Nos contextos de pesquisa sobre patrimônio imaterial da humanidade e sobre instituições educacionais e formação do indivíduo, e desejoso de contribuir com subsídios para a implementação da Lei 10.639/03, defino como objetivo da presente investigação verificar e descrever peculiaridades educacionais do iromb, rito de iniciação e passagem da adolescência para a vida adulta, praticado pelo grupo étnico wongo, da República Democrática do Congo (RDC). Enfatizo seu significado sóciocultural e o quadro de valores e virtudes por ele privilegiado. Os dados de pesquisa advêm de fontes bibliográficas e de fontes orais de informação. Os informantes foram entrevistados em Bandundu e Kinshasa, estados da RDC, por três pesquisadores a quem supervisionei via telefone, Internet e correio. Do vasto universo teórico utilizado para a análise e interpretação dos dados destaco a contribuição de Ki-zerbo (2006), Kisimba (1997), Kumarer (1979), Mudiji (1989), Mungala (1999), Martinez (1989), Hampaté Bâ (1982) e Vansina (1982). Tendo privilegiado o tema relativo ao significado sóciocultural do iromb e o quadro de valores e virtudes por ele privilegiado, concluo que esse rito de iniciação e passagem cumpre relevante papel na formação de indivíduos solidários e conscientes de seus deveres e direitos na coletividade por eles integrada. Ao nível individual o iromb pode ser visto como um conjunto de recursos que têm por finalidade orientar para o reconhecimento dos direitos e deveres de cada indivíduo em seu grupo; explicitar o status e os papéis que competem a cada um e, ainda, promover possibilidade de acesso a formas elevadas de espiritualidade e de criatividade. Ao nível grupal esse rito, realizado no interior de sociedades iniciáticas, promove um diálogo entre as forças do destino de cada um e as exigências da vida social, como se a sociedade tomasse em suas mãos os destinos individuais para melhor realização dos propósitos pessoais e coletivos. Caracterizado por um conjunto de procedimentos nos quais interagem o sagrado e o profano, o iromb visa assegurar unidade e continuidade ao grupo. / In the context of the researches about the immaterial heritage of the humanity and about educational institutions and individual formation, we would like to bring subsidies for the introduction of the brazilian law 10.639/03. The objective of this research is to verify and describe educational particularities of iromb, an initiation rite which is the passageway from teen to adult life practiced by the wongo ethnic group of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). I emphasize its socio-cultural meaning, the values and vertues priveleged by the wongo people. The data are from bibliographic and oral sources. Our informers were interviewed by three researchers by phone, internet and by mail in Bandundu and Kinshasa, states of DRC. From the big theoretical universe used for our analysis and interpretation of our data, I would like to point out the contributions of the following authors: Ki-zerbo (2006), Kisimba (1997), Kumarer (1979), Mudiji (1989), Mungala (1999), Martinez (1989), Hampaté Bâ (1982) and Vansina (1982). As I have privileged the topic about the socio-cultural rite of iromb and its board of values and virtues, I conclude that this initiation rite and passage hás a very important function in the formation of supportive individuals, conscious of their rights and duties in their community. At the individual level, iromb can be seen as a collection of resources which intend to advise people about the recognition of their rights and duties in their community; it intends also to make clearer the status and the role of each other and even, to promote possibilities to get access to high forms of spiritualism and creativity. At the group level, as this rite is realized into initiatory societies, it promotes a dialogue between individual destiny forces of each group member and the requirements of social life, as if the society had taken into its hands the individuals destiny to make better the individual and common intentions. Characterized by a collection of procedures in which the holy and the non-believer interact, the iromb rite intend to ensure unity and continuation to the wongo group.

La fertilité des sols du volcan Mont Cameroun attire depuis des siècles une mosaïque de populations en cohabitation parfois difficile, dans un contexte de brassage culturel intense. Officiant comme autant d'archives vivantes des soubresauts de l'histoire, la mémoire pédologique enregistre et restitue la marque des usages, et par-là même celle des épisodes tragiques de l'occupation humaine. En retour, la mémoire sociale se fait l'écho des particularités du milieu, s'approprie ses originalités et adapte un système de représentations et de pratiques agraires diversifiées. Ces dernières sont commandées par la survie du groupe lorsqu'il s'agit des communautés paysannes mais aussi par les motivations financières de structures productivistes aux dimensions internationales. Les décennies passées, particulièrement riches en mutations sociales, ont donné lieu à une accélération de la chronologie événementielle dont les répercutions à l'échelle du sol sont lisibles. L'analogie de fonctionnement des mémoires sociale et pédologique, tant par leur similitude structurale que par le jeu de leurs interactions permanentes, constitue les fondements de ce travail. L'étude de certains indicateurs mémoriels permet de connaître de manière précise l'état de santé des sols comme celui des sociétés qui en vivent. Cette thèse contribue, à travers la mise en place d'une démarche pluridisciplinaire alliant l'ethnologie et la pédologie, à identifier les mécanismes de l'interaction entre les mémoires sociale et pédologique du Mont Cameroun.

