Peace education offers potential for transforming violent conflict into peace between groups in conflict. The research literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education has identified key assumptions for building long-term peace following violent conflict. The extent to which peace education programs have incorporated these theoretical notions, however, is not well known. This thesis explored the extent to which key theoretical insights from the literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education are incorporated in a prominent peace education program, Seeds of Peace. Data collection consisted of interviews with ten program staff members and written documentation produced by Seeds of Peace. Employing the analytical framework developed from a review of the literature, a comparison between theoretical notions and Seeds of Peace programming was done. Findings of this study highlight the extent to which there are gaps between theory and practice, and a case is made for the establishment of a more explicit connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the thesis highlights the importance of further studies to address the research gap.

Peace education offers potential for transforming violent conflict into peace between groups in conflict. The research literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education has identified key assumptions for building long-term peace following violent conflict. The extent to which peace education programs have incorporated these theoretical notions, however, is not well known. This thesis explored the extent to which key theoretical insights from the literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education are incorporated in a prominent peace education program, Seeds of Peace. Data collection consisted of interviews with ten program staff members and written documentation produced by Seeds of Peace. Employing the analytical framework developed from a review of the literature, a comparison between theoretical notions and Seeds of Peace programming was done. Findings of this study highlight the extent to which there are gaps between theory and practice, and a case is made for the establishment of a more explicit connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the thesis highlights the importance of further studies to address the research gap.

In order to improve international student enrolment, universities have to tackle challenges of ensuring satisfying experience of enrolled international students that is perceived to greatly impact future recruitment. Accordingly, this research aims to provide valuable insights into Chinese international students’ cultural identity conflict that hinders their obtainment of a positive overseas experience. An online survey assessing a range of predictors of cultural identity conflict involving personality traits, ethnic and host cultural identity strength, intergroup factors and strategies of negotiating ethnic and host cultures, and how identity conflict and various identity negotiation strategies influence intercultural competence, was distributed to the entire pool of Chinese students enrolled in a New Zealand university and an Australian university. A total of 255 students completed the survey. Multiple regression analysis revealed that conscientiousness, secure attachment, commitment to ethnic identity, low perceived discrimination, easy access to academic activities with host students significantly protected Chinese students from experiencing cultural identity conflict, whereas preoccupied and fearful attachment, assimilation strategy increased the risk of identity conflict. Additionally, Alternation between cultural demands as one of variations of integration strategy was surprisingly found to exacerbate identity conflict and led to lower levels of intercultural sensitivity, while the other variation, blending strategy significantly resulted in greater intercultural sensitivity. Managerial implications for educational institutions were discussed based on these results. To advance this field of study, limitations of the current research and future research avenues were also presented.

Peace education offers potential for transforming violent conflict into peace between groups in conflict. The research literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education has identified key assumptions for building long-term peace following violent conflict. The extent to which peace education programs have incorporated these theoretical notions, however, is not well known. This thesis explored the extent to which key theoretical insights from the literature on conflict transformation theory and peace education are incorporated in a prominent peace education program, Seeds of Peace. Data collection consisted of interviews with ten program staff members and written documentation produced by Seeds of Peace. Employing the analytical framework developed from a review of the literature, a comparison between theoretical notions and Seeds of Peace programming was done. Findings of this study highlight the extent to which there are gaps between theory and practice, and a case is made for the establishment of a more explicit connection between theory and practice. Furthermore, the thesis highlights the importance of further studies to address the research gap.

