<p>This dissertation investigates the effects of ethnic resources generated by an immigrant group’s concentration in self-employment and a geographic area, and class resources—education in particular—on the self-employment outcomes of immigrant business, which has been a lasting interest from the early days of immigrant entrepreneurship research. To examine the effects of immigrants’ concentration and education, ordinary least squares regression and hierarchical linear regression for cross-classified random effects models are fit to each of the 26 minority and white immigrant groups in the 33 Canadian CMA’s (Census Metropolitan Areas). Using the 2006 Census, the dissertation examines (1) the effects of immigrants’ REC (Residential and Entrepreneurial Concentration) in CMA’s; (2) the interactions between REC and reactive ethnicity—an enhanced awareness of one’s ethnicity due to disadvantage in the host society; and (3) the effects of education on self-employment propensity and income. Unlike previous studies which examined one or a few immigrant or minority groups in one or a few locales, the dissertation provides empirical evidence on the effects of REC and education on self-employment outcomes, based on a wide range of immigrant groups in Canadian CMA’s. The findings indicate that positive effects of REC as well as education on self-employment outcomes exist, but are limited to increasing the self-employment propensity of some immigrant groups. The effects of REC and education on self-employment income, however, are found to be generally insignificant. The study also provides the first empirical evidence that the positive effects of some types of REC become more positive as the reactive ethnicity of an immigrant group increases, as reactive ethnicity theory predicts.</p> / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

This dissertation argues that Texas, a border region influenced by the disparate cultures of Mexico and the southern and western United States, developed a tri-racial society, economy, and polity in which individuals were designated "Anglo," "Mexican," or "Negro." When the Irish, Germans, and Czechs immigrated to the state in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, they did not fit comfortably into these categories. They were always viewed as white, but certain traits kept them from being considered Anglo. Language, religion, the use of alcohol, and a real and reputed willingness to ally themselves with their black and brown neighbors set them apart. The Know-Nothing movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction and an 1887 prohibition referendum brought them significant hostility, even occasional violence. Their experiences in 1887 sparked efforts to "become Anglo," shedding or downplaying their prior identities. Even in the early twentieth century, the idea of Irish, German, and Czech "races" remained current; such thinking contributed to harsh federal immigration restrictions in the 1920s. But in Texas, the extension of Jim Crow-style segregation to Mexican-Americans during that period also extended the Anglo designation to all those who were not black or brown. The two world wars furthered Anglicization, making it undesirable to be identified as German-American and giving all Texans a taste of the wider world. Between the wars, the discovery of oil on land owned by some Irish helped make them Anglo. In the post-World War II era, education reform and other developments sounded the death knell for crucial Czech and German language use, while Mexican-Americans began to seek the privileges of Anglo-ness as a reward for service to their country, without having to become Anglo. Revelations of Nazi atrocities helped change understandings of race and the concept of ethnicity gained in popularity. By about 1960, most Texans considered the Irish, Germans,and Czechs Anglo. During the next decade, as legal restrictions based on race were repealed and black and brown Texans embraced their racial identities, the Irish, Germans, and Czechs not only embraced their Anglo-ness but once again began to celebrate their ethnic attributes as well. / text

Participation in sports has a strong influence on the development of African American youth and the Black community as a whole. The purpose of this paper is to explore the positive and negative effects that participating in sports has on the African American community using previous works and experiments on the topic. Results found that participation in athletics helps African American youth develop important social skills, creates an outlet to keep Black youth off the streets in impoverished neighborhoods, and establishes a vehicle to help Black youth get into college. However, the overemphasized importance of sports within the African American community through the media and Black families themselves has resulted in multiple negative effects including career immaturity, lower academic achievement and the exploitation of the Black intercollegiate athlete.

This thesis seeks to challenge the dominant narrative that oil has been a positive contributor to Houston's development as a city by exploring the real lived consequences for those who live along the Houston Ship Channel--the home of Houston's oil industry. This is done through an examination of historical processes which look at how a pro-oil sentiment has been intertwined into Houston's identity juxtaposed to the historical processes which have shaped the lives of communities near the Houston Ship Channel. This thesis then ends by delving into how it is difficult to organize around the environment in Texas because of how much influence oil has on the state politically and physically.

This study explores the sociological factors influencing the high prevalence of type 2 diabetes in Mexican immigrant and Mexican-American populations of the United States. Type 2 diabetes is one of the most important concerns in public health today, and is characterized by especially high prevalence in ethnic minority populations, particularly in Mexican-Americans. Type 2 diabetes is nearly entirely preventable through healthy diet and lifestyle, and currently represents an enormous financial burden to the health care system. Its unequal burden on the Mexican-American population is a reflection of a systematic failure to consider the sociological factors that affect the prevention and treatment of diabetes. This piece explores themes of acculturation into American society by Mexican immigrants, acculturative theories of health disparity, culturally specific attitudes towards health, diet, and diabetes, and cultural competency in the medical community.

