Taiwan recently witnessed a sudden increase of opposition political activities among the Taiwanese. Given that the social, economic, political and cultural developments Taiwan experienced during the past four decades were expected to facilitate assimilation between the Mainlanders and the Taiwanese, the Taiwanese insurgence at this time was somewhat unexpected. To account for this development, this dissertation examines: (1) the causes and pattern of ethnic assimilation between the two groups; and (2) the connection of ethnic assimilation and the recent insurgence. The central thesis of this dissertation is that development of the opposition movement after 1986 was a result of a successful ethnic mobilization among the Taiwanese who rose to request for renegotiating the ethnic distribution of political power. The ethnic mobilization was facilitated by the change in the external environment of the movement, which included: (1) the increase of regime permissiveness, (2) the emerging opportunities of political competition, and (3) the emerging regional persistence of ethnic differences. Ironically, all three elements were caused by the pattern of ethnic assimilation. The main body consists of six chapters. Chapter 1 raises the question of the unexpected resurgence among the Taiwanese and proposes a framework of ethnic mobilization to its explanation. Chapter 2 provides a historical overview of the formation of the two ethnic groups, and patterns of intergroup relation during the past four decades. Chapter 3 examines two dimensions of cultural assimilation among the Taiwanese: language shift and identification with China. Using a survey data set collected by the Global Views Monthly in 1987, chapter 3 shows that the two major elements of ethnic differences were well preserved among the less-educated Taiwanese who reside outside the northern region of Taiwan. Chapter 4 investigates the alleged ethnic discrimination in the labor market by analyzing a data set coded from the Managers of the Creditable Enterprises in the R.O.C.. A pattern of ethnic assimilation similar to chapter 3 is found. Chapter 5 examines the various forms of participation in the opposition movement to test the ethnic mobilization argument. The development of the opposition after 1986 was found to begin in more assimilated areas and rapidly spread to the less assimilated areas through the tactic of ethnic mobilization. Chapter 6 draws a brief conclusion of what has been found.

The premise of this dissertation is that the political literature and rhetoric of the two opposing sides (femininism and anti-femininism) in the struggle over the recognition and advancement of the rights of women in America illuminate the existence of at least two traditions of American political thought and practice. These two traditions are based on distinct epistemological premises about how an object or person is considered to be known. The epistemological categories explicated by F. S. C. Northrop ("concepts by postulation" and "concepts by intuition") and two of the categories of legal and ethical views developed by Northrop ("abstract contractual" and "natural history") provide the framework within which feminist and antifeminist political literature and rhetoric are examined. It is argued that feminism is informed by an abstract contractual legal and ethical view based on a postulational epistemology which considers the truly known individual to be an instance of deductively postulated universal laws. Anti-feminism is argued to be informed by a natural history legal and ethical view based on an intuitional epistemology which considers the truly known individual to be as given by the senses (which are informed in what is directly observed by customs and tradition). The distinct epistemological premises of feminists and anti-feminists and their divergent legal and ethical views are shown to inform and structure their positions on the issues of political authority and political membership, equality of rights before the law, and of the status of woman as a distinct and individual person. It is demonstrated that feminists define women as autonomous individual persons who are, for political and legal purposes, essentially similar to men. Thus, political authority relations, political membership, and rights before the law must recognize the equality, individuality, and autonomy of each person. Anti-feminists are shown to define women by their reproductive difference from men and to argue that men and women are, thus, essentially dissimilar. Woman, by nature, belongs in a family headed by man, which family is the unit of society and polity. Woman's rights and her relation to the polity are directly linked to her nature as mother-wife.

This dissertation analyzes a black family's social, cultural, and educational experiences including factors related to their successes and failures during the past century in the United States. These experiences span the eras of segregation, desegregation, and integration. Specifically, the study examines what this family's members view as their strengths and weaknesses and how each has contributed to their high and low levels of achievement in school and society. Such data can be useful and applicable to black families and other cultural groups as they strive to achieve in school and society. This first-hand information can be valuable for identifying the specific issues and problems impacting the families being studied. Findings from these empirical data can contribute to the betterment of schools and society as families, educators, policy makers, and others focus on addressing these issues and seeking solutions to the problems. Sleeter's (1991) research includes varying theoretical views regarding the value of voice and empowerment for the betterment of individuals, education, and society. Ruiz (as cited in Sleeter, 1991) theorizes that having a voice implies not just that people can say things but that they are heard (that is, their words have status and influence), and Banks (as cited in Sleeter, 1991) suggests that "the position of the U.S. as a world leader demands that we deal more effectively and constructively with the enormous cultural differences in our society" (p. 297). Given the cultural diversity within the American population, it is deemed appropriate to include for this black family study an in-depth discussion regarding other families from various cultures, namely, Native Americans, Asians, Hispanics, and Jews. Chapter 2 examines each group's experiences since their initial contact with the Anglo or dominant cultural group. Findings from this family research study can contribute to the betterment of America by providing perspectives to enhance intra/intercultural relationships among various cultural groups in our society. Enhanced familial and cultural relationships can be valuable not only to my family but to other groups and their families as they seek success in school and society.

