Latin Americans in London:language, integration and ethnic identity

This thesis studies the links between language, migration and integration in the context of the 'new migrant' group of Latin Americans in London. It reviews the many ways in which language impacts the integration processes of migrants by influencing people's access to jobs, services, social contacts and information. By focusing on migrants' experiences this research also investigates the ways in which language and identity articulate, as well as the affective variables that are at play in the acquisition of the local language. With a large sector trapped in a cycle of poor command of English and labour market disadvantage, many Latin Americans experience exclusion and poverty. In reaction to this, a sector of the community is campaigning for ethnic minority recognition. This work reviews the debates for recognition and the strategy of organising around ethnicity, paying special attention to the role language plays in the process. The study is based on over two and half years of qualitative research, which included interviews, surveys, and long-term participant observation within a community organisation and a recognition campaign. Its interdisciplinary perspective allows the recognition of both the intimate links between language and identity, as well as the social and structural forces that influence migrants' linguistic integration. It unveils the practical and symbolic value that the mother tongue has for Latin American migrants and provides a broader account of their experiences. This research calls attention to the need for a more comprehensive approach to the study of language and migration in order to acknowledge the affective and social factors involved in the linguistic practices of migrants. By studying the community's struggles for recognition, this work evidences both the importance of visibility for minority groups in London and the intrinsic methodological limitations of monitoring through ethnic categorisation.

Students’ Digital Archive at the State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, Sofia

The paper describes the creation and content of the digital archive of photographs, films and materials from fieldwork (interviews, surveys, and observations) of students from the Information Funds of the Cultural and Historical Heritage program at the State University of Library Studies and Information Technologies, Sofia, Bulgaria. The text discusses the educational opportunities of the archive, and the plans for publishing it as CD and for conversion into an electronic archive on the Internet.

UK and US board director perceptions of the significance of gender and racial diversity on board governance

This mixed-methods study examines the perceptions and opinions of United Kingdom FTSE 350, and US Fortune 500 board of director members regarding the significance of gender and racial diversity on board governance. Perceptions were gathered from eighty-two directors using self-reported surveys and semi-structured interviews. This thesis provides: (1) an opportunity to investigate the perceptions (opinions) of directors regarding the effects of board gender and racial diversity on new board appointments and on the dynamics of board decision making (2) an opportunity to investigate the perception (opinions) of directors regarding the effects of social capital, new board appointments and the dynamics of board decision making, and (3) an opportunity to investigate comparatively the differences between UK and US director perceptions regarding the effects of board gender and racial diversity on new board appointments and board decision making. My findings indicate that directors believe that expertise and experience are by far the most important attributes when decisions on the selection of new directors are being considered. While US directors report observing tangible benefits to gender and racial diversity, for their firms, as well as a willingness to consider diversity as an attribute in the selection process; most UK directors were strongly opposed to positive discrimination measures.1 A majority of directors do not believe that their own demographic characteristics, such as race or gender were attributes to their being selected to a board position; however white males perceive that these attributes were considered attributes to the appointment of diverse directors. Moreover, in the United Kingdom, male directors reported that they may be at a disadvantage for board selection when compared to their female counterparts, hence advocating for a selection process with minimal considerations of the demographic characteristics of new directors. Directors do not seem to consider diverse social capital of directors when making board appointments. Instead, US directors were more likely to be assisted in board appointments by their having similar social capital, and UK directors indicated that they only consider director expertise, and that expertise is considered to ensure a broad mix of skills and professional experience on the board.

