Skyddandets förnuft : En studie om anhöriga till hjälpbehövande äldre som invandrat sent i livet

This dissertation aims to examine and deepen the knowledge of family member caregiving where the care recipient is an elderly person who immigrated late in life. It also aims to contribute to the knowledge of the complexities underlying informal care giving and add to our understandings of what it means to be an immigrant in Sweden. The caregiver is in focus. The research conducted is explorative and partly inductive. The main material used is a qualitative interview study carried out with family members from different countries who are providing informal care to elderly immigrant relatives. The analysis gives three patterns of caregiving. One shows help from informal caregivers only who are not compensated economically. Another shows help from family members who are compensated. The third shows help from family members and staff from the public care system. Three ideal-typical informal caregiver roles show different positions vis-à-vis the new: “guardian”, “filter” and “reinterpreter of traditional care ideals”. Swedish born and immigrated informal caregivers are also compared through analysis of data gathered in telephone interviews with a representative selection of inhabitants in the County of Stockholm. A philosophy of action together with theory on integration and multiculturalism serves as theoretical frameworks to understand discrepancies and ambiguities in the data. Young immigrants experience different integration processes than do the older ones. They strive to protect older family members from changes linked to the migration experience. Talk about dependence on culture underlines family feelings and legitimates the processes of protection. Preconceptions about great differences between Swedish born and immigrant families are not supported by quantitative data. A conclusion is that protection can be understood in relation both to the traditional and the new, the latter in the forms of meetings with Swedish society where unequal relations prevail. It is a kind of counter-strategy where the range of actions is diminished, and thus it has its own logic. Protection can be loosened up when the circumstances change and the range of actions grow.

Population ageing, longevity and migration: an overlapping generations approach

The silent demographic revolution characterizing the main industrialized countries is an unavoidable factor which has major economic, social, cultural and psychological implications. This thesis studies the main consequences of population ageing and the connections with the phenomenon of migration, The theoretical analysis is developed using Overlapping Generations Models (OLG). The thesis is divided in the following four chapters: 1) “A Model for Determining Consumption and Social Assistance Demand in Uncertainty Conditions”, focuses on the relation between demographic impact and social insurance and proposes the institution of a non selfsufficiency fund for the elderly. 2) "Population Ageing, Longevity and Health", analyzes the effects of health investment on intertemporal individual behaviour and capital accumulation. 3) "Population Ageing and the Nursing Flow", studies the consequences of migration in the nursing sector. 4) "Quality of Multiculturalism and Minorities' Assimilation", focuses on the problem of assimilation and integration of minorities.

Il teatro e Derek Walcott. Prospettive postcoloniali e multiculturali

This thesis explores the function of the theatre in Derek Walcott's literary achievements. Focusing on the semiotic theories that characterize the study of drama as a literary text and as a staged text, the initial approach aims at creating a relationship between semiotics and postcolonial theories. In particular Pavis's concept of intercultural semiotics and Peter Brook's innovative visions about the regenerative function of the space of the theatre represent a useful theoretical basis to consider the specificity of postcolonial theatre as an innovative space, where new cultural meanings emerge. Derek Walcott's dramatic production is studied according to this approach, in order to be defined as a new hybrid, syncretic and multicultural space. After considering the development of drama from a postcolonial and Caribbean perspective, this study begins with an insight into Walcott's views on theatre, taking into consideration his linguistic depth, linked to the European tradition, but also his strong concern with the Caribbean public's cultural needs. The double tension characterizing Walcott's cultural identity as well as his art represents an essential element to analyse his dramatic texts. With an ambivalent approach, which takes into consideration language and performance, this thesis offers an insight into Walcott's plays to detect their postcolonial and multicultural elements. The analysis of the different texts are divided into two chapters (third and fourth). The third chapters - mainly focused on postcolonial themes - explores issues such as language, identity and space, whereas the fourth chapter centers on multiculturalism in text and performance. Dealing with interracial interactions, issues like re-writing classical texts and the manipulation of personal and collective memory as a way to re- establish new historical perspectives, the last part of the thesis aims at demonstrating the idea that Walcott has created a new space in the theatre made by the harmonic fusion of different and opposed cultural elements, which are visible in the literary as well as in the staged text. The textual perspective of Walcott's drama fits into Pavis's definition of intercultural semiotics, as the faithful representation of a multicultural creole society: that of the West Indies.

