Este estudo consiste numa reflexão acerca da identidade cultural no contexto contemporâneo, mais especificamente, da cultura brasileira teuto-gaúcha e da sua representação na literatura sul-rio-grandense contemporânea. Para tanto, realizou-se um levantamento de obras da literatura gaúcha mais recente que focalizam os imigrantes e descendentes alemães como personagens centrais da narrativa, dentre as quais se selecionou um corpus constituído pelos livros A asa esquerda do anjo (1981), de Lya Luft, e Valsa para Bruno Stein (1986), de Charles Kiefer. A partir da análise realizada, percebeu-se que a cultura teuto-gaúcha é representada através de uma ambigüidade marcante na vida dos protagonistas, oriunda do entre-lugar de sua condição intervalar, constituída pela herança cultural alemã e pela vivência no contexto brasileiro. De um modo geral, a presença da cultura teuto-gaúcha pode ser notada no emprego da língua alemã, na rigidez dos costumes e comportamentos familiares, no preconceito interétnico e de gênero, na culinária e na religião defendida e posteriormente abandonada (no caso de Bruno Stein). Desse modo, tornam-se evidentes as marcas da imigração germânica – iniciada a partir de 1824 – na literatura contemporânea produzida no Rio Grande do Sul. Tal cultura, traduzida pelos seus descendentes e integrada ao contexto brasileiro, deu origem à cultura híbrida teuto-gaúcha, própria do grupo em questão, cujos representantes ainda se fazem notar, conforme atestam os romances analisados. / The present research is a reflection about the cultural identity in the contemporary context, more specifically, about the Teuto-Gaucha Brazilian culture and its representation on the contemporary riograndense literature. For this reason, it was researched books on the gaucha literature which focus the immigrants and German descendents as main characters in the narrative. Among these books it was selected a corpus consisting from A Asa esquerda do anjo (1981), by Lya Luft, and Valsa para Bruno Stein (1986), by Charles Kiefer. Based on the performed analysis, it was noticed that the Teuto-Gaucha culture is represented through a stressed ambiguity in the main characters life, which came from an in-between place condition, consisting of the German culture heritage and the life in Brazil. In general, the presence of the Teuto-Gaucha culture can be observed in the use of the German language, in the strictness of the customs and behaviors, in the ethnic and genre prejudice, in the food and religion defended and later abandoned (in the case of Bruno Stein). This way it is clearly perceived the marks of the German immigration – which began in 1824 – on the contemporary literature written in Rio Grande do Sul. This culture, translated by the German descendents and integrated into the Brazilian context, created the hybrid Teuto-Gaúcha Brazilian culture, specific from this group, whose members are still visible, considering the novels analyzed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the daily life of the younger generation of Mexican Americans through a phenomenology design. Specifically, in regard to how the culture-sharing pattern of biculturalism is reflected in their lives and the way they construct their bicultural identity. The study utilized rich qualitative data to paint a clear and descriptive picture of the internal process of biculturalism within eight Mexican American college students. Ultimately, the data analysis aimed to collect and reflect their voices and the stories. This was done through three distinct data methods that complemented each other: interviews (oral), photo elicitation (visual), and document analysis (written). Results indicate that, the way bicultural individuals organize and respond to their culture in terms of behavior and cognition, is independent from the feelings they experience while engaging in cultural frame switching. No matter how well the participants are able to organize their dual cultures and compartmentalize them in their life, they still struggle with conflicting and opposing feelings. Nonetheless, even though their cultures and ideologies can clash at times and feel contradictory, this young generation can still manage to respond and function in both cultures, but to varying degrees.

Thesis (M.A. (Afrikaans and Dutch))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2007.

