Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This phenomenological study explores the lived experience of Mexican immigrant fathers who migrate to and settle in the United States initially alone and eventually bring the rest of their families from Mexico to join them permanently. This project explores fathers’ understanding of their fathering efforts along the journey of migration; from departure from Mexico to family resettlement in the U.S. There is a conspicuous paucity of research focusing on the fathering experience among these men. In addition, negative stereotypes about the Mexican men in general abound. Thus, this study clarifies and contributes to the existing knowledge about these men. Fifteen Mexican immigrant fathers participated in the study through extensive qualitative interviews and field observation. Interviews were carried out in Spanish, audio taped, and simultaneously translated and transcribed into English. Data were treated through the process of phenomenological reduction. Nine core themes emerged: (1) fathers immigrate to rescue their families from poverty and fulfill what they perceive to be their roles as breadwinners; (2) they could not embark upon this journey without the support of family and kin in both countries; (3) they sacrifice themselves and their families as well; (4) despite the geographical distance, their fathering efforts involve much more than providing for their children; (5) they vow to ensure that neither they nor their families would ever experience certain risks again; (6) once in the U.S., they experience a type of poverty they did not anticipate; (7) due to immigration policy, the border is never left behind; (8) the role of the wife is significant throughout the father’s experience; and (9) despite the challenges experienced, fathers recognize and appreciate the gains from their decisions to engage in cross-border fathering. The essence of the phenomenon involves the recognition that although the Mexico - U.S. border is left behind after crossing the border, the father never stops crossing familial, social, and psychological borders. As a triangulation strategy, five professionals with significant experience working with Mexican immigrant families were also interviewed. Implications for practice, education, research, and policy are identified and discussed. Questions about the future of this population group are raised.

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In the past, emergence of right-wing conservative moral reform movements has resulted in profound changes for our society. Two of the most visible examples would be the 18th amendment establishing the prohibition of alcohol and the movement to destroy communism in America, McCarthyism. since the mid-1970’s, a movement in America has been gaining strength to once again morally reform America. Some of the issues now on the new right agenda are: banning abortion, getting prayer back in school, and defeating the Equal Rights Amendment. In this study, we first draw an historical comparison between the current moral reform movement and one of the past (e.q. McCarthyism). Second, we test the relative explanatory power of two different theories that attempt to account for the origins of moral reform ideas using data 1977 and 1982. / M.S.

The World Trade Center attacks on September 11, 2001 fundamentally transformed the context of reception for Muslim immigrants in the U.S., shifting it from neutral to negative while also brightening previously blurred boundaries between established residents and the Muslim minority. This study explores how second-generation Muslim immigrants have experienced and reacted to post-9/11 contexts of reception. It is based on an analysis of ten semi-structured in-depth interviews that were conducted throughout the Portland Metropolitan Area from January to April of 2016. It finds experiences of discrimination to be primarily affected by two factors: public institutions and gender. It also finds, furthermore, that research participants react to negative post-9/11 contexts of reception by redrawing bright boundaries to include themselves within the American mainstream. Because Islam itself has become politicized within post-9/11 contexts of reception, this study also explores how second-generation Muslim immigrants construct and maintain religious meaning as a form of political identity. It finds that research participants unilaterally construct a Localized Islam that is dynamic and variable in its response to familial and social pressures. The thesis concludes by putting forward a typology outlining its four primary forms of localization within contemporary social and political environments.

