Identity and Conflict: PKK vs. Turkey (1984-Present)

This paper offers a causal analysis of the conflict between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Turkey that has been ongoing since 1984. The history of Kurdish politics in Turkey is investigated in order to uncover the conflict’s causes. The conflict’s origins in the Turkish state’s refusal to recognize Kurdish identity and its forced attempts to assimilate Kurds into Turkish society are examined. Other causal factors such as the political turmoil of the decades prior to the conflict’s initiation, the involvement of the student youth in politics, the rise of the PKK, and the interrelationships between the causal factors are also analyzed. Further discussion on the conflict’s influence on sociopolitical and interstate motivations and how the causes of this conflict compare with other conflicts is provided.

The Experience of “Bottoming”: Considerations for Identity and Learning

Bottoms—Gay men who prefer to be penetrated, sexually—are more stigmatized than other gay men, and may develop and experience identities differently than other gay, bisexual, or heterosexual men. This paper explores intrinsic dispositions and extrinsic motivations that may lead bottoms to perform and embody psychosocial and sexual identities in intimate, interpersonal, and social contexts.

Exploring the role of therapy process and outcome in interventions that target adolescent identity and intimacy

This study examined the feasibility of using a session impact measure with a sample of 24 at risk high school students participating in an intervention targeting identity and intimacy. Three therapists led 3 intervention groups with the same format. The study investigated the impact of therapy process, including Group, Facilitator, Skills, and Exploration impacts as measured by the Session Evaluation Form (SEF). The study also investigated the differential impact of session process on intervention outcome as measured by the CPSS, EPSI, RAVS, EIPQ and Youth Report Form. Analyses were conducted using descriptive statistics, frequencies, one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA), and Chi square tests. The results supported the utility of the SEF and they tentatively supported the impact of the therapist on participants' perceptions of therapeutic processes and on intervention outcome. In particular, Group 1 performed better than Group 3. This study found that the SEF is a useful session impact measure.

Identity and intimacy as predictors of adolescent adjustment

Stressful developmental transitions related to identity and intimacy may have significant implications for adjustment in adolescence that last into young adulthood. Social and economic barriers experienced by minority adolescents have attracted attention as significant influences on normative developmental processes and psychosocial adjustment. The primary aim of this study was to describe significant relations among identity, intimacy, and adjustment in a sample of adolescents in an alternative school who were at elevated risk for problem behaviors. A sample of 120 multi-ethnic high school students responded to five self-administered questionnaires. In addition to describing significant gender differences in identity, and internalizing problems, this study documented that measures of identity accounted for significant variance in standard measures of internalizing problems using hierarchical multiple regression. The implications of these results for future research and practice are discussed.

What are the effects of the 6 +1 Writing Traits on the Attitudes and Writing Skills of Fifth Grade ELLs?

In the Bahamas, ELLs consist mainly of Haitian descent students. Unfortunately, this demographic of students continuously score below their Bahamian counterparts in Creative Writing. This research examined the affects the 6 + 1 Writing Traits assessment had on the attitudes and writing abilities of fifteen, fifth grade, Haitian descent students.