Caste, class and Trade Unionism in India

The caste system in India and its exploitative nature has been well researched (Siddique 2011 Gupta 2000). However, the role of caste in Indian employment relations and in particular its role in the labor movement in India is yet to be fully explored. The primary aim of this paper is to examine the rise of caste- based trade unions in India over the past decade. Specifically, we aim to examine why the lower-caste workers (historically treated as untouchables, referred to as ‘Dalits’and officially designated as Scheduled Caste and Tribes) are leaving established trade unions to organize their own unions along caste lines? While fragmentation of trade unions is a well-known phenomenon both in India and in the Western World (Shyam Sundar 2015; Connolly et al. 2014), the rise of caste based trade unions is a relatively new phenomenon which is yet to be fully explored. Caste based trade unionism appears to be counter-intuitive when the conventional logic suggests that unions are class based collective institutions which represent the interest of the working classes (Ramaswamy 1976). The Indian trade union movement has historically been fragmented along political ideological lines ranging from moderate unions affiliated to the Congress Party to the militant unions affiliated to the Communist and Socialist parties. However, the rise of caste-based trade unions of the lower caste workers is a relatively new phenomenon. Our findings from surveys and interviews with mainstream unions and caste-based trade unions suggest that the caste-based trade unions are unique in at least three ways. First, these unions are breaking away from well-established radical and militant union federations such as those affiliated to the Communist and Socialist parties. Second, these unions are predominantly organized on caste identities and not occupational identities or political ideologies. Third in unionized workplaces, lower caste workers are forming their own separate unions along caste lines with membership restricted only to workers of their own caste instead of joining the mainstream unions where present. We examine these issues using the analytical framework of Paulo Freire (1970) – dialogics, praxis and cultural oppression and relate it with the insights from comparative politics which examine the role of actors & their interests within institutions (Peters 2011).

The effectiveness of workplace coaching:A meta-analysis of learning and performance outcomes; scale development; theoretical model of individual differences and longitudinal study

The extant literature on workplace coaching is characterised by a lack of theoretical and empirical understanding regarding the effectiveness of coaching as a learning and development tool; the types of outcomes one can expect from coaching; the tools that can be used to measure coaching outcomes; the underlying processes that explain why and how coaching works and the factors that may impact on coaching effectiveness. This thesis sought to address these substantial gaps in the literature with three linked studies. Firstly, a meta-analysis of workplace coaching effectiveness (k = 17), synthesizing the existing research was presented. A framework of coaching outcomes was developed and utilised to code the studies. Analysis indicated that coaching had positive effects on all outcomes. Next, the framework of outcomes was utilised as the deductive start-point to the development of the scale measuring perceived coaching effectiveness. Utilising a multi-stage approach (n = 201), the analysis indicated that perceived coaching effectiveness may be organised into a six factor structure: career clarity; team performance; work well-being; performance; planning and organizing and personal effectiveness and adaptability. The final study was a longitudinal field experiment to test a theoretical model of individual differences and coaching effectiveness developed in this thesis. An organizational sample of 84 employees each participated in a coaching intervention, completed self-report surveys, and had their job performance rated by peers, direct reports and supervisors (a total of 352 employees provided data on participant performance). The results demonstrate that compared to a control group, the coaching intervention generated a number of positive outcomes. The analysis indicated that coachees’ enthusiasm, intellect and orderliness influenced the impact of coaching on outcomes. Mediation analysis suggested that mastery goal orientation, performance goal orientation and approach motivation in the form of behavioural activation system (BAS) drive, were significant mediators between personality and outcomes. Overall, the findings of this thesis make an original contribution to the understanding of the types of outcomes that can be expected from coaching, and the magnitude of impact coaching has on outcomes. The thesis also provides a tool for reliably measuring coaching effectiveness and a theoretical model to understand the influence of coachee individual differences on coaching outcomes.

Tanácsadói szerepek, kompetenciák (Consultant roles and competencies)

A szakirodalomban található tipikus tanácsadói szerepek, tulajdonságok rendszerezését követően került sor a Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén megyei tanácsadók kompetenciáinak vizsgálatára a tanácsadók, valamint a vállalkozók értékrendje szerint. A nemzetközi összehasonlíthatóság érdekében a szerző, Frank Höselbarth (2000) reprezentatív felmérésében alkalmazott 21 tulajdonság, kompetencia alapján vizsgálta meg a megyei helyzetet 2001-ben és 2005–06-ban is. A szakirodalomban található tipikus tanácsadói tulajdonságok, kompetenciák (tudás, készség, tapasztalat) összefoglalását tartalmazza a németországi felmérésben alkalmazott 21 jellemző. A magyar és német tanácsadók tulajdonságaiban a szerző nem tapasztal lényeges eltérést. Az elméleti és empirikus kutatási eredményei alapján vázolja fel a tanácsadói kompetencia modellt. _______ After the taxonomy of the typical characteristics of consultants, the author made a surveys and analysis of the characteristics of consultants located in Borsod- Abaúj-Zemplén County according to the value systems of consultants and entrepreneurs. In order the maintain international comparability, she applied the 21 factors used in the representative study of Frank Höselbarth (2000) to analyse the situation of B-A-Z County both in 2001 and in 2005-06 as well. The 21 criteria applied in the German study is a summary of the typical characteristics of consultants, found in the literature. The author did not find significant difference in the characteristics of Hungarian and German consultants.