This study aimed to document the extent of domestic violence among a community sample of women of South Asian origin in the United States, and to investigate sociocultural factors associated with domestic violence in this population. It also investigated the extent of informal and formal help-seeking among women of South Asian origin who are victims of domestic violence and sociocultural factors associated with their help-seeking. The sociocultural factors of isolation (measured by ties with family, friends, and social and cultural groups, as well as ties with spouse/partner), perceived social support, acculturation, and patriarchy were used to predict abuse and help-seeking. Both paper and Web surveys were used to collect data from a cross section of South Asian women residing in the United States of America. In total, 215 cases were included in the multivariate analyses. Most women in the sample were highly educated. Based on the Conflict Tactics Scale -2, results indicated that 38% of the sample experienced psychological abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, and/or injury from abuse in the past year. Psychological abuse was by far the most prevalent form of abuse (52%), but 48% of the women who were abused experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, or injury. Isolation, as measured by ties with spouse/partner, and perceived social support predicted both abuse and help-seeking. Isolation, as measured by ties with family, friends, and social and cultural groups, also predicted help-seeking. Of the women who reported seeking help, the use of informal help sources (e.g., family, friends) was more prevalent than the use of formal resources (e.g., doctors, counselors, battered women’s shelters). The study contributes to the research by providing empirical data on the extent of abuse and help-seeking behaviors of women of South Asian origin in the United States. Among the study’s practice and policy implications for preventing domestic violence is a need to reach out to South Asian women in the community to insure that they are not isolated and know that support is available. The study also suggests that outreach to men is necessary in order to improve relationships with their spouses/partners that may lead to reduced abuse. The information will contribute to designing culturally appropriate interventions to prevent domestic violence and help South Asian women victimized by domestic violence. / text

Every year many immigrant families become members of United States communities. Among these are international graduate students whose lives and identities, as well as those of their families, are changed as they negotiate between cultures and experiences. In this study, three Saudi graduate students share their stories about culture, education and literacy. This research employs narrative inquiry to answer the following question: What stories do Saudi immigrant students tell regarding their educational beliefs and experiences, as well as the experiences of their children in the U.S. and in Saudi Arabia? The participants' interview texts are the main data source. The three-dimensional narrative inquiry spaces of temporality, sociality, and place help identify the funds of knowledge in place throughout these narratives. Data analysis uses funds of knowledge as a theoretical lens to make visible the critical events in each narrative. These events point to themes that support the creation of a third space in which the participants negotiate being in two cultures as well as their storying across time to understand their own experiences. Themes of facing challenges, problem solving, adaptation, and decision-making connect these stories and support the discussion of findings within the personal, practical, and social justifications for this narrative inquiry. The participants' negotiation of being in two cultures as revealed here serves as a resource for educators in understanding the instructional needs of immigrant families. The findings also have the potential to contribute to changing existing misconceptions about this minority group and other immigrant groups. In a rapidly growing global community as the United States, such narratives provide insights that invite personal understandings and connections among diverse people.

"It was the purpose of this writer to obtain such information in regards to the living costs of the students enrolled at North Texas State College as to suffice in making a comparative study with the living costs of students enrolled at other educational institutions over the nation."-- leaf 1.

This dissertation is based on Sociocultural Theory, Social Learning Theory and Trauma Theory, as well as a new theoretical framework (Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome) which takes into account multigenerational trauma. Five research questions involving independent variables believed to predict violent behavior in African American male youth were investigated. The first three questions addressed stressors experienced by African Americans: violence witnessing, violence victimization, and daily urban hassles. The fourth and fifth questions concerned the sociocultural characteristics of racial socialization and prosocial attitudes toward respect. Participants were 200 African American male youth residing in inner Northeast Portland, Oregon who were recruited from four organizations: The Portland House of Umoja residential facility, McLaren Youth Correctional Facility, Donald E. Long Youth Correctional Facility and the Bridge Builders Gentlemen's Rites of Passage Program. The study included two groups of African American male youth ages 14 to 18, 100 of whom were incarcerated and 100 of whom were non-incarcerated. All five independent variables significantly predicted use of violence in separate regression equations. Multiple regression analyses revealed that the strongest predictor of the use of violence was victimization extent which alone accounted for 43.3% of the total variance in use of violence. In the second step of the regression, witnessing was added to the equation which increased the explained variance to 49.2%. The third and final step added prosocial attitudes toward respect to the regression accounting for a total of 51.2% of the variance of the extent of the use of violence. Variables excluded from the final regression equation were racial socialization and urban hassles which failed to significantly increase the prediction of the criterion variable of extent of use of violence. The data provide evidence that trauma characteristics of absent mothers, witnessing violence, experiencing violence, and feeling disrespected by others are key factors that can provide practitioners a better lens to use in assessment and treatment planning than the current response of punishment and incarceration for displays of violent behavior.

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