由於全球「華語熱」的風潮，「華語」逐漸躍升為世界前三大強勢語言，因此近年來許多外籍生多選擇至中國大陸或臺灣進行短期或長期的專業中文培訓。然而，外籍生在正式接觸漢字及中華文化之前，首先必須面臨的課題便是中文名字的命名。由於「姓名」承載了各國語言中特定的文化內涵與社會風尚，因此不同國籍的外籍生在面臨中文姓名的命名時，必定也會受到不同程度的文化衝擊(Culture shock)。 本研究屬於質性研究，所採用的研究方法為內容分析法及訪談調查法，樣本資料的蒐集與訪談對象的來源是就讀於國立政治大學的外籍生。本文主要探討的核心問題有三：第一，分析外籍生的中文姓名在形、音、義的語言結構與文化特徵；第二，了解外籍生對中文姓名的偏好及對中華文化的認同程度；第三，釐清華語教師為外籍生命名的過程、所依據之原則以及與學生溝通協調的情形。另外，本文也將一併探討中英姓名文化的歷史源流，並比較其背後所隱含的民族心理與社會價值觀，以作為研究核心問題的基礎架構。 研究結果顯示：外籍生的中文姓名在語言結構上的特徵為筆畫偏少、從原名音譯為主、多選用具有正面意義的用字；在文化特徵上，其中文姓名具有明顯的性別特徵，且選字的自由度較高。此外，外籍生對於中文姓名的字形及字義較為重視，且多偏好漢化程度較高的中文名字。在華語教師的命名原則方面，則是以符合華人命名習慣、中文名字能配合學生母語姓名的發音、讀音和諧、易寫好記為主。 探究外籍生中文命名的課題，對於華語課堂教學本身及中華文化的弘揚都有重要的價值與意義，不僅能強化外籍生對於中華文化的認同感，更能營造良好的教學氛圍，對於提高其跨文化交際的能力也有莫大的裨益。 / Chinese has gradually emerged as the world's top three significant languages because of the hot trend of Chinese learning around the world. Therefore, many international students have been visiting Taiwan or China, where provides the professional teaching quality and learning environment to train their Chinese abilities. Hence, naming becomes the first issue which these international students may confront before they formally explore the Chinese characters and cultures. Chinese name is a complicated language symbol which represents one’s uniqueness and contains specific culture connotations and customs, so the cultural differences may possibly lead “culture shock” to the international students during the naming process. This qualitative research is conducted by content research method(N=1666)and interview survey method(N=18), the data sources was mainly gathered from the international students of NCCU. The main issues of this research are listed as follows: 1.To analyze the language structures and culture connotations associated with the characters, pronunciation and meanings of the students’ Chinese names. 2. To investigate the students’ personal preferences and the intensity for their cultural inclination. 3. To realize the process and basic principles of the naming issues which the Chinese teachers adopt as well as the communication and negotiation between the teachers and students. In addition, the study will investigate the historical origins of the Chinese and English cultures, and compare the ethnic psychology and social norms behind these different cultures to establish a basic structure for the main issues in this research. The result of this research demonstrated that on the structure of the language aspects, the international students prefer the Chinese names which are characterized by simple strokes, transliterated from the original names and including positive meanings. Furthermore, on the cultural aspects, it showed obvious gender characteristics and greater extensive selectivity of characters of the Chinese names. In addition, the international students attach more importance to the characters and the meanings of the Chinese names and showed more preferences to the names which are corresponded with the naming convention of the Chinese community. As for the Chinese teachers, their main naming strategies are: Sticking to the Chinese naming convention, transliterating from the original names, easy pronouncing, writing and memorizing. It is undeniable that this research represents essential values for upgrading the teaching achievement for the Chinese teachers and enhances the cultural inclination for the international students. The last but not least, it is also helpful for the students to promote their ability of intercultural communication with proper Chinese names.

Este estudio de carácter descriptivo de una parte de la realidad social de Andorra puede constituir el punto de partida para una actuación educativa "razonable", si se acepta que toda acción educativa tiene su punto de partida en el conocimiento de la realidad personal del educando, pero también del contexto socio-cultural que le envuelve. Los datos obtenidos ponen de relieve que la mayoría de alumnos presentan actitudes acordes con lo que la sociedad espera de ellos. Asimismo, los resultados apoyan la hipótesis de que la actitud de "indiferencia" aparece como un componente importante. En los resultados del análisis bivariado se desprende que los alumnos de género femenino, los alumnos de nacionalidad portuguesa y aquellos cuyos padres poseen un nivel de estudios primarios, manifiestan actitudes más acordes con la integración social, la identidad cultural o la sociedad multicultural que el resto de los estudiantes investigados / This is a descriptive study of a sector on the Andorran social reality. It could be considered as a "reasonable" starting point to act on the educational field. It takes into account the personal reality of the pupil together with his/her socio-cultural context.The obtained data reveals that the majority of students manifest attitudes according to what society expect from them. In the same way, the results of the survey emphasises on the hypothesis that the attitude of "indifference" stands out as an important component.The results of the crossed analysis show that pupils of feminine gender, those from Portuguese nationality and also those whose parents acquired a basic education, manifest attitudes which are more in accordance with the social integration, the cultural identity or the multicultural society, than the rest of the surveyed pupils.

