Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1992. / Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William Sayres. Dissertation Committee: Maryalice Mazzara. Includes bibliographical references (p. 173-183).

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This study was to determine if there exists a difference in the rate of hirsutism in genetically similar women in two different environments. 112 Nigerian women living in the U.S.A and 70 women living in Nigeria were surveyed. All women completed a pictorial survey scoring peripheral hair growth in 6 body areas from 0 (no significant hair growth) to 4 (severe hair growth). Total hirsutism score was calculated as a sum of individual scores. The survey also included demographic data, menstrual history, and data regarding use of hormonal treatments. Statistical comparisons between groups included t-test, nonparametric tests and chi-square test. Multiple regression analysis was carried out to identify independent predictors of peripheral hair growth. Women residing in U.S.A had a 31% higher total hirsutism score than those residing in Nigeria. This difference was not related to irregular menstrual cycle. To account for possible effects of age, B.M.I and differences in tribal origin, multiple regression analysis was performed. Location (living in U.S.A vs. Nigeria) remained the strongest predictor of total hirsutism score (P=0.02); tribal origin was also significant (P=0.04), while age and B.M.I had no independent predictive value (P>0.1). It was concluded that this difference, is not explained by factors such as age, obesity and ethnic origin. We propose that this difference may be due to differences in environmental or lifestyle factors of the women.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Northwestern University, 1999. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 60-06, Section: A, page: 2142. Adviser: Chistopher Udry.

This study deals with the issue of migrants and their use of media to facilitate integration and negotiate nostalgia, identity and other social factors that ensue during the analysis of six selected Nigerian migrants in Stockholm. By means of a two-step ethnographic approach the empirical material is obtained from documented media use logs and semi-structured interviews of six Nigerian informants in Stockholm. This study sets out to discover the social factors that influence or shape the media practices of Nigerian migrants; furthermore, to understand the concept of nostalgia, integration and more descriptive concept of media use from the perspective such as: the number of years the participants have lived in Sweden, gender and ethnicity. The results show the motivation behind the media use of participants with emphasis on how Nigerian migrants use media in terms of type of medium used and frequency of use. Additionally, results show how social factors such as: ethnicity, gender, education, work and the number of years lived in Sweden play a role in influencing the media practices of the selected Nigerian migrants in Stockholm while likewise exhibiting a difference in the media practices of participants who have lived in Sweden for the same number of years. In conclusion, results display how the in number of years lived in Sweden in addition to other individual factors played a role in the media use of the participants. The results also show how the participants use media to negotiate nostalgia and ethnic identities.

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This dissertation explores the identity formation of Ethiopian and Nigerian immigrants, their second generation children, and native born African Americans who reside in the Seattle metropolitan area. Using boundary formation theory, I argue that African immigrants and their second generation children are developing a shared sense of Black identity and racial solidarity (linked fate) with native born African Americans. This shared Black identity is illustrated through both Africans and African Americans’ recognition of one another as racial group members, the constraints on their Black identities, and their navigation of similar institutional and political contexts. I argue that this is highly suggestive of an expansion of the Black racial boundary, and the reconstitution of Black identity in the post-Civil Rights Era. Despite some boundary contraction within the Black racial category by some 1st generation Africans, the African 1.5 and second generation are engaging in boundary crossing particularly with African Americans through their bicultural identities. This process appears to be leading to the blurring of boundaries between the children of African immigrants and native born African Americans, especially through the 1.5 and second generations involvement and integration into African American social and professional organizations. Evidence presented in this dissertation suggests that there is a weakening of ethnic identity among the African 1.5 and second generation. This weakening of ethnic identity among the children of Ethiopians and Nigerians suggest subsequent generations of Africans born here in the United States will eventually be absorbed into an undifferentiated African American/Black category. Keywords: Ethiopians, Nigerians, African Americans, linked fate, Black identity, Africans

International Passports: Portraits of the Nigerian Diaspora considers notions of 'alienation‘ and 'nation-hood‘ through the lens of portraiture. This dissertation addresses issues of identity and representation in a contemporary cultural context as they pertain to the concerns presented through my current visual practice. The paintings that I have produced from 'real‘ life are primarily depictions of Nigerian individuals, friends and acquaintances (professionals and students) residing in Grahamstown, South Africa as temporary or permanent migrants. I reference the mug shot pose of identity documents and passport photographs and render them in such a way that ideas of their persona are subject to the viewer‘s gaze and deliberations, thus provoking the spectator to consider questions of 'otherness‘ and 'stereotypes‘. This provocation is subtle and complex, and in many ways I am offering the viewer a 're-looking‘, an opportunity to examine one‘s moral position and subsequent implication within the act of stereotyping an 'other‘ individual. The initial idea within this body of work was to paint images of Nigerian nationals exclusively, yet the restrictive nature of such categorization pushed me to complicate certain nationalist ideologies through the inclusion of non-Nigerian individuals. I look specifically at notions of the 'other‘ and 'strangeness‘ in a contemporary South African context and how this connects to the concept of portraiture and not simply portraiture theory but also the social theory in relation to how people are 'imaged‘. Throughout this thesis I consider several theoretical concerns in portraiture practice and discourse whilst simultaneously unpacking the psychological and social contexts that influence my practice.

A mail survey of Nigerian immigrants in Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois, was conducted during October and November 1995. Four hundred and sixty-eight Nigerian immigrant families in the two cities were selected by systematic sampling through the telephone books. Return rate was approximately 40% (187). The variables included in the study were media exposure variables, general demographics, immigration traits, U.S. demographics, Nigerian demographics, and political and cultural traits. New variables which had not been included in previous studies were also tested in this study: television talk shows, talk radio, diffuse support for the U.S. political system, authoritarianism, self-esteem, and political participation. This study employed multiple regression analysis and path analysis of the data. This study found that Nigerian immigrants have high preference for television news as their main source of political information. This finding is in consonance with previous studies. Nigerian immigrants chose ABC news stations as their number one news station for political information. Strong positive associations existed between media exposure and length of stay in the United States and interest in U.S. politics. Talk radio positively associated with interest in U.S. politics and negatively associated with length of stay in the United States. Thus, this finding likely means that talk radio is a good source of political socialization for more recently arrived immigrants and those interested in U.S. politics. Significant associations existed between diffuse support for the U.S. government and interest in politics and security of immigration status. This study also found that adjustment to U.S. political culture was a function of media exposure, pre-immigration social class, diffuse support for the U.S. political system, and political knowledge.

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