This study was a survey of the chronically mentally ill cases served by the Public Fiduciary of Pima County, Arizona made to determine differences between and among these cases in numbers, finances, living arrangements, and the nature of their involvement with the Public Fiduciary according to age, sex, ethnic group, and mental disorder. Information was collected on 89 chronically mentally ill cases. Summaries and statistical analyses were made of the collected information. Schizophrenia in its various forms was found to be the dominant illness. Over half of the cases lived in unsupervised settings. Almost half of the cases received supplemental security income. Three-fourths of the cases received a total income of less than 350 dollars per month. The percentage of Hispanic people in the sample was higher than in the percentage of this group in the general population of Pima county. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.)

The relationship of spirituality, self-transcendence, and social support to morale in chronically ill elderly was the focus of this research study. The research was based upon a developmental framework of aging. Individuals answered questionnaires regarding their perspectives on the above variables to determine how significantly the variables related to feelings of morale. Findings revealed that self-transcendence and social support were significantly correlated with morale in this population. No significant relationship between spirituality and morale was found. Self-transcendence and social support together accounted for 45% of the variance in predicting morale in the chronically ill elderly. Findings also revealed existing relationships between spirituality and gender, education level and social support, and length of illness and social support.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between urinary incontinence and self-esteem and also social participation. A convenience sample of 25 women 60 years of age and older participated. Forty-eight percent of the women had urinary incontinence at the time of the study. No significant differences were found in the level of self-esteem between those women with urinary incontinence and those women without urinary incontinence. Two subjects with urinary incontinence reported refusing social participation due to urinary incontinence. However, no difference in the overall level of social participation was found when comparing those with to those without urinary incontinence. A nonsignificant correlation was found between self-esteem and the overall level of social participation. In addition, the relationship between self-esteem and the level of social participation for women with urinary incontinence was nonsignificant. Only two of the 12 subjects with urinary incontinence reported receiving treatment.

No abstract available. / Thesis (LL.M.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2005.

<p>This thesis makes an ethnographic contribution to the anthropological debates about the contested nature of &lsquo / culture&rsquo / as a central term in the discipline. It examines discourses as tools that create, recreate, modify and transmit culture. The research was done in the town of Rundu in Kavango region, northeastern Namibia. In attempting to understand the local notions of culture this study focused on two main events: the Independence Day celebration on 21 March 2006 and a funeral that was held earlier in the month of January. During the study two particular media through which cultural ideas are negotiated, language and clothing were observed.</p>

The study seeked to investigate an evaluation of the effects of poverty in Khayelitsha Site C. Poverty in this area has manifested in the conditions people live under and the social effects of such conditions in the life of Site C residents was assessed in terms of/or in relation to the following: levels of infant mortality / level of malnutrition / rate of school drop out due to lack of food and other resources / high level of alcohol abuse / lack of basic services and the shortage of toilets etc.

This study was an attempt to explore the relationship between migration and adjustment. The specific problem was to seek the answer to the question of how ethnic group identity facilitates or hinders the adjustment of the student migrants and the families in the area of destination.Ethnic identity was considered as an independent variable, adjustment as a dependent variable, and five factors made up one intervening variable. Adjustment (dependent variable) consisted of six indicators: Neighborhood Involvement, Extent of Happiness, Nostalgia for Home, Extent of Worry, Anxiety, and Anomie. The intervening variable consisted of five indicators: Achievement, Aspiration, Peer Group Involvement, Relation to Relatives, and Fatalism.Two hundred and eighty students from five different universities, institutes, and academies in Bandung participated. The instrument used was a questionnaire. Data was collected in February, 1973. Statistical procedures utilized were: Chi-Square, analyses of variance, t-test and the Pearson product moment correlation.The main hypothesis tested was: Ethnic group identity will significantly influence the adjustment of the migrants (students) and the families in the area of destination. Eleven sub-hypotheses were also tested. The related hypothesis tested was: There will be a correlation between the intervening variables and the Independent variables. The data was organized and analyzed utilizing the SPSS system of programming and implemented by an IBM 360-50 computer.