融入臺灣：外國人使用智慧型手機為整合工具的經驗 / Expats living in East Asian nations have a distinctly fresh view of the burgeoning cultures around them. The field of media ethnography has largely ignored this view in favor of domestic perspectives, focusing on virtual ethnography, digital observation, and the collection of empirical data within these local populations. Taiwan is a fast-evolving nation state, with an ever-increasing foreign community and a mobile phone penetration rate of 98%. This study, recounted from the eyes of an American expat living in Taiwan, examines the successes and pitfalls Western nationals face when using their smartphones to overcome cultural barriers, maintain social relationships, and build an identity overseas. The research itself takes shape through a series of one-one-one interviews, concentrating on five subjects of differing age, gender, travel background, language level and locale. The second focus is on in-depth, on-site participant observation of these individuals interacting with Taiwanese locals and attempting to build a life for themselves away from home. Observations of their daily lifestyles, combined with interview content, sheds light on the intentions and contradictions they face in using their smartphones to traverse their environment. The goal of this study is to draw a detailed and nuanced picture of the expatriate experience and image in Taiwan, as well as analyze the ability of Westerners to use technology to integrate into Taiwanese culture.

Cette recherche vise à connaître et comprendre la province de Mérida au Venezuela, en analysant l’image que ses habitants construisent de celle-ci à l’aide de photographies de promotion touristique de la province, issues du matériel produit par l’office de tourisme de Mérida, CORMETUR. La recherche est conçue dans une perspective de méthodologie créative. Les participants ont été invités à élaborer –et à commenter- un collage en se servant, à leur guise, des photos fournies pour récréer leur image de leur province. C’est sur la base de ce travail que je cherche à comprendre la manière dont Mérida est perçue par ses habitants. Mon questionnement est théoriquement supporté par la notion d’ « image » ainsi que par le concept de « représentation », entendue dans l’approche constructiviste de Hall (1997), qui me permet ultérieurement d’interpréter les propos des Merideños rencontrés. Dans et à travers les représentations qu’ils construisent, il est possible de comprendre Mérida en tant qu’un « lieu », tel que défendu par Escobar (2001), au sein duquel convergent le « milieu de vie » et le « milieu touristique » qui le composent. De même, il est possible de saisir des enjeux identitaires, tels que Cuche (1996) et Hall (2007) entendent l’ « identité culturelle », dans leurs représentations. / This research looks forward to knowing and understanding the state of Mérida – Venezuela through the analysis of the image that its residents build of Mérida. The project proposes to use some promotional touristic photographs taken from promotional material produced by Mérida’s tourism office, CORMETUR. This research is designed based on a creative methodology. The participants were invited to make –and to comment- a collage by using a selection provided of photos, in order to recreate the image they have of their state. My aim is to understand how its residents consider Mérida. This research is theoretically supported by the definition of “image” and by the concept of “representation”, in specific through Hall’s (1997) constructivist approach. This last one particularly allows me to interpret what the participant Merideños express in their collage. The analysis of the representations they construct allows to understand Mérida as a “place” (Escobar, 2001) that is composed by an “everyday-life context” and a “touristic context” that integrate each other. Additionally, it is possible to grasp in their representations a question of “cultural identity”, as Cuche (1997) and Hall (2007) understand it. / La presente investigación propone conocer y comprender el estado Mérida - Venezuela à través del análisis de la imagen que sus habitantes construyen de ella mediante fotografías de promoción turística del estado, tomadas del material de promoción producido por la coordinación de turismo de Mérida, CORMETUR. Esta investigación es concebida bajo una perspectiva de metodología creativa. A los participantes se les pidió elaborar –y comentar- un collage utilizando a su gusto una selección de fotos para recrear de esta manera la imagen que tienen de su propio estado. A partir del trabajo que elaboraron, se busca entender la manera como sus habitantes conciben Mérida. La investigación se constituye sobre la base de la noción de “imagen”, pero sobretodo del concepto de “representación”, en su perspectiva constructivista propuesta por Hall (1997), el cual me permite interpretar con mayor profundidad lo que los Merideños entrevistados manifestaron. A través de las representaciones que ellos construyeron, es posible comprender Mérida como un « lugar », entendiéndose este en los términos de Escobar (2001); un lugar en el cual convergen el contexto cotidiano y el contexto turístico que lo componen. Igualmente, se reconoce en sus representaciones una cuestión de “identidad cultural”, tal como la definen Cuche (1996) y Hall (2007).

