This study investigated the influence of cultural change and acculturation on health-related help seeking behaviour of Vietnamese-Australians. Using convenience sampling, 94 Vietnamese-Australians, 106 Anglo-Australians, and 49 Vietnamese in Vietnam participated in the study. Beliefs about health and health-related help-seeking behaviours were assessed through measures of common mental health symptoms, illness expression (somatisation, psychologisation), symptom causal attributions (environmental, psychological, biological), and choice of help seeking (self-help, family/friends, spiritual, mental health, Western medicine, Eastern medicine).Vietnamese-Australian data was compared with that of the Anglo-Australian and Vietnamese-in Vietnam. Results revealed that the help seeking behaviours and health related cognitions of Vietnamese-Australians, while significantly different from those of Anglo-Australians, were similar to those of Vietnamese in Vietnam. Specifically, both Vietnamese groups were less likely than Anglo-Australians to somatise and psychologise or attribute the cause of symptoms to environmental, psychological or biological causes. However, the two Vietnamese groups were not different from each other in their style of illness expression or in their symptom causal attributions. The Vietnamese-Australians reported experiencing more mental health symptoms than the Vietnamese in Vietnam but fewer than the Anglo-Australians. In relation to help seeking, the Anglo-Australians chose self-help more than the Vietnamese, but there were few other differences between the cultural groups. To investigate the influence of acculturation on health-related beliefs and help seeking behaviour, Vietnamese-Australians were compared according to their modes of acculturation (integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalisation). Generally, results showed a distinct pattern of response. Those with high levels of acculturation towards the Australian culture (the integration and the assimilation) were found to be most similar (in that they scored the highest in most areas measured) to the Anglo-Australians, while few differences were found between the separated and the marginalised groups. Further, cultural orientation was a powerful predictor of help seeking. In that, original cultural orientation predicted selection of help seeking from Western and Eastern medicine, whereas, the host cultural orientation was a more robust predictor of the other variables. However, neither cultural orientation predicted preference for mental health help. Finally, the study found that, although the combination of symptom score, modes of illness expression, and symptom causal attribution were strong predictors of choice of help seeking of Vietnamese-Australians, acculturation scores further improved predictive power. The results were discussed in terms of the various limitations and constraints on interpretation of this complex data set.

This thesis will examine the more active role played in Java by the urban wong cilik (the underclass; literally, the 'little people') in contesting the state�s authority, particularly during the later years of the New Order regime, and following its demise in 1998. I will provide examples of social practices employed by the wong cilik in their everyday lives and in their adaptation to periods of significant social and political upheaval. These demonstrate the ways in which they are able to contest the state�s efforts to impose its authority. These practices also develop and employ a variety of subversive discourses, whose categories and values diverge significantly from the official language of government. The examination of the relative linguistic, cultural and normative autonomy of the seemingly powerless underclass reveals an extremely contested political terrain in which the wong cilik are active rather than passive agents in urban society. These ideas have developed out of urban field research sited around warungs (sidewalk food stalls), urban kampongs and in the city streets of the three Javanese cities of Yogyakarta, Surabaya, and Jakarta. These urban social spaces will be shown to be significant for the underclass because they constitute sites through which they constantly interact with diverse social groups, thereby sharpening their knowledge of the contradictions and feelings of otherness manifest between the classes in Java�s large cities. It will be shown how, in these spaces, the underclass also experience the state�s attempts at control through various officially sanctioned projects and how the underclass are able to subvert those projects through expressive means such as songs, poems and forms of mockery which combine to make the state�s dominant discourses lose much of their efficacy.

