Academic literature on the topic 'Cultural Diversity – World'

This thesis argues against the claim of linguistic and cultural homogenization widely believed to be induced by the spread of English worldwide by looking at how native and non-native speakers alike re-appropriate the perceived model of 'Standard English' to fit the frames of their own culture and to express their own identity. The hypothesis that this thesis builds on is that the language each of us speaks reflects one's own individual background, the communities that one belongs to, and the identity that one wants to convey. As English is assimilated by the people of the world, their cultural diversity is re-expressed through the common language. By looking at the ways in which English is used in a multicultural setting and at the speakers' attitudes towards it, this paper makes a claim for an alternative to the current educational paradigm in refocusing English teaching on its potential for intercultural communication rather than on specific knowledge of Anglo-American cultures. In order to identify the cultural factors that are involved in the production of one's speech in English as a lingua franca situations, the Vienna-Oxford International Corpus of English (VOICE) – a collection of naturally occurring spoken interactions in English – will be used. Close attention will be paid to the communicative strategies that the participants use, to the way their identities are expressed in their speech, to instances of code-switching or to neologisms that they may use, and to the ways in which they accommodate each other whenever communication is not clear.

Cette recherche se concentre sur les acteurs culturels qui, en promouvant la rencontre des cultures à travers la musique, portent le message politique induit par une valorisation de la diversité culturelle. J’analyse cette mobilisation particulière de musiques à travers le cas du programme des musiques transculturelles de la fondation Royaumont dans le Val-d’Oise. Mis en place en 2000 et piloté jusqu'en 2016 par Frédéric Deval, directeur artistique, ce programme « conçoit et met en oeuvre des créations qui croisent des cultures et des langages musicaux ». Son refus des catégories « musiques du monde » et world music, n’empêche pas Deval de faire se rencontrer des musiciens du monde entier dans cette abbaye cistercienne pour, non seulement élaborer des créations « transculturelles », mais également inviter des artistes à inventer des « communautés imaginaires » afin de contrer la violence du monde contemporain. L’analyse ethnographique enrichie par une prise en compte de contextes historiques, géographiques, sociaux et culturels plus larges, révèle les mondes (représentations, réseaux d’acteurs, institutions…) sur lesquels une programmation musicale s'appuie et les mondes qu’elle construit en retour. L’émergence d’un monde professionnel qui valorise l’altérité par la musique en France, l’évolution d’une programmation sur la durée, le développement et le fonctionnement d’une institution culturelle, les interactions entre un artiste et une institution et enfin le travail des artistes en résidence de création constituent autant de facettes du cas permettant de comprendre comment se fabrique une programmation musicale. Les interactions multiples entre programmateurs et artistes mais aussi mécènes, politiques, administrateurs et divers salariés d’une institution culturelle marquent l’aspect collectif de la création et de la programmation musicale. Les espaces de communication dans lesquels les appellations « musiques du monde » ou « musiques transculturelles » constituent alors des enjeux de positionnement et de catégorisation. Dans le même temps, l’analyse de l’institution montre d’autres espaces institutionnels moins visibles, faits de négociations constantes et d’ajustements divers, qui sont essentiels pour l’existence de ces discours et de ces musiques. Cette analyse de cas montre que la fabrication de musiques ne peut être pensée, étudiée et analysée sans tenir compte des institutions qui les font exister et des acteurs qui, eux, font exister cette institution tout en s’en servant comme une ressource d’action. Le message politique d’un programmateur de musique transparaît alors à la fois comme une démarche stratégique et comme un moteur de créativité, mais révèle également des modalités d’action qui dépassent le seul cadre de l’engagement artistique<br>This research focuses on cultural actors who, by fostering the encounter of cultures through music, carry the political message born out of an appreciation of cultural diversity. I analyse this particular mobilization of music through a case study, that of the transcultural music program at the Royaumont Foundation, Val-d'Oise, France. Set up in 2000 and led by Frédéric Deval, artistic director, until 2016, this program "conceives and realizes creations that cross-fertilize musical cultures and languages." His rejection of "musiques du monde" and world music categories does not prevent Deval from bringing together musicians from all over the world in this Cistercian abbey to not only enable the development of "transcultural" creations, but also to invite artists to invent "imaginary communities" in order to counter the violence of our world. Ethnographic analysis, enriched by the broader historical, geographical, social and cultural contexts, reveals the worlds (representations, networks of actors, institutions, etc.) upon which musical programming is based and the worlds it builds in return. The emergence of a professional world that values otherness through music in France, the evolution of programming over time, the development and operation of a cultural institution, the interactions between artist and institution and, finally, the work of artists in residence are all facets of this case study that lead to understanding how musical programming happens. The many interactions between programmers and artists, and sponsors, politicians, administrators and employees of a cultural institution, all demonstrate the collective aspect of musical creation and programming. This work brings to light communication spaces in which the designations "world music" and "transcultural music" become positioning and categorization concerns. At the same time, the analysis of the institution shows other less visible institutional spaces made up of constant negotiations and adjustments, which are essential for the existence of discourse and music. This case study shows that music making cannot be thought of, studied and analysed without taking into account the institutions that make it possible and the actors that make the institution while at the same time using it as a resource for action. It is clear then that the political message of a music programmer is both strategic and practical in being a driving force for creativity, but it also reveals modalities of action that go beyond the mere framework of artistic engagement