Without women: Masculinities, gay male sexual culture and sexual behaviors in Miami, Florida

Recent studies have reported alarmingly high rates of HIV infection and risky sexual behaviors among gay men in Miami, Florida. Previous research has suggested that the risky sexual behaviors of many gay men reflect the pursuit of intimacy and love, and that barriers to intimate relationships among gay men may stem from traditional masculinity norms. This dissertation examines the meanings which gay men ascribe to their sexual behaviors, as well as the intersections of those meanings with both traditional masculinity constructions and Miami's gay male sexual culture. ^ The study is based upon participant observation, print media content analysis, surveys and ethnographic interviews of a purposive snowball sample of 30 Cuban American, Puerto Rican, African American and Anglo gay men who reside in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Analysis of research questions was accomplished through grounded theory methods and descriptive and non-parametric statistics, including Pearson chi-square, Fisher's Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. ^ The study shows that culturally-specified masculinity norms vary in the relative importance ascribed to heterosexual prowess, economic providership and competitiveness. These cultural differences appear important not only to the timing of sexual awareness and to the strength of homosexual stereotyping as effeminacy, but also to men's strategies in coming out as gay. The meanings men attributed to their sexual behaviors were, however, constructed in response to both inherited masculinity norms and the hypermasculine structure of Miami's gay male sexual culture. In addition to providing an ethnographic account of this subculture, the study elaborates men's issues relative to casual sex and committed relationships. Unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners during the previous twelve months was associated with growing up without one's father in the home, having been teased for effeminacy during childhood, being defensive about one's masculinity, not trusting men, having been cheated on by boyfriends, and believing that long-term gay male relationships are problematic. ^ It is concluded that the continuing epidemic of HIV infections among local gay men, as well as the hypermasculine form of the gay sexual subculture itself, are nihilistic symptoms embedded in the masculinist gender structure of the larger society. ^

Family and group cognitive behavior therapy: Evaluation of treatment outcome and treatment specificity

This dissertation examined the efficacy of family cognitive behavior treatment (FCBT) and group cognitive behavior treatment (GBCT) for reducing anxiety disorders in children and adolescents using several approaches: clinical significant change, equivalence testing, and analyses of variance. It also examined treatment specificity in terms of targeting family/parents (in FCBT) and peers/group (in GCBT) contextual variables using two main approaches: analyses of variance and structural equation modeling (SEM). The sample consisted of 143 children and their parents who presented to the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program housed within the Child and Family Psychosocial Research Center at Florida International University. Diagnostic interviews and questionnaires were administered to assess youth anxiety. Questionnaires were administered to assess child and parent views of family/parents and peers/group contextual variables. In terms of clinical significant change, results indicated that 84.6% of youth in FCBT and 71.2% of youth in GBCT no longer met diagnostic criteria for their primary/targeted anxiety disorder. In addition, results from analyses of variance indicated that FCBT and GCBT were both efficacious in reducing anxiety disorders in youth across both child and parent ratings. Results using both analyses of variance and structural equation modeling also indicated that there was no meaningful treatment specificity between FCBT and GCBT in terms of either family/parents or peers/group contextual variables. That is, child social skills improved in GCBT in which these skills were targeted and in FCBT in which these skills were not targeted; parenting skills improved in FCBT in which these skills were targeted and in GCBT in which these skills were not targeted. Clinical implications and future research recommendations are discussed.

Assessing administrative and political factors in implementing a living wage ordinance

