<p> The purpose of this study was to partner with the community to learn and conceptualize how to integrate a spiritual and leadership development program in order to promote social and family responsibility in African American and Latino at-risk males who have become single fathers and to become responsive to the Word of God in their lives.</p>

<p>Historically, the majority of immigrants to the United States came from European countries. The 1965 Immigration Reform Act (IRA) fundamentally changed the configuration of immigrants to the United States. The largest immigrant communities now consist of Latin Americans, Asians, and Africans. Another important development in immigrant communities in the past few decades has been the growth of a disproportionately large upper class in non-Hispanic immigrant communities. In this study, I will investigate the determinants of upper class status with a focus on non-Hispanic immigrants in the United States. </p><p> I have used a theoretical framework consisting of a wide spectrum of social theories. The theoretical framework encompasses Demographic and Structural Factors, Assimilation Theory, Weberian Theory, Elite Theories, and Marxian Theory. From this wide spectrum of theories, I have developed a set of fifteen exogenous variables including key socio-demographic variables, metropolitan area, region, the number of hours worked, immigration from an English speaking country, citizenship status, the length of stay in the United States, occupational status, occupational prestige, educational attainment, private schooling, and employment status. Consequently, I have analyzed the influence of these variables on upper class status attainment among non-Hispanic immigrants in the United States. </p><p> The current study has utilized secondary data analysis from the 2010 American Community Survey (ACS). Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to examine the relationship among study variables. More specifically, by conducting block analysis, the result of the regression analysis spelled out the degree of influence of each theoretical perspective on the dependent variable, upper class status attainment. </p><p> The results of this study have revealed that Structural and Demographic factors make up the largest share of influence on upper class status attainment among non-Hispanic immigrants in the United States. The most influential variables emerged as &ldquo;hours worked&rdquo; (<b>&beta; = 0.211</b>) from the Demographic and Structural Factors block, &ldquo;educational attainment&rdquo; (<b>&beta; = 0.174</b>) from elite theory, and &ldquo;Marital Status&rdquo; (<b>&beta; = 0.119</b>) from the Demographic and Structural Factors block respectively. </p>

<p> This study examined Latino student college experiences at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Black enrollment at HBCUs has been decreasing and, as a result, HBCUs are turning to non-Black students to make up the enrollment deficit. One group sought after by some HBCUs is Latino students. Comprising 15.2% of the population in the United States, Latinos are the largest minority group and these numbers are expected to grow another 29% by 2050. Five undergraduate students at two HBCUs were interviewed for this qualitative study. Findings revealed five themes from participants' college experiences&mdash;campus involvement, cultural integration, faculty involvement, family support, and financing of college education. Administrators in academic affairs, enrollment management, and student affairs can consider the study's findings in order to plan Latino student initiatives. A challenge in American higher education has been the Latino educational pipeline; as such, this study is significant because it expands research on Latino college experiences at HBCUs.</p>

<p> Leave as is.</p>

<p> Hwa-Byung, known as an anger illness, was conceptualized in Korean culture and listed in the glossary under Culture-Bound Syndromes in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994). Hwa-Byung develops when the emotions of anger have been suppressed for a long period of time and it becomes difficult to control those feelings. Common complaints of Hwa-Byung have two dimensions, psychological and physical symptoms. The prevalence of Hwa-Byung exhibits gender differences in that the majority of individuals who experience Hwa-Byung are women between the ages of 40 and 60. However, as the number of Korean immigrants in the United States continues to increase and their issues draw attention from researchers, the topic of Hwa-Byung receives little. Because Korean immigrants in the United States share a cultural background with their origin of ethnicity, and at the same time, may also assimilate the American culture during the acculturation process, this study will address the cultural differences in Hwa-Byung between native Koreans who live in South Korea and Korean immigrants in the United States. Accordingly, the purpose of this study was to examine the differences and similarities of Hwa-Byung in native Korean middle-aged women in South Korea and Korean immigrants in the United States, roughly between the age range of late-30's to middle 60's, by investigating the influencing factors of stressful life events, stress response, anger expression, and demographic background. </p><p> A sample size of at least 200 participants, required for each group, using both paper-pencil and web-based methods, depended on participants' preferences, which were influenced by a gap in ages and the level of familiarity with and/or ability to access Internet. Participants were randomly selected from major cities, both in South Korea (including Seoul, Incheon, Busan, Daejeon, and Gyeonggi Province) and the United States (including Chicago, New York, and Los Angeles), using similar proportions of ages for both groups for the equivalences of participants in cross-cultural research. </p><p> Survey measures included five instruments: (a) the Hwa-Byung scale (Kwon, Kim, Park, Lee, Min, &amp; Kwon, 2008); (b) Life Stress for Korean women (Chon &amp; Kim, 2003); (c) stress response inventory (SRI) (Koh, Park, &amp; Kim, 2000); (d) anger expression (Hahn, Chon, Lee, &amp; Spielberger, 1997), and (e) demographic background that measured the variables used in this study. To minimize the weakness of language differences used in the different cultural contexts, survey packages for Korean immigrant participants in the United States were formatted in both Korean and English for each item. Thus, a translation process became necessary, especially for the Korean instruments of the Hwa-Byung Scale, Life Stress for Korean women and Stress Response Inventory (SRI), from Korean into Englishtwo of which were (originally developed by Korean researchers) . On the other hand, native Koreans submitted only the Korean version of questionnaires because they fully understood the meaning of questionnaire statements, as well as in order to get rid of possible distractions by the inclusion of English sentences.</p>

