Prof. W. Backer

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the experiences of conservative orthodox Christian students attending public, secular, accredited counseling and counseling psychology graduate programs. Conservative orthodox Christian students who were attending public, secular, accredited counseling and counseling psychology graduate programs were recruited by email. A prescreening interview was conducted with each respondent. Seven respondents participated in three rounds of individual interviews. The overall research question was: What are the experiences of conservative orthodox Christian students attending public, secular, accredited counseling and counseling psychology graduate programs? Follow-up questions explored the participants' perceptions and experiences in depth. Data were analyzed through within case and cross case displays using a phenomenological approach. Emergent categories, themes, and descriptors were gathered from each round of interviews. Data were organized into three major categories: reflections on secular programs, experiences attending secular programs and Christian identity, and further organized into underlying themes and descriptors. Implications related to conservative orthodox Christian students attending public, secular, accredited counseling and counseling psychology graduate programs were discussed. Finally, suggestions for future research were provided.

This study was designed to describe and analyse the nature of the integration processes of the Libyan community in the UK. It explores the experience of their integration in order to understand how Libyan migrants have come to live in Britain and their relationships with wider UK society. The study also explores the extent to which the experience of Libyan immigrants supports the idea that Britain is a multicultural society. Whilst studies have been conducted examining the issue of Arab migration in the UK and the difficulties which they face (integration, equity, rights, social marginalization and stigmatization) no study has been carried out on Libyan migrants in the UK, so this study is unique. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 38 participants of Libyan migrants living in the UK (aged 18-65). Using snowball sampling, individual interviews were conducted with 27 participants; with the leaders of six selected Libyan civil migrants associations; and in addition to this a focus group with five young Libyans was conducted in order to explore the ways in which Libyans are integrating into UK society. The participants are mixed with regard to terms of age and length of stay in the UK. 13 of the participants were born in Britain or raised in Britain from an early age, whereas the rest emigrated from Libya as adults. 17 of the respondents are male and 21 are female. All of the participants in this study have lived in Britain for a minimum of 12 years, and the longest time span is 41 years. A large proportion of Libyans in the UK have emigrated to the UK due to their desire to gain graduate qualifications to improve their future career opportunities, as well as to make the most of economic opportunities, particularly in skilled sectors. In addition, some come to the UK to for political reasons. The results highlighted most of the participants' desire to integrate into the host community. To facilitate their integration, the first and second generations' participants revealed that the transition to the UK has required a balance between their past and present lives, resulting in adapting a dual identity through the combining of their strong sense of cultural heritage with the determination to contribute to their society. This dual identity is even more pronounced among the younger generations of Libyans as most of them were born and /or grow up in the UK. The study suggests that questions remain about the success of multiculturalism in the UK. While some participants described positive experiences and how they were able to practice their culture, others expressed concern about resentment towards immigrants, in particular after the Brexit vote. In addition some of the interviewees described how migrants are expected to integrate into the host society but that more needs to be done by the government to promote a multicultural environment. Thus, from the experience of Libyan immigrants while the UK is a multicultural society and they appreciate the freedom to practice their culture and religion, more can be done to improve relations in the society.

This thesis is about the ontology and epistemology of foreignness. With other issues,it developed through a series of conversations on foreignness with Australian and international writers and intellectuals, and a subsequent series of radio essays and conversations based on some of the dialogues. A critical framework is developed which examines the relationships between foreignness, cultural identity and the practice of writing through a series of dialogues. The author's analysis involves exploring how the conversations 'speak' the personal and political experiences of living and writing as a foreigner. The interest lies in the various ways narrating one's life touches on certain elements in the aesthetics and politics of writing.The politics of experience and aesthethic production intertwine throughout the conversations and in the production of the text. As the thesis is dialogic in character, the reader can choose to work through the thesis in a linear fashion or to begin at any part. In this sense, the work is divided into three interrelated parts which can be read as different translations of each other. In the last part, in CD format, the author discusses and includes as a postscript to the research, the radio essays and dialogues based on conversations. It is suggested how these radio conversations enact a different way of speaking and writing about foreignness, and explore the on-going relationships between dialogue, translation and a critical imagination. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

University of Technology, Sydney / Project management is a growing profession which transcends industry and national barriers. A high level of communication competence is required for the successful functioning of the often multi-disciplinary and multicultural project teams involved in project delivery to achieve the desired project objectives. Project managers, as the key channels of communication in the project environment, are faced with international and domestic imperatives to be competent in intercultural communication for successful operation in the multicultural project environment. However, the preparedness of Australian project managers for effective communication during project delivery in multicultural environments has not been investigated. This thesis investigates Australian project managers' intercultural communication competence (knowledge, skill and attitude) and their training requirements in this area from the view point of Registered Project Managers (RegPMs) with the Australian Institute of Project Management (AIPM). The study examines the cultural factors influencing intercultural communication and explores how communication can be made effective in the multicultural project environment. The study is set within the context of project management competence which has been an area of significance since the mid 1990s. Based on a survey, preceded by focus group discussions and personal interviews, the study concludes that a slight majority of Australian project managers are 'not competent' in intercultural communication (54.1 %), largely due to skill deficiency. However, project managers with long project management experience, experience with multicultural projects or formal project management qualifications are more likely to be competent in intercultural project communication than those without such profiles. Project managers consider training in intercultural communication, delivered in a practical and interactive manner, as a priority especially in the areas of interpersonal skills, cultural awareness and communication skills. Participants also confirmed host national, local industry and organisational cultures as the three key sources of cultural influence on communication in the project environment. Finally, while different perspectives is a key challenge to communication in the multicultural project environment, intercultural communication can be made effective when project managers i) demonstrate a number of attributes, in particular patience and active listening; ii) make use of various strategies to manage communication barriers during multicultural project delivery, including team agreed communication standards, training/workshop, and use of diagrams/pictures; and iii) opt for face to face mode of communication in preference to other modes. The study recommends a stronger focus on intercultural communication in project manager education, training and competency assessment in the accreditation process.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Brown University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-283). Also available on the Internet.