Since 2000, the number of living wage ordinances has steadily increased throughout the country. While most of the current research has focused on the beneficial outcomes of living wages, little has been published on their administrative practices. To address this shortcoming, this study focused on the identification of key administrative and political factors involved impacting the implementation of living wage ordinances in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. The study utilized a triangulation of interviews, surveys, and direct observation. The author conducted interviews of administrators and members of the living wage oversight boards in both counties and observed the monthly meetings held by each county's oversight board from January 2006 to June 2007. These findings were buttressed with a national survey of senior staff in other living wage communities. The study utilized descriptive statistics, Chi Square, Cronbach's Alpha, and Spearman's Rank Correlation Coefficient (Spearman's rho). Interviews indicated that administrators in Dade and Broward are seriously under-staffed and budgeted. Ambiguities in the enabling ordinances have lead to loopholes that undermine implementation and accountability for participating contractors. Survey results showed that policy ambiguity, organizational politics, and a lack of organizational capacity were significant negative factors in the implementation process while an organizational culture emphasizing consistent enforcement was a positive factor. Without the proper inputs, an organization hinders itself from meeting its outputs and outcomes. This study finds that Broward and Miami-Dade Counties do not provide the necessary administrative support to implement a living wage effectively – in stark contrast to the high hopes and strong political support behind their passage. For a living wage to succeed, it first needs an organizational culture committed to providing the necessary resources for implementation as well as transparent, consistent accountability mechanisms.

In God we trust: Faith-based development, spiritual transformation, and economic change in southern Andean indigenous communities

In communities throughout the developing world, faith-based organizations (FBOs) focus on goals such as eradicating poverty, bolstering local economies, and fostering community development, while premising their activities and interaction with local communities on theological and religious understandings. Due to their pervasive interaction with participants, the religious ideologies of these FBOs impact the religious, economic, and social realities of communities. This study investigates the relationship between the international FBO, World Vision International (WVI), and changes to religious, economic, and social ideologies and practices in Andean indigenous communities in southern Peruvian. This study aims to contribute to the greater knowledge and understanding of (1) institutionalized development strategies, (2) faith-based development, and (3) how institutionalized development interacts with processes of socio-cultural change. Based on fifteen months of field research, this study involved qualitative and quantitative methods of participant-observation, interviews, surveys, and document analysis. Data were primarily collected from households from a sample of eight communities in the Pitumarca and Combapata districts, department of Canchis, province of Cusco, Peru where two WVI Area Development Programs were operating. Research findings reveal that there is a relationship between WVI’s intervention and some changes to religious, economic, and social structure (values, ideologies, and norms) and practices, demonstrating that structure and practices change when social systems are altered by new social actors. Findings also revealed that the impacts of WVI’s intervention greatly increased over the course of several years, demonstrating that changes in structure and practice occur gradually and need a period of time to take root. Finally, results showed that the impacts of WVI’s intervention were primarily limited to those most closely involved with the organization, revealing that the ability of one social actor to incite changes in the structure and practice of another actor is associated with the intensity of the relationship between the social actors. The findings of this study should be useful in ascertaining deductions and strengthening understandings of how faith-based development organizations impact aspects of religious, economic, and social life in the areas where they work.

Placing immigrant incorporation: Identity, trust, and civic engagement in Little Havana

Immigrant incorporation in the United States has been a topic of concern and debate since the founding of the nation. Scholars have studied many aspects of the phenomenon, including economic, political, social, and spatial. The most influential paradigm of immigrant incorporation in the US has been, and continues to be, assimilation, and the most important place in and scale at which incorporation occurs is the neighborhood. This dissertation captures both of these integral aspects of immigrant incorporation through its consideration of three dimensions of assimilation – identity, trust, and civic engagement – among Latin American immigrants and American-born Latinos in Little Havana, a predominantly immigrant neighborhood in Miami, Florida. Data discussed in the dissertation were gathered through surveys and interviews as part of a National Science Foundation-funded study carried out in 2005-2006. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data allows for a nuanced understanding of how immigrant incorporation is occurring locally during the first decade of the twentieth century. Findings reveal that overall Latin American immigrants and their American-born offspring appear to be becoming American with regard to their ethnic and racial identities quickly, evidenced through the salience and active employment of panethnic labels, while at the same time they are actively reshaping the identificational structure. The Latino population, however, is not monolithic and is cleaved by diversity within the group, including country of origin and socioeconomic status. These same factors impede group cohesion in terms of trust and its correlate, community. Nevertheless, the historically dominant ancestry group in Little Havana – Cubans – has been able to reach notable levels of trust and build and conserve a more solid sense of community than non-Cuban residents. With respect to civic engagement, neighborhood residents generally participate at rates lower than the overall US population and ethnic subpopulations. This is not the case for political engagement, however, where self-reported voting registration and turnout in Little Havana surpasses that of most benchmarked populations. The empirical evidence presented in this dissertation on the case of Latinos in Little Havana challenges the ways that identity, trust, and civic engagement are conceptualized and theorized, especially among immigrants to the US.

