Japanese American Biracial Adolescents and Identity Formation

The purpose of the current paper is to examine the racial identity development of Japanese American biracial adolescents. A review of the literature revealed critical factors as it relates to Japanese American biracial adolescents and their identity formation. Ethnic identity, adolescent developmental stage, environmental ethnic socialization processes used to facilitate identity development, and the resulting psychological adjustment were the major issues identified in the literature. Educators, counselors and other mental health professionals must begin to understand their development if the needs of this population are to be met in the future. A case study of a biracial Japanese American teen was included to heighten the understanding of the identity development of biracial individuals. Findings indicate that biracial children who are raised to identify with both sides of their ethnic heritage are not suffering from negative psychological consequences (e.g. guilt, anger, isolation) but, instead, gain a "healthier" sense of self. Implications for clinicians are discussed in terms of how therapists can be responsive to the unique needs of biracial adolescents.

Phototherapy as an Intervention in Identity Development with Adolescents.

Identity development in adolescence is a period of exploration and experimentation. During this stage of development, adolescents are defining their identity in terms of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender. It can be a confusing time and the lack of resources and support influence the ability of the adolescent to form a cohesive identity. This struggle to define an identity may lead to symptoms of depression and difficulties with interpersonal relationships. Identity interventions are limited and primarily involve the adolescent talking to a therapist and attempting to verbalize and define subjective distress. The use of a phototherapy intervention focuses on using an adolescent's subjective experiences. Phototherapy provides a way for the therapist and client to explore the photographs the client takes and opens different avenues in the areas of non-verbal and visual communication. Photographs can also promote increased communication about an adolescent's ethnic, sexual or gender identity. Interpretations made by the adolescent about images in the photographs will get in touch with emotional experiences that may be missed in traditional "talk therapy." This paper reviews literature on identity development, specifically in the areas of ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Phototherapy, the use of photography to enhance traditional psychotherapy, is described and a rationale is provided for the utilization of phototherapy in adolescent identity development. Vignettes are provided illustrating how phototherapy can be used when working with adolescents who are questioning and exploring ethnic identity, sexual orientation, and gender identity.

I'm Not Who I Thought I Was: A Contextual Resolution to the Identity Loss of Combat PTSD.

Given the historical rates of combat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), one can expect 30% of soldiers returning from current military conflicts to suffer from PTSD. For these individuals, various cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) are the most commonly employed treatments. Unfortunately, however, symptom relapse can be expected with the various CBT approaches, as traumatic memories remain. Soldiers are imbued with a militarized identity, and the identity loss experienced by those soldiers who suffer from PTSD is particularly painful for this population, as the militarized identity effectively disavows personal suffering. For this reason, many combat veterans diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder experience undue, prolonged suffering as they struggle to make sense of the different person they fear they have become. This paper contrasts certain versions of Western philosophy, which view the self as a fixed and reified entity with certain versions of Eastern philosophy, which view the self as more contextual and fluid, in order to illuminate the value of employing third wave behavioral treatments, specifically Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), to treat the identity loss experienced by military veterans with PTSD. ACT echoes the Buddhist principle that attachment to verbally-constructed conceptual notions of self contribute to undue suffering, and that more vital living can be achieved by assuming a more contextual and experiential perspective on identity. Research and anecdotal accounts are cited to illustrate why treatment for identity loss associated with combat PTSD should be less focused on reconstructing a historically substance-oriented self and more focused on an epistemological reorientation to a deconstructed, contextual self.

