural vegetable in the GTA and Guelph focusing on Chinese, South Asian and Afro- Caribbean. Price structure and marketing strategies were studied using survey data. Both qualitative and quantitative data was collected on a bi-weekly basis over three seasons in ethnic and mainstream stores. Analysis using SPSS revealed vegetable prices were not always lower in mainstream stores. The study showed that ethno-cultural vegetable pricing was controlled by the cheaper mainstream stores with some ethnic stores having to adjust their prices to meet those of the lower mainstream stores. The quality of ethno-cultural vegetables was also found to be poor across stores with poorest qualities in ethnic stores, a fact attributed to poor facilities. Finally ethnic stores were better stocked with ethno-cultural vegetables. Ethnic stores are important in the supply of ethno-cultural vegetables but are not well organised to face the retail competition hence the need to improve. / The University of Guelph, Ontario Graduate Scholarship in Science and Technology (OGSST), OMAFRA (Agri-Food and Rural Link, and OMAFRA's New Directions Research Program) and the family of J. Alden and Isobelle McLean.

Darbo objektas – Sūduvos regiono muziejų etnokultūrinė veikla. Pristatomi didieji savivaldybių muziejai: Marijampolės kraštotyros muziejus (Marijampolė), Vilkaviškio (Paežeriai) ir Zanavykų (Girėnai) krašto muziejai, 3 privatūs ir 19 visuomeninių muziejų, esančių Sūduvoje. Darbo tikslas – išanalizuoti minėtų Sūduvos regione esančių muziejų edukacinę, etnokultūrinę veiklą, ją palyginti ir apibendrinti. Darbo tema aktuali tuo, kad visapusis žmogaus ugdymas privalo apimti visas žmogiškojo gyvenimo sritis, neišskiriant ir vienos svarbiausių – savo šaknų, papročių bei tradicijų išsaugojimo ir puoselėjimo. Šių dienų vaikai ir jaunimas nė neįsivaizduoja, kaip galima ne pirkti, o patiems išsiausti audeklą, nusivyti virvę, nusipinti pintinę, išsikepti duoną. Tėvai yra prigimtiniai ir nepakeičiami savo vaikų lavinimo veiksniai, šeimos užduotis – puoselėti etnokultūrinį mikroklimatą, perduoti tradicijų bei papročių paveldą. Todėl ir mokytojai, ir muziejininkai stengiasi padėti šeimai populiarinti ir išsaugoti etnokultūrinį palikimą. Darbą sudaro trys dalys: Įvadas, Bendroji Sūduvos krašto muziejų charakteristika bei Etnokultūrinės edukacinės veiklos organizavimas. Pirmoje darbo dalyje siekiama atskleisti muziejaus kaip mokslo įstaigos specifiškumą, aptariamos Sūduvos muziejų etnokultūrinio tyrimo prielaidos. Antroje darbo dalyje pateikiama bendra Sūduvos krašto muziejų charakteristika, pristatomi didieji savivaldybių muziejai.Trečioje darbo dalyje kalbama apie edukacijos muziejuje... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The object of this work is ethnocultural activity in the museums of Sūduva. The largest museums of the local administration are talked: The ethnography museum in Marijampolė, the museums in Vilkaviškis (Paežeriai) and Zanavykai (Girėnai), 3 private and 19 public museums that are in Sūduva. Purpose of this work is to analyse the educational, ethno-cultural activity in the mentioned museums, compare and summarize it. Theme of this work is actual because of that the upbringing of the human being must include all spheres of human life, not excluding one of the most important one – maintaining and cherishing your customs, traditions. Nowadays children, youth cannot even imagine how not to buy, but to weave the cloth, bake the bread and etc. by themselves. That is why teachers and people who work in the museums try to help the family to popularize and to maintain the ethno-cultural heritage of the past. The work contains three parts. In the first one author seeks to reveal the peculiarity of the museum as the institution of science, the ethno-cultural premises of the research of Sūduva museums are talked. In the second part of the work the general characteristics of Sūduva museums is presented. In the third part of the work the peculiarity of education in the museums, the experience of preparing the displays are analyzed. Mostly the educational programs, the methods of preparing it are analyzed in this work. The methods of this work are interview, descriptive, statistic and... [to full text]

In multicultural societies like Canada where cultural diversity always exist, ethnic groups strive to preserve their cultural heritage and not become assimilated by the mainstream culture. Today, ethnic groups such as the Hellenic Community of Ottawa seek innovative means to sustain cultural elements such as ethnic language, religious beliefs, and social, cultural and leisure pursuits. This phenomenological study presents the perspectives of recent administrators of the Hellenic School of Ottawa toward language and cultural maintenance. The results of this study indicate that the Hellenic School of Ottawa is vital and effective for maintaining the Hellenic culture and language beyond the 3rd and 4th generation, as it includes the instruction of Greek language and familiarization with Greek culture. The results also indicate that students of the language school: (1) Are provided with an opportunity to learn Greek which may not be received at home, (2) learn to appreciate their ethnic heritage through language oriented leisure activities, (3) make friendships with those of same ethnic cultural heritage, (4) learn to have a deeper appreciation of multiculturalism and its place in Canadian society, and (5) develop confidence to speak their ethnic language. This study also provides suggestions for the enhancement of the operation of the HSO, such as addition of more Greek-content leisure activities, organization of trips to Greece, and expansion of the instructional time.