The chief preoccupation of the dissertation revolves around the European Union's project of calling forth a collective sense of "European identity" amongst people in the Union. It focuses specifically on how the European Union's identity politics plays out once the ethnic minorities with immigrant background now living in the Union are brought into view. The main purpose can be described as twofold; involving, firstly, a mapping and examination of how the EU construes and defines the identity it seeks to mobilize, and, secondly, a thorough discussion of the types of consequences or implications that stem from this endeavour. In demonstrating the strong tendency on part of the EU to articulate a common identity for the Union in ethno-cultural terms — whereby the EU is conceived as primarily a cultural community whose members are said to share the same origin, cultural heritage, religion and history — the study goes to great length in discussing the excluding implications that an ethno-cultural identity politics gives rise to. The dissertation argues that such an ethno-cultural disposition partly must be seen in light of the European Union's gradual adjustment to a largely neoliberal order; an order which has worked restraining on the feasibility of a social and political articulation of identity and citizenship in the Union. An introductory chapter outlines the discourse theoretical approach which guides the analyses in five essays. The essays mainly explore how the European Union's discourse on identity manifests in various policy areas - immigration, citizenship and education - all of which in one way or another address the issues of culture, the multicultural society, ethnic exclusion, racism and the situation for ethnic minorities and migrants. The complex of problems concerning ethnic, cultural and social exclusion in today's European Union thus constitutes a central theme engaged with throughout the dissertation. / digitalisering@umu

This qualitative research used the Long Interview method to study cultural and gender influences on mental health, health beliefs, health behaviour, help-seeking and treatment expectations for mental health problems in newcomers to Canada who are members of an ethnocultural, visible minority population - the Sri Lankan Tamils. The study employed a comparative design and analyzed data from interviews with Tamil men (N=8) and Tamil women (N=8) who self-identified as having been diagnosed with depression, and service providers (N=8) who provide frontline mental health and related services to the Sri Lankan Tamil community. The objectives were to a) understand cultural and gender factors inherent in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; b) investigate how these cultural and gender factors impact mental health and influence the trajectory of help-seeking and treatment for depression in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; c) explore the intersection of culture and gender as it relates to health behaviour; and d) explore service providers’ perceptions of the influence of culture and gender in relation to help-seeking for mental health problems and the application of this understanding to service delivery. The study found that the respondents equated social function with health and that this concept informed help-seeking and treatment expectations. Socially appropriate functioning was seen as an indicator of health, and this differed by gender. Gender-differentiated social stressors contributed to depression. Women played a role as enablers of care, both for family members and acquaintances. Men were more resistant to help-seeking and tended to disengage from care. There was a distinct preference for service providers who understood the culture and spoke Tamil. Religious groups served a social support function. Family physicians and Tamil service providers in the social service sectors were identified as key players in the pathways to care. Service providers did not appear to understand the community’s holistic view of health; however, they did use their knowledge of the community to make adaptations to practice. Recommendations that result from these findings include health promotion and prevention strategies beyond the traditional health care system, targeted culture and gender-informed interventions, and the need for multisectoral collaborations.

This qualitative research used the Long Interview method to study cultural and gender influences on mental health, health beliefs, health behaviour, help-seeking and treatment expectations for mental health problems in newcomers to Canada who are members of an ethnocultural, visible minority population - the Sri Lankan Tamils. The study employed a comparative design and analyzed data from interviews with Tamil men (N=8) and Tamil women (N=8) who self-identified as having been diagnosed with depression, and service providers (N=8) who provide frontline mental health and related services to the Sri Lankan Tamil community. The objectives were to a) understand cultural and gender factors inherent in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; b) investigate how these cultural and gender factors impact mental health and influence the trajectory of help-seeking and treatment for depression in the Sri Lankan Tamil community; c) explore the intersection of culture and gender as it relates to health behaviour; and d) explore service providers’ perceptions of the influence of culture and gender in relation to help-seeking for mental health problems and the application of this understanding to service delivery. The study found that the respondents equated social function with health and that this concept informed help-seeking and treatment expectations. Socially appropriate functioning was seen as an indicator of health, and this differed by gender. Gender-differentiated social stressors contributed to depression. Women played a role as enablers of care, both for family members and acquaintances. Men were more resistant to help-seeking and tended to disengage from care. There was a distinct preference for service providers who understood the culture and spoke Tamil. Religious groups served a social support function. Family physicians and Tamil service providers in the social service sectors were identified as key players in the pathways to care. Service providers did not appear to understand the community’s holistic view of health; however, they did use their knowledge of the community to make adaptations to practice. Recommendations that result from these findings include health promotion and prevention strategies beyond the traditional health care system, targeted culture and gender-informed interventions, and the need for multisectoral collaborations.

