Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 61-62).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

No description available.

No description available.

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Purpose. The purpose of the study was to examine the network of indigenous resources of the Mexican-American community. Further it was the purpose of the study to explore the knowledge of the respondents regarding the issue of concern. The objectives of this study were threefold. The primary objective was to contribute to the body of knowledge on Mexican-Americans and secondly to explore their network of indigenous resources. The final objective of this study was to contribute to theory development and provide recommendations for social work practice and intervention with Mexican-Americans. Method. The study was exploratory-descriptive, and the setting for the research was Tulare County in the Central San Joaquin Valley, California. The host agency for the study was Tulare County Headstart and Child Care Agency. Thirty-six couples, 18 first generation and 18 second generation were randomly selected as the sample of the study. None of the participants were, past or present, a client of Mental Health Services, which was one of the criteria for the sample selection. Respondents participated in interviews that were prearranged. The interviews were facilitated with a research instrument designed to explore the most salient elements of the network of indigenous resources. Analysis of the data collected was performed by qualitative and quantitative methods. Conclusions. Generally the data revealed that a well defined and functioning system of indigenous resources exist among Mexican-Americans. On most aspects of the indigenous resources and utilization, no difference was determined between the first and second generation respondents. It was found that the sample was youthful and involved in the life tasks of child rearing and family development. Their outlook on life is controlled by a well developed system of belief which is guided by belief in God and evil. Their overall family orientation was extended in nature and in some cases friends and compadres were considered as part or extension of the family. Finally, it was found that curanderos and priests/ministers have a significant role for the respondents in regard to provision of assistance/help for life problems. Recommendations. The findings have implications for social work theory development and social work practice. Sensitivity and awareness is necessary in relation to the cultural, social, and environment of Mexican-Americans. This is of critical importance in the provision of intervention and services. Further social work practitioners need to be cognizant that Mexican-American clients within their relationships and beliefs may possess a wealth of indigenous resources. And a concerted effort must be made to engage the indigenous resources as part of the helping system.

Photocopy of typescript. / Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Studies of Mexican American integration have come to a methodological and theoretical impasse. Conventional investigations have provided limited insight as they are outsider-based perspectives examining native-born minorities within the context of the immigrant experience and race-cycle paradigms. Grounded in cultural ideologies and nationalist narratives, dominant descriptions of minorities have created a conceptual straight that circumscribes the discourse to assimilationists’ models of integration. Moreover, studies of marginal groups produce negative consequences by highlighting cultural differences that tautologically reinforce the grounds for exclusions. Little grounded work has been conducted specifically looking at racialized native-born minorities and the dynamics of their generational process of integration. Through embedded ethnography and the narratives of subject participants, this research provides direct insight into processes of contemporary integration and the social structural accommodation of native-born Mexican Americans. As a means of sidestepping conceptual barriers, this discussion theoretically frames the integration of Mexican American professionals within the context of modernity and liberal human development. By responding to the above critiques, this paper presents an alternative approach to the analysis and explanation of the roots of race-cycle paradigms in the first section. The second section establishes the context for the research and explains the basis for the papers structure and conceptual arguments. As a means of moving the discourse away from established models, the third section provides a critical overview of the classical and contemporary literature on minority integration through a process of textual deconstruction. In addition, the section also constructs a theoretical dynamic between structural determinations and individual adaptations to modernity that promotes integration. The fourth section describes the non-traditional method of data collection that provides direct insight into the processes of native-born minority cultural and structural incorporation. Through participant voices, the fifth section describes how individual interactions and institutional forces are shaping the social place that Mexican American professionals have created on the borderlands of American culture and society. What the interpretive findings suggest in the last section is that they are constructing and re-defining their own social and cultural place out of the elements that modern society provides and not as race-cycle theory predicts.