This research explores the lived experiences of South Asians college students. This research, through a qualitative study that is rooted in the philosophy of phenomenology, explores the essence South Asians’ identity formation. Qualitative data was collected through semi-structured interviews with South Asian college students. The data analysis was under a phenomenological lens that centered the lived experiences and the essence of these experiences in the results. Seven themes emerged from this phenomenological study: negotiating bicultural identity, model minority expectations, meaningful impact of religious spaces, understandings of intra-community tensions, racialization of Islamophobia, understandings of South Asian identity and efficacy of Asian American identity. This study’s findings provide a foundation to build a more expansive framework for understanding the identity formation of South Asians.

Aging Hispanic populations are expected to increase in the United States (U.S.) to 21.5 million by 2060 according to the National Council on Aging (NCA) (2014). Although actual estimates vary, Gates (2013) asserts that over one million Hispanics identify as gay or bisexual and their unique needs must be explored (Clover, 2006; Cohn & Taylor, 2010; Fenkl, 2014). Unfortunately, few studies examine aging Hispanic men who identify as gay or bisexual according to the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA) (2013). The objective of the current study was to extend the limited research on aging gay/bisexual men in the southeastern U.S. (e.g., Fenkl, 2014) by focusing on Hispanic gay/bisexual men in South Florida. The current study identifies social networks that serve to help this population’s health and well-being concerns related to aging. Findings from the 20 male participants in the current study provided evidence that there are unique health concerns associated with aging within this population. The current project has the potential to help health care providers, social service providers and policy makers, with an increased understanding of the special needs and challenges experienced by aging gay ethnic minorities in communities throughout the U.S.

Sikh leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale’s militant and masculinist discourses were embraced by Punjabi Sikhs because of his presence as a charismatic authority, a concept first developed by sociologist Max Weber to understand the conditions surrounding and personal qualities of a figure which attracts followers. The rebellion he led in Punjab resulted from his radical exploitation of issues concerning the Sikh community. Religion was wielded as a tool, legitimizing Sikh violence as commanded by the Gurus. Radical interpretations of Sikh scripture and folklore were initially preached to rural, less educated crowds. While his sermons brought out their frustrations with the government, his charisma allowed him to manipulate young men, his largest demographic of supporters, into embracing violence. This study analyzes Bhindranwale from the perspective of the people that supported him. By identifying multiple social factors through which to understand Bhindranwale’s reign, this study exhibits his importance in understanding Sikhism in Modern India.

Stereotype threat (Steele & Aronson, 1995) refers to the risk of confirming a negative stereotype about one’s group in a particular performance domain. The theory assumes that performance in the stereotyped domain is most negatively affected when individuals are more highly identified with the domain in question. As federal law has increased the importance of standardized testing at the elementary level, it can be reasonably hypothesized that the standardized test performance of African American children will be depressed when they are aware of negative societal stereotypes about the academic competence of African Americans. This sequential mixed-methods study investigated whether the standardized testing experiences of African American children in an urban elementary school are related to their level of stereotype awareness. The quantitative phase utilized data from 198 African American children at an urban elementary school. Both ex-post facto and experimental designs were employed. Experimental conditions were diagnostic and non-diagnostic testing experiences. The qualitative phase utilized data from a series of six focus group interviews conducted with a purposefully selected group of 4 African American children. The interview data were supplemented with data from 30 hours of classroom observations. Quantitative findings indicated that the stereotype threat condition evoked by diagnostic testing depresses the reading test performance of stereotype-aware African American children (F[1, 194] = 2.21, p < .01). This was particularly true of students who are most highly domain-identified with reading (F[1, 91] = 19.18, p < .01). Moreover, findings indicated that only stereotype-aware African American children who were highly domain-identified were more likely to experience anxiety in the diagnostic condition (F[1, 91] = 5.97, p < .025). Qualitative findings revealed 4 themes regarding how African American children perceive and experience the factors related to stereotype threat: (1) a narrow perception of education as strictly test preparation, (2) feelings of stress and anxiety related to the state test, (3) concern with what “others” think (racial salience), and (4) stereotypes. A new conceptual model for stereotype threat is presented, and future directions including implications for practice and policy are discussed.

Many around the world have come to know South Africa as the rainbow nation, yet this notion has been subject to enormous critiques in the political discourse. The rainbow nation was conceived by the Government of National Unity that came to power in 1994, but it failed to materialize. What post-apartheid South Africa has yielded instead is a nation, or an imagined community, where race and ethnicity never receded. Although they are no longer pathological, race and ethnicity have become normative typifications of an overarching identity. Churches in particular have played a major role in creating a new identity. Churches have managed to move beyond the yoke of race and ethnicity enforced during the Apartheid under the Group Areas Act and the Resettlement Acts, and epitomized by the destruction of the vibrant city of Sophiatown and, in its place, the building of Triomf, an Afrikaner imagined community. Churches have led the way in deconstructing the perceived or realized power or disempowerment that is residual to the Apartheid. In reconstructing the community, they have re-imagined an environment where race and ethnicity remain the standard component of the South African national identity. This re-imagining requires that race and ethnicity be constructed as relational rather than hierarchical. Moreover, it requires that one acknowledge the woundedness (e.g., shame, anger, guilt, hurt, humiliation, betrayal, fear, resentment) that racial typifications create. As a social construction, Churches in Sophiatown are fostering this ethical environment where these values are embraced.