Convention, Tradition, and the New Wave : Assessing Clinician Identity within Behavior Therapy

In the first wave, behaviorists questioned the conventional wisdom that inner experience was relevant to understanding human behavior. In the 1970s, cognitive-behavioral theories emphasized the importance of the cognitive element, not just the environment, in explaining and modifying behavior. The third wave is drawn from advances in basic and applied behavior analysis of language, Eastern mystical traditions, and less empirically oriented therapeutic approaches. Examples include Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), Functional Analytic Psychotherapy (FAP), and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (IBCT). This study reports a survey of clinicians and non-clinicians who self-identify with second or third wave approaches, and a group of undergraduate psychology students intended to represent a layperson or folk psychological approach. Their preferences, in the context of 10 clinical vignettes, among 5 different therapeutic responses or interventions that included "ACT-like," "cognitive," and commonsense or "neutral" options were measured. Third wave-oriented respondents exhibited more consistency than others in their preference for interventions that match their self-identified theoretical orientation, however the author suggests that construction of the vignettes may have influenced this result.

Designing in a group:how does knowing each other influence design projects

This paper presents a study of engineering design groups that seeks to explain how knowing other participants can influence processes and outcomes in design projects. Research in this paper contributes a framework to approach understanding how interpersonal relationships influence group processes and outcomes. This acknowledges that engineering design is achieved through individuals working in groups. First a temporal perspective is introduced to understand how individuals (through interpersonal relationships), group processes and outcomes influence each other; secondly identity is presented as a theme to focus on how knowing other participants identity influences group processes and outcomes. Within this framework it is recognised that engineering design has different levels of complexity of which two aspects are considered: design type and design setting. These aspects place different demands on a project group and its members and this structure provides an opportunity for cross case analysis to generalise findings.

Language and identity in englishes

Key features include: • Discussion of language in relation to various aspects of identity, such as those connected with nation and region, as well as in relation to social aspects such as social class and race. • A chapter on undertaking research that will equip students with appropriate research methods for their own projects. • An analysis of language and identity within the context of written as well as spoken texts. Language and Identity in Englishes examines the core issues and debates surrounding the relationship between English, language and identity. Drawing on a range of international examples from the UK, US, China and India, Clark uses both cutting-edge fieldwork and her own original research to give a comprehensive account of the study of language and identity. With its accessible structure, international scope and the inclusion of leading research in the area, this book is ideal for any student taking modules in language and identity or sociolinguistics.

Sociocultural complexities of ecosystem restoration: Remaking identity, landscape and belonging in the Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades is a highly diverse socionatural landscape that historically spanned much of the south Florida peninsula. Today, the Florida Everglades is an iconic but highly contested conservation landscape. It is the site of one of the world's largest publicly funded ecological restoration programs, estimated to cost over $8 billion (U.S. GAO 2007), and it is home to over two million acres of federally protected lands, including the Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. However, local people's values, practices and histories overlap and often conflict with the global and eco-centric values linked to Everglades environmental conservation efforts, sparking environmental conflict. My dissertation research examined the cultural politics of nature associated with two Everglades conservation and ecological restoration projects: 1) the creation and stewardship of the Big Cypress National Preserve, and 2) the Tamiami Trail project at the northern boundary of Everglades National Park. Using multiple research methods including ethnographic fieldwork, archival research, participant observation, surveys and semi-structured interviews, I documented how these two projects have shaped environmental claims-making strategies to Everglades nature on the part of environmental NGOs, the National Park Service and local white outdoorsmen. In particular, I examined the emergence of an oppositional white identity called the Gladesmen Culture. My findings include the following: 1) just as different forms of nature are historically produced, contingent and power-laden, so too are different claims to Everglades nature; 2) identity politics are an integral dimension of Everglades environmental conflicts; and 3) the Big Cypress region's history and contemporary conflicts are shaped by the broader political economy of development in south Florida. My dissertation concluded that identity politics, class and property relations have played a key, although not always obvious, role in shaping Everglades history and environmental claims-making, and that they continue to influence contemporary Everglades environmental conflicts.