Using a transactional framework, this study explored social relationships in the classroom as mediators of the association between ethnic-racial identity and academic outcomes. Participants were 101 5th graders of diverse backgrounds who completed computer-based questionnaires about their friendships, ethnic-racial identity, and academic engagement. Teachers reported on closeness and conflict in the student-teacher relationship. Relationships in the expected direction were evident between the public regard and centrality dimensions of ethnic-racial identity and social relationships as well as with academic outcomes. Further, path analyses revealed that the relationship between the public regard and cognitive engagement was mediated by student-teacher closeness. Gender differences were evident for pathways to grades; such that for boys’ public regard was indirectly related to their language arts grades through cognitive engagement. The current study highlighted the varied effects of ethnic-racial identity and classroom relationships’ on academic outcomes particularly for boys.

This research is about examining the way in which racialized environmental violence contributes to exploitative social relations becoming embedded in the everyday world. I argue that the space of the everyday has been produced through cycles of social relations proceeding from and/or tied to racialized environmental violence. I continue the work of critical scholars in asserting that social and environmental violence is linked in the same ideological impulse which seeks to hide itself behind a variety of alienating processes. The slow way in which environmental violence works is particularly impactful in these processes because of its attritional lethality, contributing to premature death. I studied these processes by examining the histories surrounding the site of a construction day labor firm in Richmond, Virginia. My methodology includes archival research on newspapers, public documents, and secondary sources establishing that the patterned co-location of social and environmental violence does not occur by chance.

The contemporary United States is at a crossroads with race: some believe achieving political equality rests in the ability to wilfully ignore race, while others assess colorblindness is a racial frame that only serves to prolong and irritate inequalities. Higher ed institutions have become involved in this conversation due to critiques of higher ed devaluing racial minorities both in the curriculum and in hiring practices. As a response, higher ed has promised to restructure their institution with diversity and PoC in mind. This research study seeks to understand if higher ed has maintained this promise. Twelve participants were qualitatively interviewed to assess their satisfaction with higher ed and the curriculum as it pertains to race. It was found that students were generally heavily critical of their education, particularly in the “diversity” claims made by the school. Their narratives additionally highlight the importance of sociological spaces within a neoliberal university.

Afro-Latinas, Latinas of African descent, exist at the intersections of culture, race, gender, and class, and this position informs how we experience our world. This unique experiential perspective is present when we decide to attend college. It was the goal of this research project to explore the post-secondary educational experiences of Afro-Latinas. One particular group of Afro-Latinas was the subject of the research project: Afro-Boricua women. The unique relationship that Puerto Rico has with the United States provided a backdrop for these women’s college going experiences. It provided a historical framework of colonialism and racialization that occurred both on the island and stateside. Critical Race Theory was utilized as an analytical tool with which to interrogate the outcomes of intersections of this relationship. The experiences of the Afro-Boricuas were captured through narratives, in the form of conversations that gave way to testimonios that captured the thematic lives of the women. Through the use of Sociocultural Theory, the researcher incorporated qualitative research approaches including narrative inquiry to address the question: What are the experiences of college-educated Afro-Boricua women? The results of these conversations were then analyzed using a Critical Race Theory framework in order to investigate the role of race and how it manifested in the lives of women who live within a conflicting racial understanding of what “one drop” means. The conversations resulted in testimonios[1] that added complexity to the narratives of other Latin@[2]and Afro-Latina voices speaking of their college experiences as well as their experiences in general. [1] All Spanish language words will be noted in italics with a translation in parenthesis. [2] The moniker “@” will be used as an inclusive symbol representing both male and female references inherent in the term Latin@.

On February 17, 2008,Kosovo declared its independence. The path to independence and the claim to Kosovo was a long process that developed in three primary phases: A) the fostering of territorial solidarity under direct rule and an emphasis on historical ties to the territory; B) the foundation of the national idea within the realms of proto-nationalism; and C) the emergence of peripheral and mass nationalism. This research seeks to define the development of nationalist ideologies in Kosovo and to explore where Roma fit within those ideologies. An historical and sociological approach to nationalism in Kosovo is critical in understanding the current situation of Roma living in, and deported to, Kosovo, including the recent phenomenon of ethnic scapegoating of the Roma by both Serbs and Albanians