This thesis defines a novel and intuitive method to visually represent attribute uncertainty, and spatial boundary uncertainty generated from choropleth maps. Like all data, it is not possible to know exactly how far from the truth spatial data used for choropleth mapping is. When spatial data is used in a decision-making context a visual representation of data correctness may become a valuable addition. As an example, the visualisation of uncertainty is illustrated using choropleth mapping techniques superimposed on New Zealand 2001 census data, but other spatial datasets could have been employed. Both attribute and spatial uncertainty are considered, with Monte Carlo statistical simulations being used to model attribute uncertainty. A visualisation technique to manage certain choropleth spatial boundary issues (i.e. the modifiable areal unit problem - MAUP) and uncertainty in attribute data is introduced, especially catering for attribute and choropleth spatial boundary uncertainty simultaneously. The new uncertainty visualisation method uses the quadtree spatial data model (SDM) in a novel manner. It is shown that by adapting the quadtree SDM to divide according to uncertainty levels possessed by attributes (associated with areal units), rather than divide on the basis of homogeneous regions (as the original quadtree design was intended), a measure of attribute and choropleth spatial boundary uncertainty can be exhibited. The variable cell size of the structure expresses uncertainty, with larger cell size indicating large uncertainty, and vice versa. The new quadtree SDM was termed the trustree. A software suite called TRUST v1.0 (The Representation of Uncertainty using Scale-unspecific Tessellations) was developed to create square trustree visualisations. The visual appeal and representational accuracy of the trustree was investigated. Representative accuracy and visual appeal increased when using hexagonal tessellations instead of the quadtree�s traditional square tessellation. In particular, the Hexagonal or Rhombus (HoR) quadtree designed by Bell et al. (1989) was used to programme TRUST v1.1. Using the HoR quadtree in rhombic mode (TRUST v1.1.1) produced Orbison�s optical illusion, so it was disregarded. However, the HoR trustree (the hexagonal tessellation produced by TRUST v1.1.2) was adopted for further research and user assessment. When assessed using an Internet survey, the HoR trustree adequately displayed choropleth spatial boundary uncertainty, but not attribute uncertainty. New trustree visualisations, the value-by-area (VBA) trustree and adjacent HoR trustree were developed to help increase the expression of attribute uncertainty. Upon reassessment, the new trustree visualisations were deemed usable to express attribute uncertainty and choropleth spatial boundary uncertainty at a modest 58% usable (HoR trustree), 80% usable (VBA trustree) and 85% usable (adjacent HoR trustree). A usability test (where participants were asked to spot different levels of uncertainty) validated these results, whereby the HoR trustree achieved a 65% accuracy level and the VBA trustree achieved an 80% accuracy level. The user assessments helped to highlight that the trustree could be used in two ways, to express detail within or clutter over areal units. The HoR trustree showed (1) a level of detail (or resolution) metaphor, where more detail represented more accuracy and/or the reverse, (2) a metaphor of clutter, where the data structure output was sufficiently dense as to cover spatial information, in effect hiding uncertain areas. Further Internet survey testing showed the trustree tessellation works better when representing a metaphor of detail. Attribute and spatial uncertainty can be effectively expressed depending on the tessellation level used. Overall, the new TRUST suite visualisations compare favourably with existing uncertainty visualisation techniques. Some uncertainty visualisation methods consistently performed better than the TRUST visualisations such as blinking areas, adjacent value and non-continuous cartograms. Other methods like colour saturation, image sharpness and a three-dimensional surface frequently performed with less usability. Therefore, the TRUST visualisations have found their place amongst other uncertainty visualisation methods. However, survey results showed that TRUST is a viable option for visualising two forms of uncertainty - attribute and spatial uncertainty. No other visualisation method has these capabilities. Further research could include a laboratory assessment of TRUST and also incorporating vagueness and temporal uncertainty concepts. Additionally, end-user testing could provide a valuable insight into uncertainty visualisation for everyday use. Adopting uncertainty methods to uncertainty, such as the technique presented here, into the mainstream decision making environment could be considered a fundamental objective for future investigation in spatial studies.

<p>The European Union is the Community made on bases of multiculturalism, diversity and</p><p>equality between Members and its citizens. From the very beginning of being social actor, the European Union has wanted to fight with discrimination. In the July 2008 the Council Directive on implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation was announced. This essay is about the problem of discrimination on the ground of ethnic origin, disability and sexual orientation in</p><p>the European Union. According to the Eurobarometer survey these types of discrimination are the most spread within the European Society. With help of this survey I set a hypothesis and I tested it. The question was if the “Old” Member States are more successful with the fight with the problem that “New” Member States. There are acts of law considering and protecting</p><p>citizens against discrimination. Most of the regulations include the unequal treatment in</p><p>employment, is why I wanted to make researches about the same problem outside the</p><p>employment. I checked what kind of minorities protection exist in legal framework of the EU and I concluded that the New Directive Proposal is actually answer for their problems and in the same time legislation changes are not enough.</p>