В настоящем диссертационном исследовании дается определение этнокультурного языкового лагеря и описываются особенности его организации на территории Уральского Федерального округа. Обучение диалогической речи подростков в условиях этнокультурного языкового лагеря осуществляется с помощью комплекса авторских упражнений по темам «Kennenlernen», «Gesundheit» и «Berufe». Выделяется четыре способа обучения диалогу, среди которых с использованием онлайн-сервисов. Упражнения апробируются в группе подростков из 10 человек с уровнем владения языком А1. Эффективность 34 разработанных упражнений определяется в конце лагерной смены на среднем и высоком уровнях сформированности навыка диалогической речи участников экспериментальной группы. / The thesis defines the ethno-cultural language camp and describes the special features of its organisation on the territory of the Ural Federal Region. Teaching dialogical speech of teenagers in an ethno-cultural language camp is carried out with the help of the author's set of exercises on the themes "Kennenlernen", "Gesundheit", and "Berufe". Four ways of teaching dialogue are distinguished, among them using online services. The exercises are tested with a group of 10 teenagers with German language level A1. The effectiveness of the 34 developed exercises is determined at the end of the camp session at the intermediate and high levels of the participants' dialogical skills in the experimental group.

In South Africa Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) have to contend with the typical adversarial relations with a host government. In addition, MNEs operate in an environment regulated by a government policy of Redress, aimed at changing the wealth profile of the country to reflect the ethnic demographics. Policies such as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, Affirmative Action and Preferential Procurement are interventionist and place additional burden on the MNEs. Implementations of these regulations are often the source of conflict between MNEs and the local government. Ethno-cultural distance aggravates the strained relations between the MNE and host government. The policy of Redress effectively legislates the incorporation of local third parties that are ethno-culturally related to government into the competitive strategies of MNEs. Joint ventures with locals are an acknowledged strategy to enter foreign markets, providing for legitimisation and access to networks. The choice in strategy when dealing with the home government of either a relational or transactional approach is transferable to the MNE host government environment. Political levels have proven to be inaccessible but successful business transactions with government are abundant. The transactional approach dominates as a result of the failure to establish any relations with the host government, negating the pursuit of the relational approach. Third parties play an enabling role in successful transactions, ranging from providing access to government employees up to securing the deal and transacting with the MNE at arms-length. The absence of any social capital in successful transactions requires re-evaluation of the role of social capital in bridging barriers in business relations. Possible explanations are in the linking that the social capital of the third party with the government and MNE employees respectively has, an extremely low threshold for social capital in successful transactions, the force exerted by the need for the products or services, or, most probable, the profit motive. The distance between the government and MNE is extreme as a result of the historical strife between the ethnic groups in the country and the policy of Redress. The connotation with the social environment deters the active pursuit of social capital to gain competitive advantage. / D.B.L.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal.

This thesis analyses local forms of civil society practised in contemporary Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan and provides a common thread on which to base a Central Asian understanding of civil society. I look to find out factors and constituents, which on the surface might be different from a classical liberal concept of civil society. The thesis applies a wider anthropological framework, which sees civil society as a broad network of social relationships, including traditional forms of associational life that can be relatively independent of the state. The study draws upon a multi-locale ethnography in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan including in-depth and focus group interviews, participant observations, case studies, and archival research. I have investigated associations whose activities are concerned with reciprocal relations within society based on community solidarity, self-help, and mutual trust. These include professional associations, trade unions, ethno-cultural associations, religious organisations, courtyard clubs, the traditional Uzbek neighbourhood institution of mahalla, and informal practices of gap and khashar. While arguing that the meaning of civil society depends on context, the study has found that traditional elements of the preserved social fabric in Central Asian societies are reflected in today's networks of individuals. The thesis has generated knowledge on how local forms of associational life define the civil sphere by shaping social organisation, solidarity and mobilisation. Through empirical understanding of the public space, formal and informal networks that bond people together, we can locate wider ethnographic differences between not only the original and Central Asian concepts of civil society but also between two local cultures of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

This qualitative research used the Long Interview method to study cultural and gender influences on mental health, health beliefs, health behaviour, help-seeking and treatment expectations for mental health problems in newcomers to Canada who are members of an ethnocultural, visible minority population - the Sri Lankan Tamils. The study employed a comparative design and analyzed data from interviews with Tamil men (N=8) and Tamil women (N=8) who self-identified as having been diagnosed with depression, and service providers (N=8) who provide frontline mental health and related services to the Sri Lankan Tamil community. The objectives were to a) understand cultural and gender factors inherent in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; b) investigate how these cultural and gender factors impact mental health and influence the trajectory of help-seeking and treatment for depression in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; c) explore the intersection of culture and gender as it relates to health behaviour; and d) explore service providers’ perceptions of the influence of culture and gender in relation to help-seeking for mental health problems and the application of this understanding to service delivery. The study found that the respondents equated social function with health and that this concept informed help-seeking and treatment expectations. Socially appropriate functioning was seen as an indicator of health, and this differed by gender. Gender-differentiated social stressors contributed to depression. Women played a role as enablers of care, both for family members and acquaintances. Men were more resistant to help-seeking and tended to disengage from care. There was a distinct preference for service providers who understood the culture and spoke Tamil. Religious groups served a social support function. Family physicians and Tamil service providers in the social service sectors were identified as key players in the pathways to care. Service providers did not appear to understand the community’s holistic view of health; however, they did use their knowledge of the community to make adaptations to practice. Recommendations that result from these findings include health promotion and prevention strategies beyond the traditional health care system, targeted culture and gender-informed interventions, and the need for multisectoral collaborations.