This study was designed to explore the influences, experiences, and disparate life choices of eight African American males from the Jacksonville's Pre-trial Detention Center and the U.S. Navy. The focus of this project was on the choices made by the participants and possible reasons for those choices. Specifically, the research question for this study is "How do some African American males from Jacksonville's Pre-trial Detention Center and the Navy describe their life experiences and the influences of these experiences on their choices?'' The framework for this project was a cross-case and cross-site study. The sites were the Jacksonville Pre-trial Detention Center and the Navy. There were four participants from the Jacksonville Pre-trial Detention Center and four from the Navy. The research yielded some interesting results. All of the participants took full responsibility for their choices. At no time did any of these young men blame anyone but themselves for the bad decisions they made. Additionally, they did not verbalize that the race and gender of their teachers were factors in their educational experience. Finally, there was no specific point at which the participants had a choice that resulted in their diverging from productive citizenship. What emerged from the research were factors, which in their aggregate, resulted in the decisions of the participants. The factors were parental control and resiliency. The participants from the Pre-trial Detention Center lacked many resiliency factors, which those from the Navy enjoyed. Whereas the home life of the participants from the Navy had the element of parental control, the home life of those from the Pre-trial Detention Center did not.

For years the vast body of literature on single-parenting has focused on the weaknesses experienced by the family and the adverse consequences for the children who reside in such a household. The literature reviewed for this study postulate African American males raised in single-parent households perform poorly academically, are more likely to drop out of school, experience emotional difficulties, and are unable to attain self-sufficiency. Researchers have also argued that African American males from single-parent households are more vulnerable to delinquent acts than those of two-parent households. These acts can lead to incarceration or death. One arena that has not been thoroughly examined is the single-parent household in which the African American male has been able to achieve emotional stability, academic and professional success, abstaining from delinquent behaviors. The prevalence of this family structure coupled with the lack of research on successful African American males as products of this household, stimulate a need for better understanding of how the single-parent household functions. My study sought to understand how African American males experience being raised in a single-parent household and what factors have allowed them to achieve success despite the many challenges they face. The participants included eight African American males who were raised in a single-parent household and who were identified as being successful, as defined by this study. A qualitative phenomenological approach was utilized which allowed participants to provide rich, detailed descriptions of their lived experiences through in-depth semi-structured interviews. A thorough analysis of each interview exposed the following themes: mother's influence, a sense of security, sense of self-worth, high expectations and support systems, all of which help to elucidate the phenomenon of being raised in a single parent household. Their stories revealed a positive perception of the phenomena under study, illuminating the strengths of the single-parent household and the factors, as evidenced by the emerging themes that contributed to their success. The findings will serve as a valuable contribution to (a) the ongoing scholarly research on African American males and single-parent households, (b) single-parents raising African American sons, and (c) professionals working with this population.

Often referred to as people in transition, international students usually arrive in the U.S. with a clear sense of their academic goals; however, they often have not considered what their lives will be like or how they may change in non-academic ways. In addition to the typical level of university-related stress, international students face additional problems and difficulties generated in part by the cultural differences between the U.S. and their own countries. This is particularly true for Asian students. Of several studies that have investigated the experiences of international students in the U.S., only a handful have examined Asian students' unique experiences of acculturation, and although the number of Asian women students in the U.S. is increasing, there are even fewer studies about them. This study served as a corrective to these tendencies by focusing specifically on the transformative experiences of Asian women international students (AWIS). Utilizing autoethnographic and ethnographic methodologies, the researcher conducted a qualitative study, exploring in depth the lived experiences of eleven Asian women in cultural transition. The findings bring to light rich and conflicting emotional, cognitive, and interpersonal experiences and strategies of AWIS, who attempt to balance the cultural and familial injunctions of their parents (e.g., Bring Honor, Stay Asian, and Obey Us or Else) with the freedom and opportunities of American culture and campus life. The findings of this research will be relevant to various stakeholders. University administrators and staff, particularly professionals in student affairs and, more specifically, those working with international students and/or in student counseling centers, will benefit from a nuanced understanding of the complexities of these students' lives. Both researchers and clinicians will gain an appreciation for how a systemic focus can be maintained while interviewing individuals. Clinicians will also be better equipped to handle the cultural complexities encountered by these women and to provide culturally sensitive counseling.

The parenting style, level of acculturation and incidence of stress, were explored in order to identify the likelihood of intervention by child protective services to prevent child abuse. Additionally, concerns of whether reports of child abuse were related more to the lack of information about American parenting rules, rather than intentionally abusive behavior.

No description available.