Thesis (Ph.D.)--Ohio University, November, 2008. / Release of full electronic text on OhioLINK has been delayed until December 1, 2009. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 210-221)

Against the backdrop that multiculturalism has failed in Western Europe, this thesis argues that minority rights standards should be applied to Western European Muslims. Western European States have consistently excluded Muslims from minority rights protection under international law on the basis that they constitute 'new minorities'. However, this thesis asserts that the justifications given by States for the exclusion of Western European Muslims from minority rights protection no longer hold true and have the potential to undermine the object and purpose of the minority rights regime – security and justice. Furthermore, by considering the content of both generally applicable human rights standards and minority rights standards in the light of the situation and specific claims made by Muslim minorities in Western Europe, in relation to the preservation of their identity, this thesis proves that there is an added-value to minority rights protection for these communities. Minority rights standards and multiculturalist policies adopt a similar approach to the accommodation of societal diversity. Thus, given the exclusion of Western European Muslims from the additional protection offered by minority rights standards, this thesis submits that multiculturalist approaches to the accommodation of European Muslims have not failed; insufficient measures have been adopted to ensure their success. If a multiculturalist approach to the accommodation of diversity is to be pursued in Western Europe, States must allow Muslim minorities to benefit from the protection available under minority rights standards.

The American Muslim presence has been at the center of debates around assimilation, belonging, acceptance or even contribution to the mainstream society. In practice of their right to the free choice of education, some American Muslims have been attending full-time American Islamic schools. These schools have been a focal point in painting the picture and understanding of the American Muslim experience. Using qualitative case study methods, this dissertation explored what teacher practices support successful student experiences in relation to positive identity development at three private Islamic Schools in the U.S. The findings revealed that, despite challenges in operations, instability of staff and finances, at all the three cases studied the teachers offered student identity support through varied approaches including means of mentoring, teacher care and teaching by example, fostering a sense of community, family and belonging in the schools where they worked, in addition to a focus on the formative, non-academic, process of education; focusing on spirituality and character formation.

Magister Commercii - MCom / Since 1994, tourism has become one of the most benefited industries among the overall of the South African economy. However, the industry is still far from being an example of transformations. The tourism industry in South Africa is still dominated by white-owned large enterprises, leaving limited space for the development of black-owned small tourism businesses. The existing literature identifies that government support represents a key variable regarding small tourism business development, specifically among black entrepreneurs. This study evaluated the role of provincial government support in the development of black-owned small tourism businesses in the South Africa, with a focus on Cape Town. / South Africa

The approach to translating multilingual texts has long been a subject of debate among scholars and translators, sparking discussions on which translational choices and strategies should be employed. An additional challenge occurs when a minority language in a multilingual (or rather, heterolingual) text becomes the target language. In these circumstances, the translator faces the dilemma of choosing how to preserve the Otherness that the non-dominant language conveys in the first text without overly manipulating it or stripping it of its nature. My analysis focuses on the challenges of translating Black Madonna (1982), a novel by prolific Italian-Canadian writer Frank Paci. Like many Italian-Canadian authors, the vast majority of Paci’s novels feature untranslated Italian terms and dialogues throughout the text. The first chapter of this thesis provides an introduction to the author and the basic concepts around which I structure my discourse, such as immigrant writing and the so-called ‘linguistic stones’ (untranslated terms). The section that follows features an overview of the most prominent Italian-Canadian plurilingual writers, as well as a brief analysis of a few selected works with a special focus on Scarpe Italiane (2007), the only novel by Paci to ever be translated into Italian. The research moves on to theories of translation, discussing various strategies and solutions proposed by scholars involved in the debate. The following chapter consists of a commentary in which I support a balance of foreignization and domestication by converting Italian terms into the appropriate regional dialect, since dialect is a prominent element in Paci’s novels. Finally, in the last section, I provide my translation of the novel into Italian.

Sexual minority adolescents are at higher risk for a variety of difficulties, including traditional victimization and depression. Also, cybervictimization has been associated with higher rates of depression. However, little attention has been paid to investigating the relations between sexual orientation, cybervictimization, and depressive symptoms, especially within the developmental stage of late adolescence. In fact, very little cybervictimization research has been conducted within this age group due to an assumption that cyberbullying is a problem only seen in middle school and high school. One aim of the current study was to determine whether sexual minority older adolescents are at greater risk for cybervictimization than their heterosexual counterparts. Another aim was to identify the specific sexual orientation and gender categories that were associated with the highest levels of cybervictimization. The study also was intended to examine whether current cybervictimization predicts depressive symptoms above and beyond other predictors, such as current traditional victimization and perceptions of high school cybervictimization. Another goal was to determine whether current cybervictimization interacts with these variables to predict depressive symptoms. The final aim of the study was to investigate whether the relation between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms differed between sexual minority and heterosexual participants. The findings from this study demonstrate that older sexual minority individuals, particularly those who identify as homosexual, are at increased risk for cybervictimization. Also, current traditional victimization and cybervictimization interacted to predict depressive symptoms. The importance of current cybervictimization also was highlighted by the finding that the highest levels of depression were associated with high levels of current cybervictimization, with or without high levels of high school cybervictimization. Finally, the relation between cybervictimization and depressive symptoms did not differ significantly between sexual minority and heterosexual participants. This study examined pressing questions that were previously unanswered in the literature, and the implications for future research, cyberbullying interventions, and societal awareness are vast. This study should be used as a foundation for further investigation on both cyberbullying in late adolescence and cyberbullying among sexual minority individuals. Also, the findings from this study should be applied to the development of cyberbullying interventions for older adolescents with special consideration given to the applicability to the sexual minority population.