In this thesis I explore issues of food security and food-identity relationships among international students at the University of Guelph and the University of Windsor. I argue students who attempt to maintain traditional diets are more likely to experience food insecurity than students who explore diverse foods because they are more likely to be negatively affected by food availability, food access and structural barriers. What students eat can also have implications for identity maintenance and identity creation. Thus in this thesis I also explore the relationship between food and identity by considering how identity and food-security can be closely related to preferred food availability and accessibility. I argue that students consume certain foods as a means to maintain and create identities, and as such I suggest that familiar food eaters may experience a sense of losing their identities as their food insecurity increases.

Mémoire numérisé par la Division de la gestion de documents et des archives de l'Université de Montréal

Alguns estudos apontam como fatores do atual estágio do ensino em Moçambique o elevado rácio aluno/professor, a fraca preparação do professor, as precárias condições de trabalho e o desajustamento da estrutura e dos conteúdos do currículo. Contudo, esses fatores não estão isolados, uma vez que as metodologias aplicadas pelos professores em sala de aula também têm sido uma das causas do fraco aproveitamento dos alunos no ensino básico em Moçambique, de acordo com a sondagem feita em 2015 pelo Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento da Educação (INDE). Para legitimar esse fato, autores como Ausubel (1980, 2003), Moreira (2006) e Sousa (2000) propõem a diversificação de estratégias, bem como a participação ativa e responsável do aluno na sua aprendizagem. Adotando, desse modo, a aprendizagem por descoberta descrita por Sousa (2000) como aquela em que “o conteúdo principal não é dado, mas deve ser “descoberto” pelo aluno antes que possa ser incorporado significativamente na sua estrutura cognitiva”. Nas escolas moçambicanas, tais procedimentos não são visíveis, já que os alunos são sujeitados a uma rotina incômoda, a qual acaba por gerar consequente falta de motivação e conteúdos-chave como escrita e cálculo em sala de aula. Diante de tais fatos, levantou-se a seguinte questão: Que contribuição pode trazer o uso do objeto de aprendizagem N'SAMAT para auxiliar na melhoria do aproveitamento dos alunos da 2a classe do ensino básico na aprendizagem de Aritmética em Moçambique? Como uma das alternativas para tais situações, as teses propõem o uso de objeto de aprendizagem N'SAMAT, em aula, para auxiliar na melhoria do aproveitamento dos alunos da 2a classe do ensino básico na aprendizagem de Aritmética em Moçambique. Em conjunto, propõem-se a adoção de novos recursos, uma vez que por si só as tecnologias não resolvem o respectivo problema. Segundo Moreira (2006) substituir o quadro de giz por quadros coloridos e animadas exposições em PowerPoint dá no mesmo, portanto o que realmente importa é a diversificação das estratégias pedagógicas. Para concretização da tese, foi adotado um plano quase-experimental, associado a uma pesquisa quali-quantitativa, em que foi feito um estudo inicial junto aos gestores e professores e a posteriori uma avaliação do experimento com os alunos, na qual foram submetidos a um pré-teste e a um pós-teste. O pré-teste consistiu na resolução de um exame de matemática no primeiro momento, já no segundo momento os alunos tiveram uma intervenção com auxílio do objeto de aprendizagem N´SAMAT e culminou com a resolução do pós-teste. Dos resultados obtidos conclui-se que a metodologia aplicada contribuiu de forma significativa para o aproveitamento dos alunos na disciplina de matemática, especificamente, em conteúdos ligados à aritmética. / Some studies point to factors such as the current stage of education in Mozambique, the high pupil / teacher ratio, poor teacher preparation, precarious working conditions and maladjustment of the curriculum structure and contents. But these factors are not isolated, since the methodologies applied by teachers in the classroom have also been one of the causes of low achievement of students in basic education in Mozambique, according to the survey conducted in 2015 by the National Institute for Development Education. To legitimize this fact, authors such as Ausubel (1980, 2003), Moreira (2006) and Sousa (2000) propose the diversification of strategies and the active and responsible participation of students in their learning, adopting learning by discovery described by Sousa as one in which "the main content is not given, but must be" discovered "by the student before it can be incorporated significantly into his cognitive structure." In Mozambican schools, such procedures are not visible, subjecting the student to a daily routine and consequent lack of motivation and key content such as writing and calculating in the classroom. Faced with the facts, the following question was raised: What contribution can the use of the N'SAMAT learning object bring to the achievement of 2nd grade students in Arithmetic learning in Mozambique? As an alternative to such a situation, theses propose the use of the N'SAMAT learning object in class to improve the use of 2nd grade students in Arithmetic learning in Mozambique. Moreira (2006) says that replacing the chalkboard with colorful pictures and animated PowerPoint presentations gives the same. What is important is the diversification of pedagogical strategies. To accomplish this, a quasi-experimental plan was adopted, associated with a quantitative research, where an initial study was carried out among the managers and teachers and the subsequent evaluation of the experiment with the students, in which they were submitted to a pre- test and post-test. The pre-test consisted in the resolution of a math test in the first moment, in the second moment the students had an intervention with the aid of the object of learning NSAMAT and culminated with the resolution of the post-test. From the results obtained, it is concluded that the applied methodology contributes significantly to the students' achievement in mathematics, specifically in content related to arithmetic.