Capacita' e formazione nel liberalismo di Amartya Sen e Martha Nussbaum. Eredita' differenti del pensiero politico per una "cittadinanza del mondo"

Il presente lavoro di ricerca si propone di discutere il contributo che l’analisi dell’evoluzione storica del pensiero politico occidentale e non occidentale riveste nel percorso intellettuale compiuto dai fondatori della teoria contemporanea dell’approccio delle capacità, fondata e sistematizzata nei suoi contorni speculativi a partire dagli anni Ottanta dal lavoro congiunto dell’economista indiano Amartya Sen e della filosofa dell’Università di Chicago Martha Nussbaum. Ci si ripropone di dare conto del radicamento filosofico-politico del lavoro intellettuale di Amartya Sen, le cui concezioni economico-politiche non hanno mai rinunciato ad una profonda sensibilità di carattere etico, così come dei principali filoni intorno ai quali si è imbastita la versione nussbaumiana dell’approccio delle capacità a partire dalla sua ascendenza filosofica classica in cui assume una particolare primazia il sistema etico-politico di Aristotele. Il pensiero politico moderno, osservato sotto il prisma della riflessione sulla filosofia della formazione che per Sen e Nussbaum rappresenta la “chiave di volta” per la fioritura delle altre capacità individuali, si organizzerà intorno a tre principali indirizzi teorici: l’emergenza dei diritti positivi e sociali, il dibattito sulla natura della consociazione nell’ambito della dottrina contrattualista e la stessa discussione sui caratteri delle politiche formative. La sensibilità che Sen e Nussbaum mostrano nei confronti dell’evoluzione del pensiero razionalista nel subcontinente che passa attraverso teorici antichi (Kautylia e Ashoka) e moderni (Gandhi e Tagore) segna il tentativo operato dai teorici dell’approccio delle capacità di contrastare concezioni politiche contemporanee fondate sul culturalismo e l’essenzialismo nell’interpretare lo sviluppo delle tradizioni culturali umane (tra esse il multiculturalismo, il comunitarismo, il neorealismo politico e la teoria dei c.d. “valori asiatici”) attraverso la presa di coscienza di un corredo valoriale incentrato intorno al ragionamento rintracciabile (ancorché in maniera sporadica e “parallela”) altresì nelle tradizioni culturali e politiche non occidentali.

Acknowledging linguistic diversity in a multicultural society: the issue of indigenous languages in Colombia.

Nowadays, modern society is gradually becoming multicultural. However, only in the last few years awareness on its importance has been raised. In the case of Colombia, multiculturalism has existed since the pre-Columbian period and today there are more than 80 ethnic groups and 65 indigenous languages in the country. The aim of this work is to illustrate the status of indigenous languages in Colombia and to enlighten about the importance of recognizing, protecting and strengthening the use of these native languages. Subsequent to this, it will be point out that linguistic diversity should be considered a resource and not a barrier to achieve unity in diversity. Finally, ethno-education will be presented as an adequate educational program that may guarantee an equal linguistic representation in the country.

Liberal Nationalism: A Historical and Critical Analysis of Conceptions

At the end of the 20th century we live in a pluralist world in which national and ethnic identities play an appreciable role, sometimes provoking serious conflicts. Nationalist values seem to pose a serious challenge to liberal ones, particularly in the post-communist countries. Malinova asked whether liberalism must necessarily be contrasted with nationalism. Although nationalist issues has never been a major concern for liberal thinkers, in many countries they have had to take such issues into consideration and a form of 'liberalism nationalism' has its place in the history of political ideas. Some of the thinkers who tried to develop such an idea were liberals in the strict sense of the word and others were not, but all of them tried to elaborate a concept of nationalism that respected the rights of individuals and precluded discrimination on ethnic grounds. Malinova studied the history of the conceptualisation of nations and nationalism in the writings, of J.S. Mill, J.E.E. Acton, G. Mazzini, V. Soloviev, B. Chicherin, P. Struve, P. Miljoukov and T.G. Masaryk. Although it cannot be said that these theories form a coherent tradition, certain common elements of the different approaches can be identified. Malinova analysed the way that liberal nationalists interpreted the phenomenon of the nation and its rights in different historical contexts, reviewed the structure of their arguments and tried to evaluate this theoretical experience from the perspective of the contemporary debate on the problems of liberal nationalism and multiculturalism and recent debates on 'the national idea' in Russia.