The effect of borders on the linguistic production and perception of regional identity in Louisville, Kentucky

A great deal of scholarly research has addressed the issue of dialect mapping in the United States. These studies, usually based on phonetic or lexical items, aim to present an overall picture of the dialect landscape. But what is often missing in these types of projects is an attention to the borders of a dialect region and to what kinds of identity alignments can be found in such areas. This lack of attention to regional and dialect border identities is surprising, given the salience of such borders for many Americans. This salience is also ignored among dialectologists, as nonlinguists‟ perceptions and attitudes have been generally assumed to be secondary to the analysis of “real” data, such as the phonetic and lexical variables used in traditional dialectology. Louisville, Kentucky is considered as a case study for examining how dialect and regional borders in the United States impact speakers‟ linguistic acts of identity, especially the production and perception of such identities. According to Labov, Ash, and Boberg (2006), Louisville is one of the northernmost cities to be classified as part of the South. Its location on the Ohio River, on the political and geographic border between Kentucky and Indiana, places Louisville on the isogloss between Southern and Midland dialects. Through an examination of language attitude surveys, mental maps, focus group interviews, and production data, I show that identity alignments in borderlands are neither simple nor straightforward. Identity at the border is fluid, complex, and dynamic; speakers constantly negotiate and contest their identities. The analysis shows the ways in which Louisvillians shift between Southern and non-Southern identities, in the active and agentive expression of their amplified awareness of belonging brought about by their position on the border.

Sociocultural Complexities of Ecosystem Restoration: Remaking Identity, Landscape and Belonging in the Florida Everglades

The Florida Everglades is a highly diverse socionatural landscape that historically spanned much of the south Florida peninsula. Today, the Florida Everglades is an iconic but highly contested conservation landscape. It is the site of one of the world’s largest publicly funded ecological restoration programs, estimated to cost over $8 billion (U.S. GAO 2007), and it is home to over two million acres of federally protected lands, including the Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. However, local people’s values, practices and histories overlap and often conflict with the global and eco-centric values linked to Everglades environmental conservation efforts, sparking environmental conflict. My dissertation research examined the cultural politics of nature associated with two Everglades conservation and ecological restoration projects: 1) the creation and stewardship of the Big Cypress National Preserve, and 2) the Tamiami Trail project at the northern boundary of Everglades National Park. Using multiple research methods including ethnographic fieldwork, archival research, participant observation, surveys and semi-structured interviews, I documented how these two projects have shaped environmental claims-making strategies to Everglades nature on the part of environmental NGOs, the National Park Service and local white outdoorsmen. In particular, I examined the emergence of an oppositional white identity called the Gladesmen Culture. My findings include the following: 1) just as different forms of nature are historically produced, contingent and power-laden, so too are different claims to Everglades nature; 2) identity politics are an integral dimension of Everglades environmental conflicts; and 3) the Big Cypress region’s history and contemporary conflicts are shaped by the broader political economy of development in south Florida. My dissertation concluded that identity politics, class and property relations have played a key, although not always obvious, role in shaping Everglades history and environmental claims-making, and that they continue to influence contemporary Everglades environmental conflicts.

[the Sociology Of Health In Brazil - The Creation Of An Identity].

This article analyzes the historical, social and cognitive dimensions of the sociology of medicine in the construction of its identity, from Wolf Lepenies' perspective. It is understood that the construction of an identity does not end with the first historical manifestations, but is consolidated when it is institutionalized and structured as a field of knowledge by creating its own forms of cognitive expression. The text is divided into three parts: in the first the precursors are presented, highlighting the role played by some travelers, naturalists and folklore scholars, followed by social physicians-scientists and the first social scientists (1940-1969). In the second part, aspects of the consolidation of the social sciences in health are presented at two significant moments, namely the 1970s and 1980s. In the third part, the issues raised by the field are addressed in general terms. It is considered that once the main structural stages are in place there is still a need for the formation of new generations of social scientists in health. It is also essential to disseminate scientific production and to ensure that the relations are studied in depth and institutionalized with the sociological matrices on the one hand and with the field of health on the other.