Ce projet de recherche a comme objectif général de déterminer l’identité culturelle des occupants amérindiens qui se sont établis sur le site Rioux (DaEi-19), île Verte, au cours du Sylvicole supérieur tardif. Plusieurs groupes culturels sont reconnus pour avoir transité dans la région de l’estuaire du Saint-Laurent pendant cette période, dont les Iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent, les Malécites, les Mi’kmaq et les Innus (Montagnais). Il est depuis longtemps accepté que les Stadaconiens se rendaient régulièrement dans l’estuaire et le golfe pour y exploiter les ressources marines et y faire la guerre. L’influence de ce groupe sur les Algonquiens de la région, et vice versa, fait encore l’objet de débats. L’identité culturelle des Amérindiens qui ont occupé les sites à caractère iroquoïde dans l’estuaire est toujours une question délicate, puisque les nombreux échanges ont pu, de part et d’autre, transformer la culture matérielle des différents groupes. La méthodologie préconisée pour répondre à la question de l’identité culturelle est une approche holistique dans laquelle nous avons mis à contribution une foule d’informations provenant de diverses sources archéologiques et ethnohistoriques. Ce projet nous a permis de proposer que de petits groupes iroquoiens du Saint-Laurent se soient arrêtés au site Rioux pour y exploiter intensivement les ressources de la mer au cours du Sylvicole supérieur tardif. Bien que la recherche n’ait pas permis d’établir la présence d’un groupe algonquien sur place, l’influence algonquienne se fait toutefois sentir dans les matières premières utilisées sur le site. Ceci laisse croire que les Iroquoiens du site Rioux, et de la Côte-Sud en général, n’étaient pas intrusifs à la région et qu’ils participaient à un important réseau d’échange avec les Algonquiens des provinces maritimes. Notre projet de recherche nous a aussi permis de constater les limites de notre méthodologie et de critiquer l’approche archéologique classique basée essentiellement sur l’identification stylistique, la typologie et l’identification macroscopique. / The main goal of this research project was to determine the cultural identity of the aboriginal people who occupied the Rioux site (DaEi-19), île Verte, during the last centuries of the Late Woodland period. Many cultural groups are known to have travelled in the estuary region of the St. Lawrence River, such as the St. Lawrence Iroquoians, the Maliseet, the Mi’kmaq and the Innus (Montagnais). It is common knowledge that the Stadaconians would, on a regular basis, travel to the Estuary and the Gulf to exploit marine resources and engage in warfare. The influence of this group on the local Algonquians, and vice versa, is still a matter of debate. The cultural identity of the aboriginal groups who occupied the estuarine iroquoian-like sites is still today a sensitive matter, since sustained interactions could have transformed the material culture of the different groups involved. The methodology used to answer the cultural identity issue is a holistic one in which the data from different archaeological and ethnohistoric sources are employed. This project allowed us to confirm the iroquoian nature of the archaeological remains and to suggest that small St. Lawrence Iroquoian groups established themselves on the Rioux site, mainly to intensively exploit the marine resources during the last centuries of the Late Woodland Period. Even though our project did not allow us to demonstrate an actual Algonquian presence on the site, their influence is felt though the lithic raw materials used, which leads us to believe that the Rioux site Iroquoians, and those that exploited the south shore of the river, were not intrusive to the region and that they participated in an important exchange network with the eastern Maritime Algonquians. Our research project also allowed us to shed light on the limitations of our methodology and criticize the traditional archaeological approach based essentially on stylistic identification, typology and macroscopic identification.

The concept of inter-country adoptions was reintroduced into the South African legal sphere in The Minister of Social Welfare and Population Development v Fitzpatrick 2000 3 SA 422 (CC), where the constitutionality of section 18(4)(f) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983, which prohibited inter-country adoptions, was successfully challenged. The decision evoked criticism from all around the world, some in favour of inter-country adoptions and others not. In considering this decision, one also has to keep in mind section 28(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 which affords every child the right to family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment. The aim of this paper is to investigate the inner workings of inter-country adoptions, which are regulated by the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption of 1993 and, nationally, the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. These findings will then be relayed back to the ‘best interests of the child’ principle to determine whether inter-country adoption is in the best interests of the child, or not. / Thesis (LLM (Comparative Child Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.

The concept of inter-country adoptions was reintroduced into the South African legal sphere in The Minister of Social Welfare and Population Development v Fitzpatrick 2000 3 SA 422 (CC), where the constitutionality of section 18(4)(f) of the Child Care Act 74 of 1983, which prohibited inter-country adoptions, was successfully challenged. The decision evoked criticism from all around the world, some in favour of inter-country adoptions and others not. In considering this decision, one also has to keep in mind section 28(1)(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 which affords every child the right to family care or parental care, or to appropriate alternative care when removed from the family environment. The aim of this paper is to investigate the inner workings of inter-country adoptions, which are regulated by the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption of 1993 and, nationally, the Children’s Act 38 of 2005. These findings will then be relayed back to the ‘best interests of the child’ principle to determine whether inter-country adoption is in the best interests of the child, or not. / Thesis (LLM (Comparative Child Law))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013.