Yes

The present thesis explores the politics of reconciliation in post-genocide Rwanda by focusing on one of its little-studied aspects— the government-led project of ‘unity building.’ To uncover the type of unit(ies) that are actually produced (not just officially envisioned), the analysis operates at three interconnected levels— i) at the level of the discourse of unity and reconciliation (studying its proper logic in addition to the ways in which it is shaped/structured by other discourses, such as security or prosperity/development); ii) at the level of concrete strategies and policies; and finally iii) at the level of ‘enaction’ through a score of official (and purportedly ‘local’ and ‘traditional’) activities. Many of the activities considered here have received no in-depth study. The official activities are explored both in toto and through an in in-depth analysis of one key exemplar – the ingando camps – transitory and transient spaces of re-education/sensitisation and reintegration tailored for selected segments of the population. The thesis demonstrates the ways in which the process of kubaka ubumwe / unity-building is profoundly politicised. Detailed attention is paid to exposing the way in which i) political dynamics affect the very conception of ‘unity’ and ‘reconciliation;’ ii) the manner in which power and the state mould unity and reconciliation activities, determining what can be achieved through them (or not); and finally iii) the ways in which the government appropriates the whole unity-building process for other than stated aims. The research shows how unity is shaped to imply consent, homogeneity and non-dissension, thus serving specific governmentality goals in the highly controlling environment of the authoritarian state (producing docile and legible subjects). Furthermore, the thesis shows how the process of unity and reconciliation is subsumed to the broader social engineering project of the state aimed at shaping citizens’ ‘mentalities’ and at their transformation into ‘perfect development subjects.’

This study examined religious and sexual identity conflict and gay-related stress, and how they are related to difficulty with LGB identity formation and mental health outcomes. A sample of 172 adolescents and emerging adults were recruited as part of a larger research project. Study participants ranged in age from 14 to 26 years, and identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual. Descriptive information was collected regarding religious identity and religious/sexual identity conflict in the sample. Additionally, a model was tested that examined LGB identity difficulty as a potential mediator of the relationships between a) religious conflict and mental health, and b) gay-related stress and mental health. The Religious, Spiritual, and Sexual Identities Questionnaire was created to assess religious/spiritual identity and religious and sexual identity conflict. The Measure of Gay-Related Stress was used to measure gay-related stress. The Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Scale was used to measure LGB identity difficulty. The Behavior Assessment System for Children was used to measure mental health. Adequate fit for the model was found after removing direct paths from religious/sexual identity conflict and gay-related stress to mental health, indicating that LGB identity difficulty fully accounted for these two relationships. These findings are clinically important as they emphasize the importance of LGB identity difficulty in examining mental health outcomes related to religious conflict and gay-related stress.

Research on developmental, family, and cross-cultural psychology has consistently found evidence that discrepancies exist between parents and their youth around individual preferences, social conventions, and personal values. In immigrant families, these issues may be compounded by cultural change. Indeed, some research has found that immigrant parent-youth dyads diverge in their heritage and settlement culture orientations and have different personal values priorities. These discrepancies, in turn, are related to poorer youth and family adjustment. In recent years, some studies have proposed that facets of the parent-youth relationship may buffer the experience of maladjustment as a function of cultural discrepancies. Therefore, this dissertation had two general aims: (1) to examine the extent to which immigrant Arab Canadian youth perceive cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, as well as how they relate to individual and familial adjustment; and (2) to identify specific facets of the parent-youth relationship that moderate the association between perceived cultural discrepancies and outcomes. Although research on different cultural groups as well as immigrant and ethnic minority families has increased in recent years, there is a paucity of empirical work examining Arab immigrants in Canada. This dissertation used a mixed-methods approach to comprehensively investigate youth’s perceptions of parent-youth cultural discrepancies and parent-youth relationships, and how they related to intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Study 1 consisted of a series of semi-structured interviews. Using a narrative approach, 12 immigrant youth were asked to describe their individual and family experiences as Arabs living in Canada. Findings confirmed that youth perceived cultural discrepancies between themselves and their parents, which were associated with increased intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. However, specific aspects of the parent-youth relationship were identified as either a protective (i.e., when they were open, communicative, and supportive) or risk (i.e., when they were marked by emotional distance) factor. Study 2 was a quantitative approach to examine the prevalence of perceived cultural discrepancies, and their association with intergenerational conflict and ethnocultural identity conflict. Specifically, a series of hierarchical regressions were used to test the hypotheses that parent-youth relationships moderated the associations between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. Results confirmed that immigrant Arab youth in Canada perceived heritage and settlement culture orientation and values discrepancies between themselves and their parents, that perceived cultural discrepancies were associated with more conflict, and that parent-youth relationships moderated the relationship between perceived cultural discrepancies and conflict. These studies were among the first to examine these issues in immigrant Arab families in Canada. It is imperative to increase our knowledge of Arab families in Canada given their rapid population growth, cultural dissimilarity, the pervasiveness of group misunderstanding and misrepresentation that has been exacerbated post-9/11, and the likelihood that immigration from the Middle East and North Africa will surge following the Arab Spring.