<p> Chronic illnesses, such as cancer, are considered sources of stress as they are associated with losses of physical, psychological, social, and financial resources. The consideration of cultural resources is particularly important among ethnic minorities, low acculturated individuals, and immigrants, populations usually associated with a lack of many resources. The connections between acculturation, the changes made when accessing a new cultural context, and health have been extensively studied from a quantitative perspective, usually concentrating on one acculturation domain and without reference to a specific theoretical background. A qualitative approach was utilized in this study involving a multidimensional concept of acculturation with an examination of potential theoretical connections within the theory of conservation of resources (COR). COR is a type of integrative stress theory in which the mobilization of resources and influence of culture, community, and self are emphasized within the stress process. Ten first generation low acculturated Hispanic women diagnosed and undergoing cancer treatment participated in this phenomenological study. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews that were voice-recorded, transcribed, translated, and analyzed following the protocol for interpretative phenomenological analysis. The participants identified the heritage culture resources of past experiences, family, motherhood, faith, social network, language, and cultural identification, which they accessed to manage stress during their cancer experience. Four superordinate themes emerged from the analysis of the heritage culture resources and emergent themes. The superordinate themes revealed the sources of reliance, support, strength to endure, and moving forward and giving back that these heritage culture resources represented during the cancer experience. Under COR theory, clarification was gained as how long-standing resource gain, represented by heritage culture resources, may counterbalance and aid in response to resource loss represented by chronic illness. Suggestions for future research are repeating the study with low acculturated Hispanic men, comparing access and use of heritage culture resources between low and high-acculturated individuals during chronic illness, and examining the impact of time of exposure to the mainstream culture on the different acculturation domains among low acculturated individuals. </p>

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore (a) issues perceived by Filipino American middle school students in the Los Angeles area of Southern California as having an adverse impact on their educational experience and cultural identity; (b) ways in which students have personally mediated these issues; and (c) student perspectives related to the types of programs and activities believed to have the most positive impact on the educational experience and cultural identity development of Filipino American middle school students. </p><p> The middle school experience within the Los Angeles area of Southern California has provided Filipino American students with a standard-based curriculum and school-based activities for learning. However, the school curriculum and school-based activities limits opportunities for Filipino American middle school students to deepen their knowledge of Filipino American education experiences and cultural identity development. Therefore, there is a tremendous opportunity to explore the educational experiences and cultural identity development of Filipino American middle school students in Southern California area of Los Angeles. </p><p> The literature has revealed that Filipino American students who graduate from public schools enter postsecondary education unprepared and academically challenged. Further review of the literature has revealed that little research has been done to determine the issues perceived by Filipino American middle school students, how they mediate issues, and what types of programs and activities have the most positive impact on their educational experience and cultural identity development. </p><p> This study explored the lived experiences of 16 Filipino American middle school students within the Los Angeles area of Southern California. The top seven topics that emerged included racial discrimination, drama, talk &amp; dialogue, problem solving, community programs, impact of Filipino club, and club activities. Findings support the need for Filipino American students to have (a) participation in culturally relevant activities, (b) contact with knowledgeable Filipino American teachers, (c) participation with community-based activities that allow them to dialogue and reflect on their experiences, and (d) involvement in cultural celebrations at school. Filipino American middle school students rely and benefit from programs and activities that will prepare them culturally in the school and community as they progress toward postsecondary education.</p>

<p> This study investigated principals' perceptions in the hiring process of classroom teachers in high minority (Latino) schools. Nine secondary principals in five school districts in Washington state were interviewed regarding their perceptions of characteristics of high quality teachers in their school. Data gathered via personal interviews indicated that principals identified teachers who "fit" their schools and their current staff by focusing on state and federal highly qualified mandates and their own subjective criteria for desirable teacher characteristics. Participating administrators promoted what was described as a "colorblind" hiring process that would allow them to remain "ethnically neutral" when hiring teachers. Despite principals' professed desire to provide their students with same-race mentors, the process described had the effect of ensuring that the high percentages of white staff at high minority schools would persist in high minority schools, thus leaving little hope for a change in the ethnic or racial demographics of the teaching staff in these schools.</p>

<p>Various barriers affect the academic performance and educational attainment of some Latino students. Barriers include poverty, discrimination, educational inequity, immigration issues, language issues, and parental factors. Previous research identified family school involvement as a way to promote academic success and college attainment for Latino adolescents. The purpose of this thesis was to develop and seek funding for a family involvement program for Vista Charter Middle School located in Los Angeles, California. The goal of the program is to increase parent involvement for Vista Charter students to promote improved school performance and support for postsecondary education. Research on existing parent programs, their effects, and collaboration with school personnel were used to inform the development of this proposed program. Neither the actual submission and/or funding of this grant project were required for the successful completion of this project. </p>

<p> Abstract not available.</p>