We live in a world marked by constant change. We are linked in time, place and space to individuals around the globe. In a country as culturally diverse as Canada it is inevitable that issues of globalization and multiculturalism surface in educational realms. As educators it is imperative that we provide our students with opportunities to explore global and multicultural concepts as they impact them on local and international levels. The study of these concepts lends itself more easily to social studies curricula. Thus, an examination of Saskatchewan social studies curricula at the middle level over a period of time (1978- 1999) served as a tool to determine the impact globalization and multiculturalism have had on the curriculum. The review of the literature revealed the following issues: both global and multicultural education are difficult to define, resulting in difficulty implementing both these concepts in the classroom. Both concepts became more prominent in Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. While globalization and multiculturalism are different concepts, they do contain commonalities. These commonalities were used to determine the impact globalization and multiculturalism have had on the curriculum. Four main stages were found to exist that describe the common elements of the two concepts: equality, awareness, critical response and empowerment. Content analysis methodology was used to accurately interpret the curriculum documents that were analyzed, while grounded theory served as a framework for conducting the research. Key word counts were performed, followed by an examination of the word in the context it was placed in. Once examinations of all the curricula were conducted for each grade and year separately they were analyzed individually and then together. The findings revealed the following themes: the 1978 curriculum was not influenced by globalization and multiculturalism, and while the 1987/88 and 1999 curricula do embrace elements of globalization and multiculturalism they only do so in certain stages of the model- mainly awareness and equality. In the conclusion, implications on education and suggestions for future research are discussed.

We live in a world marked by constant change. We are linked in time, place and space to individuals around the globe. In a country as culturally diverse as Canada it is inevitable that issues of globalization and multiculturalism surface in educational realms. As educators it is imperative that we provide our students with opportunities to explore global and multicultural concepts as they impact them on local and international levels. The study of these concepts lends itself more easily to social studies curricula. Thus, an examination of Saskatchewan social studies curricula at the middle level over a period of time (1978- 1999) served as a tool to determine the impact globalization and multiculturalism have had on the curriculum. The review of the literature revealed the following issues: both global and multicultural education are difficult to define, resulting in difficulty implementing both these concepts in the classroom. Both concepts became more prominent in Canada during the 1970s and 1980s. While globalization and multiculturalism are different concepts, they do contain commonalities. These commonalities were used to determine the impact globalization and multiculturalism have had on the curriculum. Four main stages were found to exist that describe the common elements of the two concepts: equality, awareness, critical response and empowerment. Content analysis methodology was used to accurately interpret the curriculum documents that were analyzed, while grounded theory served as a framework for conducting the research. Key word counts were performed, followed by an examination of the word in the context it was placed in. Once examinations of all the curricula were conducted for each grade and year separately they were analyzed individually and then together. The findings revealed the following themes: the 1978 curriculum was not influenced by globalization and multiculturalism, and while the 1987/88 and 1999 curricula do embrace elements of globalization and multiculturalism they only do so in certain stages of the model- mainly awareness and equality. In the conclusion, implications on education and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This dissertation investigates the pernicious effects of neoliberalism in postcolonial, ostensibly post-racial Mexico. I analyze and thickly describe the daily negotiations of race in neoliberal Mexico, as they play out between indigenous Totonacs and Mestizos, or dominant, non-indigenous, non-Black identity, in a small town in central Mexico. I focus specifically on the discursive and material life of indigenous “traditions and customs,” or usos y costumbres that reverberate within and around an Indigenous Court in Huehuetla, Puebla. Usos y costumbres is the core concept around which indigenous rights revolve and the legal justification of the indigenous courts. As such it becomes the arena of struggle and a key site to investigate power relations and social transformations. First, I analyze and chart how Mestizo authorities, Indigenous Court officials, and Totonac community members struggle to fix, define, and redefine the meaning of usos y costumbres, and consequently shift local racial sensibilities and perceptions of self and others. Second, I analyze how the success of indigenous mobilizations, crystallized in this case in the courthouse, incites potent decolonial imaginaries, knowledge productions, and practices that in previous moments were likely unimaginable. The central aim of this dissertation is to demonstrate how the multicultural logics of governance and related languages of rights and cultural difference are lived through, incorporated in, and complexly contested in Huehuetlan social life. I will argue that the formative effects of state-sponsored multiculturalism in Huehuetla repositioned the Totonacs as subjects with power, crystallized in the institutionalization of “cultural knowledge” as jurisprudence in the Indigenous Court, that reverberates in daily confrontations with the legacy of hegemonic Mestizaje. / text

Liberal multiculturalism, at least in the lines of some of its advocates, is vulnerable to serious critiques. This paper lists all major critiques directed to liberal multiculturalism without necessarily agreeing with all. Yet, this is not a sufficient reason to drop it from the intellectual agenda. In contrast, it still stands as the most promising theory to solve the problems stemming from cultural diversity. The position taken in this report sees liberal multiculturalism insufficient in accommodating all the interests of all the parties involved (e.g., different minority groups, political positions, theoretical approaches). Yet, a flexible and contextual formulation of liberal multiculturalism is able to accommodate the broadest range of demands involved in the debate without any serious damage to the core liberal premises such as respecting freedom of choice and basic human rights. What is achieved with such a formulation is not an entirely consistent philosophical truth project, but a relatively flexible guide to solve public policy issues in the face of cultural diversity. / text