Changing Values in a Transitional Period

This project examined the change in values in the still unfinished transitional period in Serbia during the 1990s and compared it with Greece in the same period. During this period the social and political transition affected the ruling value system primarily through changes in the modes of the production and representation of reality. The most remarkable trait of this period in Serbia is the parallel and interweaving existence of different value systems. The very perception of reality has been blurred by the emergence of a very complex technical and ideological structure. Reality is presented by and through extensions and additions, the models of which are language and media. With the development of media technology and global communication and information systems, representation has become the only available reality. This enables the media to overtly and unlimitedly intervene in reality, to manage and change it without constraint and thus have a direct impact on values. The difference between public and private is abolished, so the media start promoting exclusive collective values. However, since the collective thus loses its counterpart, it itself needs to be redefined. This confusion of values make the possible results of their change uncertain. It will either open up a space for multiculturalism and social pluralism and thus completely replace the old systems of values, or result in an indefinite survival of different, often contradictory, value systems and conceptions of reality, which often lead to all forms of exclusivity and intolerance.

Reclaiming Indigenous Narratives through Critical Discourses and the Autonomy of the Trickster

How do prevailing narratives about Native Americans, particularly in the medium of film, conspire to promote the perspective of the dominant culture? What makes the appropriation of Indigenous images so metaphorically popular? In the past hundred years, little has changed in the forms of representation favored by Hollywood. The introductory chapter elucidates the problem and outlines the scope of this study. As each subsequent chapter makes clear, the problem is as relevant today as it has been throughout the entire course of filmic history. Chapter Two analyzes representational trends and defines each decade according to its favorite stereotype. The binary of the bloodthirsty savage is just as prevalent as it was during the 1920s and 30s. The same holds true for the drunken scapegoat and the exotic maiden, which made their cinematic debuts in the 1940s and 50s. But Hollywood has added new types as well. The visionary peacemaker and environmental activist have also made an appearance within the last forty years. What matters most is not the realism of these images, but rather the purposes to which they can be put toward validating whatever concerns the majority filmmakers wish to promote. Whether naïvely or not, such representations continue to evacuate Indigenous agency to the advantage of the majority. A brief historical overview confirms this legacy. Various disciplines have sought to interrogate this problem. Chapter three investigates the field of postcolonial studies, which makes inquiry into the various ways these narratives are produced, marketed, and consumed. It also raises the key questions of for whom, and by whom, these narratives are constructed. Additional consideration is given to their value as commodities in the mass marketplace. Typically the products of a boutique-multiculturalism, their storylines are apt to promote the prevailing point of view. Critical theory provides a foundational framework for chapter four. What is the blockbuster formula and how do the instruments of capital promote it? Concepts such as culture industry and repressive tolerance examine both the function and form of the master narrative, as well as its use to control the avenues of dissent. Moreover, the public sphere and its diminishment highlight the challenges inherent in the widespread promotion of an alternative set of narratives. Nonetheless, challenges to prevailing narratives do exist, particularly in the form of Trickster narratives. Often subject to persistent misrecognition, the Trickster demonstrates a potent form of agency that undeniably dismantles the hegemony of Western cinema. The final chapter examines some of the Trickster's more subtle and obscure productions. Usually subjugated to the realm of the mystical, rather than the mythical, these misinterpreted forms have the power to speak in circles around a majority audience. Intended for an Other audience, they are coded in a language that delivers a type of direction through indirection, promoting a poignant agency all their own.