<p>Denna uppsats behandlar invandrade finska romers identitetsbygge i Sverige. Jag har gjort en kvalitativ intervjustudie med tre informanter. Syftet har varit att granska hur dessa finska romer i Sverige har format sin identitet under sin livstid och vilken roll skolan har haft för identitetsformeringen samt hur deras emigration har påverkat deras syn på sig själva som romer, finländare och/eller svenskar.</p><p>Jag har intervjuat en man i 30-års-åldern och två kvinnor, 45 respektive 50 år. Intervjuerna ägde rum i september 2005. Alla tre var födda i Finland, men har flyttat till Sverige under sin barndom eller ungdom. Informanterna ombedes bl.a. att definiera vem som de anser vara en rom i jämförelse till en modell som Romano Missio i Finland har på sin hemsida(http://www.romanomissio.fi/projektit/kalvot/002_kuka_on_romani.pdf ).</p><p>Av min undersökning kan man dra slutsatsen att förändringar är på gång inom den finskromska gruppen. Allt fler romer vill utbilda sig och speciellt kvinnorna har gjort framsteg inom det området. Ungdomarna umgås mer och mer med andra grupper, nya typer av identiteter växer fram och deras identitet får intryck från andra kulturer. Romerna diskuterar sina interna frågor i finska media vilket är nytt. Av mina intervjuer framgår att samhället saknar förståelse för romernas kultur och romska ungdomars livsvillkor. Att dessa inte alltid i lika stor utsträckning som majoriteten har möjligheter till individuella val.</p> / <p>This thesis investigates the construction of identity among immigrated Finnish Roma in Sweden. I have concluded three qualitative interviews, with a 30-year old man and two women, 45 and 50 years old. The purpose of these interviews has been to investigate in what fashion these individuals, all members of the Finnish Roma minority in Sweden, have constructed their identity and how their schooling has contributed to this.</p><p>I first got in contact with the man and via him a was able to reach the women and interview them too. All three were born in Finland but moved to Sweden during childhood or adolescence. The informants were among other things asked to define who is Roma and who is not, all according to a model that can be viewed at Romano Missio's Finnish website (http://www.romanomissio.fi/projektit/kalvot/002_kuka_on_romani.pdf ).</p><p>My investigation makes evident that changes are in progress in the Finnish Roma community in Sweden. An increasing number of Roma are interested in higher education. Youngsters seek contact with people from other societal groups and their identity is constructed increasingly in interaction with other cultures. Internal Roma issues are now more openly discussed in mainstream media in Finland. According to my research society lacks in understanding for and knowledge about Roma culture. Not much is known about the conditions under which Roma youngsters live and the fact that these young people do not get the same freedom of choice that is granted for others the same age.</p>

<p>European higher education is being faced with more and more challenges arising fromdiversity. Diversity arises as Universities seek to achieve higher levels ofinternationalisation by accepting students from as many countries as possible. Everyoneseems to be of the opinion that diversity is essentially a good thing. However, studies haveshown that diversity does not always lead to productivity. In Sweden for example, researchhas found that groups with gender diversity have more productive outcomes, while groupswith ethnic diversity display less positive outcomes. In general, research on highereducation has often showed that ethnic minority students achieve lower levels ofperformance than other students.This thesis studies the factors that affect the attitudes of ethnic minorities, first from a socialidentity point of view, and then by looking at other factors such as expectations ofemployment and the effects of studying in a new educational system. The social identityprocesses that are important in a student context are examined so as to determine those thathave a stronger effect on minority students.For this study, interviews were carried out with three students, and questionnaires were alsoadministered. From the analysis, it is observed that ethnic minority students suffer negativeeffects from being in a cultural minority and often feel dominated by the surroundingculture. Also, they develop less positive attitudes towards their studies because of loweremployment expectations, difficulties of adapting to a new setting and less preparation intheir earlier education.It is suggested that in order to create a more favourable environment for ethnic minoritystudents, steps must be taken to create a better psychological atmosphere for minoritystudents. Also, steps should be taken to improve social contact between students and toenhance the process of group work.The main limitations of the study are time, scope and cost. To be able to carry out a morein-depth study of school performance, it is important to perform more interviews andsurveys, covering a longer time frame.</p>