Detta är en kvalitativ studie i sociologi, som baseras påintervjuer med svenskfödda ungdomar som känner tillhörighet med tre olika kulturella bakgrunder. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka vilka faktorer som kan utgöra enmöjlig inre identitetskonflikt för ungdomar som innehar flera kulturella identiteter, samt hur dessa hanterar denna. Fokusi denna studie kommer ligga på ungdomar som haft sin socialisation i Sverige men som vuxit upp med förhållanden som skiljer sig från de svenska förhållandena. Det kommer att diskuteras hur ungdomarna upplever sig själva i förhållande till det svenska samhället samt vilken kulturell bakgrund de upplever att de identifierar sig mest med.Resultatet visar att utvalda respondenter upplever att det inte existerar någon identitetsproblematik. Däremot uttrycker respondenterna att det finns ett antal faktorer som påverkar hur dessa ungdomar, som känner tillhörighet till flera kulturella bakgrunder, upplever sin positionering i det svenska samhället. Detta i sin tur leder till inre konflikter hos ungdomarna. Resultaten visar att den möjliga konflikten som uppstår, grundar sig i den primära socialisationen som kolliderar med samhällets rådande normer. Detta har lett till att en annorlunda uppfostran påverkat synen på dem själva samt etniska svenskars syn på dessa ungdomar. Resultatet analyserades med hjälp av utvalda teorier som behandlar identitet, socialisation samt rollteori. / This is a qualitative study in sociology, where the study is based on interviews with seven swedish born adolescent who feel a belonging with three different cultural backgrounds. The aim of this study is to inquiry the underlying factors that can compose a possible inner identity conflict for adolescents with multiple cultural identities and how they handleit.The main focus of this study will be on adolescents who havehad their socialization in Sweden, however they grew up differently in comparison to the Swedish conditions. During this study it will be discussed how adolescent perceive themselves in relation to the Swedish society and what cultural background they identify the most with.The results show that the selected respondents feel that they do not suffer fromidentity problems. However, respondents express that there are a number of factors that affect how these young people who associates with multiple cultural backgrounds, perceive their position in Swedish society. This eventually leads to inner conflicts within themselves. The results show that the potential conflicts are based on the primary socialization colliding with societal norms. This has led to thatthe different upbringings has influenced the view of themselves as well as the ethnic Swedes perception of these young people. The results were analyzed using selected theories that included identity, socialization and role theory.

Who am I? Who are you? Who are we? These are some of the fundamental questions that identity scholars have grappled with since the 1900s when researchers across multiple disciplines first began to theorize about the self, identity, and identification. While the benefits and consequences of singular identities has been largely studied, recent scholars have argued for the importance of multiple identity research, as multiple identities have become increasingly salient to individuals due to societal and organizational changes including globalization and technological advancements. An important phenomenon within multiple identity research is dual identification, of which I explore a specific type– identification with both one's organization and one's profession. Using a three-study, quantitative design spanning two industries, I studied the effects of dual identification and identity conflict on individual psychological outcomes, turnover intentions, and OCB engagement. Findings from these three studies, holistically, indicate that when individuals experience identity conflict between their organizational and professional identities, they experience negative outcomes. These negative outcomes – increased emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, and turnover intentions, in addition to reduced OCB engagement – have important ramifications for the individuals themselves and their organization. However, post-hoc results indicate that dual identification – through the main effects of organizational and professional identification – itself leads to positive outcomes. Thus, whether multiple identities are a boon or burden might be a result of whether an individual has reconciled these identities. Ultimately, this research adds to the identity literature by providing a more nuanced view of multiple identities and their outcomes.