A dimensão prática na preparação profissional em educação física : concepção e organização acadêmica

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Evaluating the Taxonomic Identity in Four Species of the Lobose Testate Amoebae Genus Arcella Ehrenberg, 1832

The taxonomic identity in microbial eukaryotes remains an impediment to discussing ecology, biogeography and phylogeny, mainly due to a lack of standards in organism descriptions and few comparative works. The lobose testate amoebae (Arcellinida) present an ideal study system, as progress is severely hindered due to taxonomic confusion. In the present survey, we have examined the morphology, biometry and ecology of 2400 individuals in the genus Arcella Ehrenberg, 1832, collected from the Tiete River in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We then contrasted these new data with 26 previously described species, varieties and forms, looking for consistencies and trying to establish distinct entities. Using a combination of morphology and multivariate statistics we were able to determine 4 distinct taxa (Arcella hemisphaerica, Arcella discoides, Arcella gibbosa and Arcella brasiliensis), each of them encompassing a number of other non-distinct nominal taxa. We describe in detail each of the 4 taxa with notes on ecology and biogeography, and list the indistinguishable names in an effort to make identification and taxonomy in the testate amoebae a more objective and precise exercise by clarifying the taxonomic identity.

Evaluating an Agile Method for Planning and Controlling Innovative Projects

This article presents an extensive investigation carried out in two technology-based companies of the So Carlos technological pole in Brazil. Based on this multiple case study and literature review, a method, entitled hereafter IVPM2, applying agile project management (APM) principles was developed. After the method implementation, a qualitative evaluation was carried out by a document analysis and questionnaire application. This article shows that the application of this method at the companies under investigation evidenced the benefits of using simple, iterative, visual, and agile techniques to plan and control innovative product projects combined with traditional project management best practices, such as standardization.

Tax Cost of Investment Projects: the case of ICMS credits

This article discusses the impact on the profitability of firms under Complementary Law 102/2000 (which abrogated the Law 89/96 - Kandir Law) allowing the appropriation of ICMS credits, due to investment in fixed assets goods, at a ratio of 1/48 per month. The paper seeks to demonstrate how this new system - which resulted in the transformation of the ICMS as a value added tax (VAT) consumption-type to an income-type - leads to a loss of approximately 30% of the value of credits to be recovered and the effect it generates on the cost of investment and the profits for small, medium and large firms. From the methodological point of view, it is a descriptive and quantitative research, which proceeded in three stages. Initially, we have obtained estimated value of net sales and volume of investments, based on report Painel de Competitividade prepared by the Federacao das Indtustrias do Estado de Sao Paulo (Fiesp/Serasa). Based on this information, it was possible to obtain estimates of the factors of generation of debits and credits for ICMS, using the model Credit Control of Fixed Assets (CIAP). Finally, we have calculated three indicators: (i) present value of debt recovery/value of credits, (ii) present value of debt recovery / investment value, (iii) present value of debt recovery / sales profitability. We have conclude that the system introduced by Complementary Law 102/2000 implicates great opportunity cost for firms and that legislation should be reviewed from this perspective, aiming to ensure lower costs associated with investment projects.

Strongyloides venezuelensis: The antigenic identity of eight strains for the immunodiagnosis of human strongyloidiasis

The antigens of eight strains of Strongyloides venezuelensis were identified by means of the indirect immunofluorescence antibody (IFAT), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and immunoblot (IB) tests. Infective larvae (L3) from these strains were obtained from Rattus norvegicus feces cultures. For IFAT, sections of U were used while the ELISA and IB, tests were conducted with alkaline extract. Ninety serum samples were tested: 30 from patients with S. stercoralis, 30 from patients with other parasitic diseases, and 30 from healthy subjects (free of parasites). Average sensitivity and specificity among all eight strains, both for IFAT and ELISA, were, respectively, 93% and 100%. In the IB, anti-S. stercoralis IgG recognized a single antigenic fraction with 45 kDa. Serum samples from patients with S. stercoralis revealed antigens from different strains of S. venezuelensis, indicating antigenic identity for possible use in the synthesis of recombinant antigen that could be useful in immunodiagnosis and vaccine against this parasite. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.