Salinity and Chlorophyll a as Performance Measures to Rehabilitate a Mangrove-Dominated Deltaic Coastal Region: the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta–Pajarales Lagoon Complex, Colombia

Salinity, water temperature, and chlorophyll a (chl-a) biomass were used as performance measures in the period 1999–2001 to evaluate the effect of a hydrological rehabilitation project in the Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta (CGSM)–Pajarales lagoon complex, Colombia where freshwater diversions were initiated in 1995 and completed in 1998. The objective of this study was to evaluate how diversions of freshwater into previously hypersaline (>80) environments changed the spatial and temporal distribution of environmental characteristics. Following the diversion, 19 surveys and transects using a flow-through system were surveyed in the CGSM–Pajarales complex to continuously measure selected water quality parameters. Geostatistical analysis indicates that hydrology and salinity regimes and water circulation patterns in the CGSM lagoon are largely controlled by freshwater discharge from the Fundacion, Aracataca, and Sevilla Rivers. Residence times in the CGSM lagoon were similar before (15.5 ± 3.8 days) and after (14.2 ± 2.0 days) the rehabilitation project and indicated that the system is flushed regularly. In contrast, chl-a biomass was highly variable in the CGSM–Pajarales lagoon complex and not related to discharge patterns. Mean annual chl-a biomass (44–250 μg L−1) following the diversion project was similar to values recorded since the 1980s and still remains among the highest reported in coastal systems around the world owing to its unique hydrology regulated by the Magdalena River and Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta watersheds and the high teleconnection to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). Our results confirm that the reduction in salinity in the CGSM lagoon and Pajarales complex during 1999–2000 was largely driven by high precipitation (2500 mm) induced by the ENSO–La Niña rather than by the freshwater diversions.

Attracting and Retaining Hospitality Employees

Management, recruiting, and retention techniques are critical to the hospitality industry. In surveys and interviews of both employees and employers, employees responded that job referrals by friends, family and current employees were a primary way of obtaining their jobs, while employers indicated help want ads as a primary means to recruit. The study found that many employees enjoyed their work, respected their managers, and were generally satisfied with the benefits

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.

Waking the sleeping giant: Beliefs of Brazilian and *American teachers concerning liberation curriculum

The school curriculum is a matter mandated by the educational system rather than determined by the school stakeholders of a community, as Freire (1993) suggests. At the present time, one significant vision of school is challenging the current order of curriculum practice. It focuses on school as a liberating agency grounded on the belief that the abilities to access information and to think critically about it will educate an individual capable of making independent decisions. This dissertation investigates teacher's beliefs concerning curriculum. It was assumed that there is a discrepancy between what has been the position proposed by critical theorists including Freire (1998a, 1993); Apple (1979); Giroux (1998), and the position on curriculum which school systems are typically advancing. ^ There were four purposes of this study. The major purpose of this study was to determine whether or not Brazilian and American Teachers believe that a school curriculum based on Freirean principles could be implemented in the schools in which they worked. Also, this study sought to determine the differences found between teachers' beliefs in the Brazilian and American contexts. Another purpose was to determine how Brazilian and American teachers justify their beliefs and actions when these may represent conflicting values. Finally, this study sought to determine if these teachers believe that the curriculum is in need of change or if they accept the current curriculum as adequate. This study consisted of quantitative and qualitative data collection through multiple methods involving surveys and interviews. The study involved 171 teachers (88 Brazilian and 83 American) from multiple settings with the majority working for public systems. Overall, it seems that Brazilian and American teachers believe that a curriculum based on Freirean principles of education can be implemented in their schools, if ongoing education is provided. The majority of Brazilian teachers believe a curriculum change is necessary while half of the American teachers believe a curriculum change is needed and the other half seems to believe curriculum is adequate. Teachers explain that it is hard to implement a curriculum they believe to be most appropriate for students because the current curriculum is mandated by the school system or by national guidelines. The majority of Brazilian teachers and those American teachers who believed a curriculum change is necessary explained their rationale for change in terms of social justice, problem-solving, collective work, student-centered and context-based curriculum. American teachers, who believed that the curriculum is adequate, explained that they are satisfied with their student's achievements. They stated that their students are doing well on tests and are learning what is required. ^