<p> There is a dearth of literature focusing on domestic violence within the Jamaican culture. This study addresses the paucity of literature related to physical abuse of females in intimate heterosexual relationships in Jamaica. This qualitative, transcendental, phenomenological study was designed to gain insight into the abusive worlds of these women based on their stories told in their own voices. Identification of their reasons for remaining in their abusive contexts was also explored. Eleven women, no longer in their abusive relationships, participated. Results revealed four major themes: (a) faith, (b) hope, (c) poor judgment, and (d) secrecy. A strong call to address faith teachings and application of scriptures related explicitly to abuse within intimate partner relationships emerged from the results.</p>

<p> Dominica has been recognized for its landscape containing hundreds of rivers and receiving high rainfall, and "our water belongs to the world," or so says many Dominican citizens, and their government. A schism exists in the understanding of the water resources of Dominica. Local perceptions are in conflict with regional climate change data. Where climate change research has found Dominica to be high risk for water quality and quantity, locals maintain the mindset that there is an overabundance of the resource. Local epistemologies influence governmental water management practices, which presently focus on exportation of the resource. In efforts of economic development, while trusting that there is a surplus of water, Dominica leases billions of gallons of water each year to foreign companies. A popular conception on the island is that there is an abundance of water, and therefore, it should be shared globally. This unique social construction of Dominican water has been a foundation leading to the sale of billions of gallons of fresh water to international corporations. However, the bulk exportation of water is occurring in the context of climate change, and thus, the availability of water will be impacted by changes in annual rainfall, sea level rise, increased temperatures, and more severe hurricanes. The purpose of this study is to gain a better understanding of how the social understanding of water in Dominica was constructed, and what this means in relation to resource exportation and climate change. This research-based paper explores Dominican perceptions of water abundance and sustainability.</p>

abstract: Great disasters can often serve as birthing grounds for national transformation. As communities work to recover and rebuild, opportunities to reassess of prevailing development theories and programs may arise. As traditional development programs, supported by top-down development theories and billions in foreign aid, have not changed Haiti's impoverished status, such an opportunity has been presented to the Caribbean nation. Just a few months removed from the devastating 7.0 earthquake of Jan 12, 2010, this study identified the emergent thinking about development as expressed by key informants (N=21) from six entity types involved in Haiti's rebuilding efforts - government agencies, social ventures, grassroots, diaspora, foreign, and hybrid nonprofits. Findings were supplemented by participant observation of a civil society meeting in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Sustainable Livelihoods (SL) Framework was used as a lens with which to understand the causes of Haiti's social, institutional, environmental, and economic vulnerabilities. Modified grounded theory was used as the qualitative data analytical method from which five themes emerged: Haitian government, rebuilding, aid work and its effects, Haitian society, and international interference. Participants called for a refoundation, the building a nation from the ground up, of Haiti. Based on these findings, four transformative processes were identified as fundamental to Haiti's refoundation: 1) communication and collaboration with the Haitian government, 2) engagement of the Haitian people and the Haitian diaspora in the redevelopment work, 3) a broad vision of development for the nation, and 4) coordination and collaboration among NGOs. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Community Resources and Development 2010

<p> This grounded theory study explored the competing cultural expectations and cultural approaches by women from Latin American and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries living in the United States. The study explored the following questions: In what ways do women from Latin America living in the United States establish priorities among potentially conflicting cultural expectations or roles? What internal conflicts result out of living between two cultures? What does the process for making sense of cultural expectations look like? How do Latin American women living in the United States make sense of this process? Using a constructivist grounded methodology, the research reflects the insights of 20 female participants from various Latin American and Spanish-speaking Caribbean countries. The data analysis resulted in five major findings, illuminating a framework for understanding the process for making sense of conflicting cultural norms, expectations, and cultural approaches. This is presented in four stages, (1) confronting the new norm/expectation, (2) recognition/acknowledgment of the conflicting cultural value/norm/expectation, (3) adapting to the new context/situation and (4) managing from a cultural standpoint. The main decision-making process related to cultural expectations was tied to: (a) what it meant to be a woman from their native country in the United States and (b) what this means when they return to their country of origin. Concluding with &ldquo;creating a new norm/dynamic,&rdquo; this becomes the &ldquo;balancing act&rdquo; or &ldquo;the dance between cultures.&rdquo;</p><p>

<p> <b>Scope of Study:</b> The scope of this theoretical study is comprised of an extensive review and interpretation of published studies by governmental organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO); non-governmental organizations (NGOs); and individuals detailing the theories, concepts, and relationships that exist regarding the social and economic effects of the global burden of mental health disorders and the substantial treatment gap of mental health conditions in low-resourced settings such as Haiti. Humanitarian emergencies are presented as opportunities to build better mental health systems in low-income countries (LICs). Exploring Haiti&rsquo;s trauma signature (TSIG) identified risk factors for post-disaster mental health consequences to include posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) within the adult population. Three culturally relevant community-based mental health programs Soulaje Lespri Moun (SLM), Partners in Health/Zanmi Lasante (PIH/ZL), and Pwogwam Sante&acute; Mantal (PSM), and one hospital-centered program, Project Medishare Hospital, are highlighted to demonstrate the implementation of successful mental health care services in post-earthquake Haiti. This project is focused on confronting the barriers to mental health services in Haiti with the goal of developing a long-term sustainable mental health system. </p><p> <b>Findings and Conclusions:</b> This research project&rsquo;s findings are congruent with previous research, which described coordinating with local leadership and integrating culturally relevant, community-focused, and evidence-based mental health care with existing health services. These elements are essential in the development of long-term sustainable services in LICs. </p><p> The final chapter is a presentation of recommendations for future areas of inquiry to contribute to greater understanding of global mental health needs, prevention, and delivery of services in LICs before and after complex humanitarian crises. Expanding sustainable mental health care for Haiti will reduce disability and suffering from mental illnesses and build a stronger and more resilient society.</p><p>