The ranks of the medical profession have typically been filled by Anglo-Saxon males. A slow change in attitude appears to be leading toward a desire to increase diversity in the medical profession. Previous attempts to allow for increased representation of those underrepresented in medicine failed due to legal challenges. The Association of American Medical Colleges, an organization which oversees medical education, residency training, and research of both American and Canadian allopathic medical schools, has introduced Holistic Review as a method for creating a diverse population in a medical school class; this study investigates the way medical schools are incorporating these strategies into their medical school admissions policies and how effective these policies are in increasing diversity in medical school classes. The implication encourage admissions committees to modify the importance of certain selection criteria in an ongoing effort to increase diversity in their medical school classes.

The purpose of this study was to test the effects of racial microaggressions on minority status stress and perceived academic and career barriers, as moderated by social support among African American college students. It was hypothesized that social support would significantly moderate the effect of microaggressions on perceived academic and career barriers and minority status stress, such that higher levels of social support would be related to lower levels of perceived barriers and minority student stress. Participants were recruited from a mid-size Midwestern university from Introductory Psychology 102 courses, university-based student organizations, and the Africana Studies Department. Experiences with microaggressions were assessed using Nadal’s Racial and Ethnic Microaggression Scale (REMS; Nadal, 2011), perception of academic and career barriers were measured using the Perception of Barriers Scale (POBS; Luzzo & McWhirter, 2001), social support was measured using the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL; Cohen & Hoberman, 1983), and minority status stress was measured using the Minority Student Stress Scale (MSS; Smedley, Myers, & Harrell, 1993). A demographics questionnaire was administered as well. A moderated multiple-regression analysis was conducted to test the study hypotheses. Our study hypotheses that perceived social support would moderate the relationship between microaggressions and minority status stress and perceptions of barriers was not supported. However, main effects were found for microaggressions and social support on minority status stress, as well as main effects for social support on perceptions of barriers. Future research and implications are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the intersection of multiple minority identities in men who have sex with men (MSM) of color, focusing on the relationship between experiences of minority stress and negative health outcomes. Specifically, this study aimed to identify how minority stress levels in MSM of color impact the following negative health outcomes: poor mental health, substance abuse, and risky sexual behavior. The role of ethnic identity belonging and religious practice as potentially moderating the relationship between minority stress and negative health outcomes was further explored. A cross-sectional online survey was utilized to test the research questions. The sample consisted of 152 participants who identified as racial/ethnic minorities and MSM between the ages of 18 and 29. Direct effects of minority stress reflected in self-reports of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual (LGB) victimization, internalized homophobia, and perceived ethnic discrimination on negative health outcomes were tested using analysis software IBM SPSS. The findings revealed that greater minority stress was associated only with increased mental health problems. As hypothesized, evidence emerged that ethnic identity belonging moderated the relationship between minority stress and both mental health and substance use outcomes, suggesting that ethnic identity belonging may serve as a protective factor for MSM of color. Under conditions of high minority stress, MSM of color with greater engagement with formal religious practice were associated with the highest negative mental health outcomes, whereas lower degrees of religious practice predicted better mental health outcomes. This study identified MSM of color to be at risk for poor mental health and has highlighted the importance of ethnic identity belonging as a potential buffer against mental health and substance use issues. Further research is necessary to determine whether religiosity serves as a protective factor or risk factor for MSM of color. These findings will help researchers to better understand MSM of color and may have a potential impact on prevention and intervention efforts by identifying risk and protective factors that help to explain the aversive effects of minority stress.

The thesis deals with social work with gypsy clients. The first chapter of the theoretical part 1.1 Social work aimed at the gypsy minority describes the specifics of social work with gypsy clients, which is based on preconditions that social workers should fulfill when working with this target group and their facilities for such work. It aims at the professional approach of the social workers to the clients who are members of the gipsy ethnicity and describes the value system of a social worker. The research proved that the workers approach the clients professionally based on an ethical code. Factors which influence the perception of the clients from the gipsy minority by the social workers became clear from the research. The approach is most commonly influenced by the more difficult communication with the clients and low motivation of the gipsy clients to change their burdensome situation through their own endeavors. The workers do not distinguish their clients according to their membership in a minority but according to the specific problem they wish to help them solve. The biggest problem of the gipsy ethnicity became education. The majority of the workers believe that if the education of the gipsy clients can be improved it will reduce the impact of other social problems.