This research was aimed at determining the ethno-ornithological knowledge of three Mushere villages close to the Dulu Forest, Nigeria to determine whether this might hold potential for developing a local conservation programme to protect the forest. The conservation objective of the research was aimed at determining the drivers of forest degradation, and possible means of mitigation. Using a mixed method approach, quantitative/qualitative data were collected in two years from different demographics (men, women, children, age differentials, occupation, urbanization). Oral interviews, semi-structured interviews, picture elicitation tasks, free-listing exercises and focus group discussions were employed in the data collection process. The findings revealed a relatively low ethno-ornithological knowledge, and a general indifference (ornitho-apatheia) towards birds. Knowledge transmission was predominantly through oral means while TEK acquisition was mainly through vertical and horizontal methods. While adults perceived birds as not valuable, children generally perceived birds as valuable. Cultural utilization and ecological salience were the main drivers of bird naming and knowledge. However, there was a high valuing of the Dulu forest, with the main drivers of the forest degradation being timber extraction. Overall, I concluded that the indifference of the Mushere towards birds revealed a lack of cultural appreciation of birds, leading to little TEK of birds, insufficient to encourage the use of TEK of birds in the conservation of the Dulu forest, and the use of birds as flagship domain for promoting conservation. However, a sustained approach towards encouraging birding activities could improve the perception of birds. I therefore suggest using an ecosystem approach in the conservation of the Dulu forest. Engaging the locals in dialogue, establishing a leadership structure for the management of the Dulu forest, providing alternative means of livelihoods are suggested as ways of mitigating the degradation of the Dulu forest.

In South Africa Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) have to contend with the typical adversarial relations with a host government. In addition, MNEs operate in an environment regulated by a government policy of Redress, aimed at changing the wealth profile of the country to reflect the ethnic demographics. Policies such as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment, Affirmative Action and Preferential Procurement are interventionist and place additional burden on the MNEs. Implementations of these regulations are often the source of conflict between MNEs and the local government. Ethno-cultural distance aggravates the strained relations between the MNE and host government. The policy of Redress effectively legislates the incorporation of local third parties that are ethno-culturally related to government into the competitive strategies of MNEs. Joint ventures with locals are an acknowledged strategy to enter foreign markets, providing for legitimisation and access to networks. The choice in strategy when dealing with the home government of either a relational or transactional approach is transferable to the MNE host government environment. Political levels have proven to be inaccessible but successful business transactions with government are abundant. The transactional approach dominates as a result of the failure to establish any relations with the host government, negating the pursuit of the relational approach. Third parties play an enabling role in successful transactions, ranging from providing access to government employees up to securing the deal and transacting with the MNE at arms-length. The absence of any social capital in successful transactions requires re-evaluation of the role of social capital in bridging barriers in business relations. Possible explanations are in the linking that the social capital of the third party with the government and MNE employees respectively has, an extremely low threshold for social capital in successful transactions, the force exerted by the need for the products or services, or, most probable, the profit motive. The distance between the government and MNE is extreme as a result of the historical strife between the ethnic groups in the country and the policy of Redress. The connotation with the social environment deters the active pursuit of social capital to gain competitive advantage. / D.B.L.