<p> Los objetivos de esta investigaci&oacute;n fueron: establecer las dimensiones culturales para Puerto Rico, determinar la existencia o no de diferencias culturales entre Puerto Rico y la Rep&uacute;blica Dominicana. Adem&aacute;s, se midi&oacute; el impacto de los factores demogr&aacute;ficos y las dimensiones culturales en la felicidad colectiva de una sociedad. Una muestra de 596 adultos en Puerto Rico y 404 en Rep&uacute;blica Dominicana fue recopilada para calcular las dimensiones culturales de Hofstede para Puerto Rico seg&uacute;n el <i> Values Survey Module</i> 2013 y el desarrollo de un modelo de regresi&oacute;n m&uacute;ltiple. La investigaci&oacute;n concluy&oacute; que Puerto Rico es una sociedad principalmente jer&aacute;rquica (PDI = 68), colectivista (IDV = 27), masculina con rasgos femeninos (MAS = 56), pragm&aacute;tica con planes para todo pero improvisa cuando hay incertidumbre (UAI=38), enfocada a corto plazo (LTO = 19) y de las m&aacute;s indulgentes del mundo (IVR = 99). Los resultados indicaron que la dimensi&oacute;n cultural de Indulgencia versus Restricci&oacute;n (IVR) tuvo un efecto significativo en la felicidad colectiva en Puerto Rico y la Rep&uacute;blica Dominicana. En otro hallazgo, la salud como variable demogr&aacute;fica tuvo un efecto significativo en la felicidad colectiva en Puerto Rico.</p><p>

Abstract not available.

This dissertation explores the topic of migration focusing on science fiction works created by artists from Mexico, Puerto Rico, and the United States during the latter half of the twentieth century. My analysis investigates the four most common science fiction themes used to represent migration: space exploration, alien invasions, dystopian states, and virtual reality. The dissertation is in part a recovery project, demonstrating the significance (and even existence) of science fiction works created by U.S. Latinas/os. The dissertation is also a work of genre historical analysis, locating these Latina/o and Latin American writers and artists in the history of science fiction. Science fiction emerged in its current form during European colonialism-- its exploration, invasion, and colonization of places already settled. In my dissertation I have found that Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Latina/o writers and artists work against the coloniality of science fiction. I argue in my dissertation that the dominant plot in mainstream science fiction arose out of a particular form of colonial literature, the "going native" narrative in which a colonizer adopts characteristics of or is identified with a colonized people. In science fiction, the "going native" narrative is translated into what I call the "going alien" narrative. One can "go alien" in regard to issues other than colonialism, for example, race, gender, or nationality. In my dissertation I explore how Latina/o and Latin American science fiction writers and artists respond to and work against the "going alien" narrative system that has long been the foundation of mainstream science fiction.

The purpose of this study is to investigate historical and linguistic forces that interact to undermine school achievement in Haiti. From a sociocultural perspective, this study explores the social, political, and historical forces that mediate language ideology and practices in Haitian schools and how such ideology and practices influence students' academic achievement. This study analyzes the role of French and Creole in schools and investigates the linguistic tensions in the Haitian society where Creole, the home language of both students and teachers and the only language broadly used in the country, is relegated to secondary importance in education and other institutional settings. The study relies on ethnographic data collected in a third grade, a fourth grade, a fifth grade, and a sixth grade classroom in a private and a public school in a semi-urban area around the capital city of Haiti as well as data collected in different sectors of the society (e.g. state and private institutions). Building upon the literature regarding classroom discourses and the literature on sociocultural theory, coloniality, language ideology, and symbolic domination, this study problematizes language and educational practices in Haiti and offers recommendations for rebuilding Haiti's educational system in the aftermath of the devastating earthquake of January 12th 2010. Given the role of students' home language in their instruction, this study argues that any effort aiming the revitalization of the school system in Haiti needs to take into consideration issues related to language in the education system.

This project explores the military and political mobilization of rural and urban working sectors of Puerto Rican society as the Island transitioned from Spanish to U.S. imperial rule. In particular, my research is interested in examining how this shift occurs via patterns of inclusion-exclusion within the military and the various forms of citizenship that are subsequently transformed into socio-economic and political enfranchisement. Analyzing the armed forces as a culture-homogenizing agent helps to explain the formation and evolution of Puerto Rican national identities from 1868 to 1952, and how these evolving identities affected the political choices of the Island. This phenomenon, I argue, led to the creation of the Estado Libre Asociado in 1952. The role played by the tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans in the metropolitan military in the final creation of a populist project taking place under colonial rule in the Island was threefold. Firstly, these soldiers served as political leverage during WWII to speed up the decolonization process. Secondly, they incarnated the commonwealth ideology by fighting and dying in the Korean War. Finally, the Puerto Rican soldiers filled the ranks of the army of technicians and technocrats attempting to fulfill the promises of a modern industrial Puerto Rico after the returned from the wars. ^ In contrast to Puerto Rican popular national mythology and mainstream academic discourse that has marginalized the agency of subaltern groups; I argue that the Puerto Rican soldier was neither cannon fodder for the metropolis nor the pawn of the Creole political elites. Regaining their masculinity, upward mobility, and political enfranchisement were among some of the incentives enticing the Puerto Rican peasant into military service. The enfranchisement of subaltern sectors via military service ultimately created a very liberal, popular, and broad definition of Puerto Rico’s national identity. When the Puerto Rican peasant/soldier became the embodiment of the Commonwealth formula, the political leaders involved in its design were in fact responding to these soldiers’ complex identities, which among other things compelled them to defend the “American Nation” to show their Puertorriqueñidad . ^