The purpose of this thesis is to explore what corporations in Brazil, whether with Brazilian headquarters or not, are doing in regards to communicating their diversity practices and initiatives to the public. Understanding these companies' positions on diversity can paint a better picture of how much Brazil has advanced on diversity in the workplace matters, since the topic started coming about in discussions in the 1990s (Fleury, 2000). A sample of 15 companies was selected from Exame magazine "Melhores e Maiores Ranking 2014" (2015), and a content analysis of each company's website was performed during the summer of 2016, based on three diversity assessment models that were suggested by Mazzei and Ravazzani (2008): assimilating minorities, managing diversity, and leveraging differences. One of the corporations that was part of the sample, JBS, could not have its content analyzed because, even though there was a website listed, there was no content displayed about the company. A rubric was developed to code the data and assign a certain score to each corporation. Those companies were then placed under each of the three diversity assessment models based on how many points each of them scored on the rubric. The study found out that all companies headquartered in Brazil with an international presence fell under the third diversity assessment model, leveraging differences, which is the most proactive and diversity-oriented of the three. In addition, some international corporations that are present in Brazil mostly fell under the diversity management approach, but did not show the amount of diversity information initially expected before the study was conducted. Brazilian corporations with a domestic presence were scattered around the three models, with one company under assimilating minorities, three under diversity management, and one under leveraging differences. Despite the researcher's initial expectations, the results show that Brazilian companies with an international presence seem to be in tune with international diversity standards, and international companies with a presence in Brazil seem to be lacking some diversity related information, at least on their Brazilian websites. There are also suggestions for further research on the topic, this time based on diversity strategy guidelines suggested by Conklin (2006) and by the Instituto Ethos (2000).

In public relations, minority public relations practitioners are feeling left behind by the profession (Ford & Appelbaum, 2005). Where do top executives stand on employment diversity within their organizations? An online survey of 20 top executives of small-sized public relations agencies explored how top executives’ perceptions of and normative beliefs about diversity practices were related to their future engagement in diversity practices at work. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this explanatory study found that executives’ perceptions of peer endorsement of diversity were associated with greater intention of organizational engagement in diversity practices. Neither perceived benefits of nor perceived concerns about diversity were related to future engagement. Recommendations for contacting this hard-to-reach audience, as well as suggestions for promoting diversity practices among top executives, were discussed.

This capstone project examined social workers’ knowledge, values, and beliefs as related to the concept of cultural humility to determine how hospice care professionals treat patients’ cultural preferences and traditions with respect and sensitivity at the end of life; as such practices have the ability to improve the hospice experience. Research questions addressed in the study (a) how social workers in Nevada define cultural humility in the context of hospice social work practice, (b) the values or principles hospice social workers in Nevada consider most important in providing culturally appropriate care to hospice patients, and (c) the ways hospice social workers in Nevada implemented a cultural humility stance within their practice. To obtain data for this project, connections with the local hospice care community were used to recruit interested individuals directly involved in service delivery through a convenience sampling method. Participant data was collected via a focus group with 9 participants, which was then recorded, transcribed, and analyzed. The method of analysis was thematic exploration and estimation of the prevalence of identified themes. Five major themes were identified through analyses: (a) individualized culture, (b) respect for others, (c) team-oriented approach, (d) implementation of cultural humility, (e) lack of formal training and integration of hands-on experience. Findings contribute to the generic hospice services knowledge base, working in synergy with previous research findings to help encourage future research studies on this topic.