Resisting immigrant myths : everyday consumer practices of Asian immigrants in America

Projective, depth interviews with U.S. Asian immigrants revealed their ambivalence toward the U.S. commercial sector’s colonial-era representations of Asian people. These commercial representations provide polarized depictions of Asian immigrants as either threatening aliens or as model citizens. These portrayals reflect “racialized otherness,” or racial stereotyping that represent Asian immigrants as inferior. Our findings indicate that Chinese immigrants strategically use everyday consumption related to foodways to resist the reverberation of American immigrant myths. In some instances, immigrants’ consumption practices instantiate a regional Asian identity. In other instances, however, immigrants’ consumption practices reflect a separation from the past and an acceptance of a new although not exclusively American way of life. Notwithstanding immigrant consumers’ resistance practices, the findings call for future research into immigrant consumers’ reactions to visual representations of race, ethnicity, and gender.

The ‘camps system’ in Italy : corruption, inefficiencies and practices of resistance

The alarming proliferation of ‘campi nomadi’ (nomad camps) in Italy intensifies the urgency of analysing their internal mechanism and the complex relation between all the parties [1]; ‘camp dwellers’, government agencies and Civil Society organisations [CSOs][2], involved in their production and reification. To arrive at an adequate appreciation of this nexus, the three components of what has been termed the ‘camps system’ have been analysed separately. This approach helped to pinpoint how they have combined to produce a hegemonic perspective on Romani issues, which yields a simplistic binary interpretation of a complex and dynamic phenomenon: Romanies are generally viewed as either victims or threats, narrowing the range of responses to charity or hostility. Only in recent years a growing awareness regarding the agency of camp inhabitants has re-emerged more consistently after a period in which an ‘encamped life’ was at times associated to Agamben’s (1998) ‘bare life’ and Foucault’s (1977) ‘biopolitics’. Nevertheless, scholars are still hesitant in developing a current of study looking specifically at camps, not only as ‘resistance sites’, but more broadly as ‘all-inclusive systems’, where interacting and interdependent agents form an integrated whole. Through in-depth analysis of this specific socio-political context I was able to observe the existence of a democratic deficit in the way these actors operate and co-operate with each other: competition and antagonisms, corruption, lack of transparency and accountability, and inefficiencies have all contributed over the years to producing and maintaining the present living situation of the Romani peoples.

Reducing harmful traditional practices in Adjibar, Ethiopia : lessons learned from the Adjibar safe motherhood project

This paper assesses the impact of the Adjibar Safe Motherhood Project and derives lessons of value to future interventions. Amongst the participatory qualitative methods used were 15 group discussions, eight semi-structured interviews, a number of opportunistic informal discussions and observation. The information gathering was complemented by a detailed review of project documents. Field visits for data collection took place over a six day period in March 2005. The project was effective in raising awareness about maternal health, and the social, economic and health consequences of various harmful traditional practices (HTPs). It has also mobilised the community to monitor and report HTPs and has strengthened referral systems for counselling, support and treatment. A number of effective strategies were identified as having contributed to project success. These are presented using the framework offered by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion which presents five areas of public health action: developing personal skills; strengthening community action; building healthy public policy; re-orienting health services; and, creating supportive environments. This evaluation contributes to and strengthens the expanding body of literature about effective development practices to reduce HTPs. It demonstrates that addressing HTPs takes time and long term investment; both are necessary to enable better understanding of the social and cultural reasons for HTPs before attempting to address them, and to build the community trust necessary to overcome the natural resistance to challenging such deeply entrenched practices. The project also highlighted the importance of developing a multi pronged strategy based on engagement with a broad range of stakeholders and supportive legislation.

Towards managing user resistance in large ICT projects

The thesis examines activities undertaken in project environments to minimise subsequent user resistance to new ICT systems. A model and practitioner guidelines, integrating concepts/practices from project management; organisational/product innovation; and change management, have been developed and partially validated. These supplement the existing, widely used Project Management Body of Knowledge documentation.

Community-onset Staphylococcus aureus infections presenting to general practices in South-eastern Australia

Community-acquired Staphylococcus aureus infections are a public health concern, yet little is known about infections that do not present to hospital. We identified community-onset S. aureus infections via specimens submitted to a community-based pathology service. Referring doctors confirmed eligibility and described infection site, severity and treatment. Isolates were characterized on antibiotic resistance, PFGE, MLST/SCCmec, and Panton–Valentine leukocidin (PVL), representing 106 community-onset infections; 34 non-multiresistant methicillin-resistant S. aureus (nmMRSA) (resistant to <3 non-β-lactam antibiotics), 15 multiply antibiotic-resistant MRSA (mMRSA) and 57 methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA). Most (93%) were skin and soft tissue infections. PVL genes were carried by 42% of nmMRSA isolates [95% confidence interval (CI) 26–61] and 15% of MSSA (95% CI 8–28). PVL was associated with infections of the trunk, head or neck (56·4% vs. 24·3%, P= 0·005) in younger patients (23 vs. 52 years, P< 0·001), and with boils or abscesses (OR 8·67, 95% CI 2·9–26·2), suggesting underlying differences in exposure and/or pathogenesis.

Patterns of resistance in managing assessment change

Achieving change in assessment practices in higher education is difficult. One of the reasons for this is resistance among those responsible for teaching and assessing. This paper seeks to explore this resistance through an analysis of staff dialogue during a major attempt to change the assessment practices at one institution. An institution-wide intervention to pilot new assessment practices was initiated, involving 35 academics across 12 departments. This paper reports on patterns emerging in dialogue about this among academics, and between academics and educational development personnel. Findings suggest that resistance is not a unitary concept, but that different stakeholders under varied circumstances express it differently; and that resistance to assessment change is particularly resilient. Implications are discussed in terms of relevance to current theories of higher education assessment and learning change management, as well as the practical considerations of attempts by institutions to engage in assessment change. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Resistance and reconstruction: older women talk about childhood sexual abuse

 This research explores personal stories of 16 Australian women aged 57 years and older who have experienced childhood sexual abuse. It privileges their views and examines how they managed the impact during their lives. The project contributes to professional knowledge by developing anti-ageist practices for social work and human services.