Two theoretical models were examined based on the contributions of preservice teachers' personal teaching efficacy, ethnic causal attributions, past teaching, and international interaction experiences to their behaviors toward international children in multicultural small group activity sessions. Path analytic results revealed that for both models, these variables together did not significantly predict the positive or negative behavior of preservice teachers. T-tests, applied to positive and negative behaviors indicated that these behaviors varied significantly based on the child's gender and classroom activity type. Aspects of gender and activity type were included in an additional exploratory analysis of 16 path models. Only six were significant, although even these did not explain a large percentage of the variance associated with preservice teachers' behaviors. Personal teaching efficacy had a significant direct positive impact on the frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers toward international girls during unstructured table activities. However, the ethnic attribution variable of locus of causality had a significant direct positive impact on the frequency and quality of positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers toward international boys during structured storytime activities. In addition, teacher preparation level and past international interaction experience had a significant direct negative impact on the frequency and quality of negative behaviors, respectively displayed by preservice teachers toward international boys during unstructured table activities. Finally, among these significant path models (a) teacher preparation level and past international interaction experiences made significant direct positive impacts on the causal attribution variables of locus of causality and stability; (b) the causal attribution variable of stability had a significant direct negative impact on controllability, and (c) the significant path coefficients between personal teaching efficacy and the causal attribution variable of stability were positive, while those associated with controllability were negative. In a secondary analysis, differences between preservice teachers' behaviors toward international and U.S. children as a result of children' s ethnicity, gender, age, socioeconomic status, and involvement in different types of small group activities were examined, applying a multivariate analysis of variance. Positive behaviors displayed by preservice teachers were significantly lower for international than for U.S. children, while the converse was true for negative behaviors. In addition, both positive and negative behaviors displayed toward girls were significantly lower than for boys. Preservice teachers also displayed significantly more negative behaviors toward children during structured storytime than unstructured table activities. Overall, however, preservice teachers exhibited more positive than negative behaviors toward both international and U.S. children. / Graduation date: 1993

Since the end of the Second World War, several phases of migration to West European states have occurred. These migrants consisted of the so called guest workers who were recruited to fill labour shortages, citizens from former colonies who wanted to settle in the colonial empires as well as asylum seekers and refugees. These migrants generally migrated within the network of a certain ethnic group which led to the formation of ethnic groupings in the West European states (so called new ethnic minorities). These ethnic groupings often live segregated from the host population where they experience a lack of cultural, economical and political integration. This lack of integration of the new ethnic minorities often leads to antagonism, lack of understanding, mistrust and sometimes a racist attitude by the host population towards these groups. The development of a collective policy for the management of new ethnic minorities only became priority in the European Union (EU) by the late 1990s. The current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities consists of guidelines and recommendations to member states on the implementation of a own, unique new ethnic minority policy. Although the current Belgian policy for the management of new ethnic minorities adheres to the guidelines and recommendations of the EU, it still has structural problems and gaps. The purpose of this study was foremost to do a descriptive analysis of the protection of established minorities in Belgium. In contrast to and comparison with this, an in depth analysis of the political problem, management and current situation of new ethnic minorities in Belgian was made in order to identify shortcomings in the current policy for the management of new ethnic minorities. This was done through a literature search as well as an empirical study in the form of semi -structured interviews. The general finding was that the Belgian political system makes adequate provision for the protection of established minorities, but not for the protection of new ethnic minorities. In this regard and in conclusion, specific recommendations were made in order to identify and address the current protective measures of new ethnic minorities in Belgium. / Thesis (M.A. (Public Management and Administration))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2009.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität, Hamburg, 2006. / Includes bibliographical references (p. [319]-330).

Thesis (Ph. D)--Illinois State University, 2005. / Title from title page screen, viewed on April 16, 2007. Dissertation Committee: George Padavil, Phyllis McCluskey-Titus (co-chairs), W. Paul Vogt, William Pearch. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 103-117) and abstract. Also available in print.