Social Work in an Ethnically Diverse Europe: The Shifting Challenges of Difference

This article addresses the inherently politicised context of social work practice located within the contested logics and values of national social policy and professional values and identities. Noting the key role of social work in delivering the state’s promise of social citizenship, it is argued that the increasing neo-nationalist sentiments and politics in European states generate significant pressures upon the universalist, inclusive, values of social work in a multiethnic Europe. The academic and policy debate around social cohesion is explored to illustrate how an assimilationist drift in multicultural state policies undermines the capacity of social work services to deliver appropriate, ethnically sensitive, services. It is further argued that the pervasive spread of populist counter-narratives to multiculturalism erode support for anti-racist and transcultural social work practice. In this context it is argued that social work must acknowledge its compromised situation and explicitly develop a political agenda committed to guaranteeing substantive equality in service delivery.

Legal Integration of Islam: A Transatlantic Comparison

The status of Islam in Western societies remains deeply contentious. Countering strident claims on both the right and left, Legal Integration of Islam offers an empirically informed analysis of how four liberal democracies—France, Germany, Canada, and the United States—have responded to the challenge of integrating Islam and Muslim populations. Demonstrating the centrality of the legal system to this process, Christian Joppke and John Torpey reject the widely held notion that Europe is incapable of accommodating Islam and argue that institutional barriers to Muslim integration are no greater on one side of the Atlantic than the other. While Muslims have achieved a substantial degree of equality working through the courts, political dynamics increasingly push back against these gains, particularly in Europe. From a classical liberal viewpoint, religion can either be driven out of public space, as in France, or included without sectarian preference, as in Germany. But both policies come at a price—religious liberty in France and full equality in Germany. Often seen as the flagship of multiculturalism, Canada has found itself responding to nativist and liberal pressures as Muslims become more assertive. And although there have been outbursts of anti-Islamic sentiment in the United States, the legal and political recognition of Islam is well established and largely uncontested. Legal Integration of Islam brings to light the successes and the shortcomings of integrating Islam through law without denying the challenges that this religion presents for liberal societies.

Evaluation of a date rape prevention program for new students in a university setting

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a date rape prevention program among new students at Rice University. Six-hundred and fifteen new students were randomly assigned to one of eight residential colleges or dormitories. The distribution of students to each of the dormitories was carried out in accordance with a stratified random sampling procedure. The study population was divided into strata based on ethnicity, gender, geographical region, and academic major. The number of students randomly assigned to each of the eight dormitories was approximately 75. After this procedure was completed, each of the colleges was randomly selected to either the intervention or control group. A randomized pretest and posttest control group design was used to assess changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior with regard to date rape. All participants were given an anonymous pretest and posttest measuring attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior immediately prior to and following the intervention. The intervention group attended the play Scruples, designed to promote date rape prevention, after which they were immediately posttested. After this initial posttest the intervention group also participated in an interactive group role-playing activity led by trained peer instructors. The control group was pretested and subject to the placebo intervention of a multiculturalism play and was posttested immediately afterwards. Later in the week this group saw the Scruples play only. Both control and intervention groups were sent a two month follow-up survey questionnaire, to measure any changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior over time. As hypothesized students who saw the play Scruples showed a change in attitudes immediately posttest but no difference in self-efficacy or behavior. The two month follow-up survey showed no change in attitudes, self-efficacy, or behavior. There was a difference at pretest in males and females attitudes, with males showing significantly more rape tolerant attitudes than females. Thus, the proposed research findings will provide a better understanding of the attitudes that perpetuate date rape, and will inform strategies for prevention programs. ^

Race and discourse analysis: Building a dialogue in health service research and health care settings

Using a framework for discourse analysis developed by Van Dijk, the investigator will pinpoint the pathological forms of discourse on race, defined as 'race talk' in three professional domains: health services research, public health provider organizations, and literature on multiculturalism. Attention will then turn to developing an analytical strategy for building more meaningful dialogue on race. The retrieval of potential resources for dialogue will be drawn from the third domain. Analysis will focus on enhancing the prospects of converting 'race talk' into dialogue. This will be accomplished by characterizing the normative preconditions as formal procedural requirements for dialogue and then supplementing these conditions with others related specifically to race. From here, the practical implications of combining procedural requirements and resources in each of the domains will be considered. Finally, the author will attempt to determine how these selected resources might be employed to transform 'race talk' in practice and lay the groundwork for a dialogue of understanding. ^