Background: Migration is a global phenomenon that characterize today’s globalized world. Although, the relationship between migration and health in the host countries is not always negative, many countries, including Sweden are concerned about possible spread of infectious diseases of public health significance such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis (TB). Moreover, apart from disease profiles, migrants also have different socio-cultural backgrounds, which may challenge health care access and provision. Objectives: To investigate, identify, and delineate potential challenges of relevance in the care and prevention of communicable diseases of public health significance in general and particularly HIV/AIDS and TB among migrants from countries where these infections are endemic, and eventually generate knowledge that could inform policies and practice. Methods: Data for this thesis were collected in four of the five counties of the Northern region in Sweden. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used including a survey of 268 migrant students in two language schools (I &amp; II); an interview study with 10 care providers caring for patients with migrant backgrounds and observations of care encounters (III) and an interview study with 15 care providers experienced in screening migrants (IV). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were used to summarize survey data whereas a thematic analysis approach was applied to the qualitative data within the interpretive description framework. Results: The students scored on average low on both HIV/AIDS and TB knowledge and displayed misconceptions and negative attitudes towards the two diseases and infected/sick persons. Knowledge level and attitude could be predicted by prior knowledge, years of previous education and geographic origin. In contrast, no association was found between being screened and the level of TB knowledge or attitude towards TB and infected/sick persons. However, fear of being deported appeared to be the main predictor of reluctance to seek HIV/AIDS care after controlling for socio-demographic factors, knowledge level, stigmatizing attitudes and fear of disclosure. Health care providers described complex and intertwined challenges that influenced both care delivery and receipt. The challenges described included language, the socio-cultural diversity within migrant groups and between migrants and the caregivers. These often resulted in divergent perceptions and expectations about care and caring. The participants highlighted the complexities of caring for diverse patients within different institutions with conflicting policies and frameworks. They also described the difficulties the migrants face in navigating the Swedish care system. Conclusions: This thesis illuminates complex challenges in the care of migrants. The findings emphasize the need for multilevel strategies in order to remove identified barriers. This requires accommodating diversity by improving care providers’ cultural competence and migrants’ health literacy. It further requires policies and practices that emphasize health services responsiveness in order to provide equal access and equitable care. Finally, it entails revisiting existing policies and legislative frameworks to promote a change in ways of thinking about and approaching migration, HIV/AIDS and TB issues, to address the specific vulnerabilities of mobile populations in a world on the move.

Diese Arbeit untersucht das Beziehungsgeflecht zwischen musikalischen kreativen Prozessen, Identitätspolitik und Globalisierung im heutigen Deutschland anhand eines bestimmten Falls: dem Musikwettbewerb "Creole", der seit 2006 in unterschiedlichen Orten von Deutschland stattfindet. Laut Programmtext soll diese Veranstaltung die Kreolisierung der Musikwelt und die Vernetzungen zwischen unterschiedlichen Kulturen und Musikgattungen widerspiegeln. Bei einer genauen Untersuchung des Entstehungs- und Durchführungsprozess erweisen sich aber der Erwartungshorizont und die Erfahrungen der Teilnehmer als komplex und vielschichtig. Statt eine klar gewichtete Realität wiederzugeben, produzieren diese Festivals eine « Weltmusik aus Deutschland » (aus Berlin, aus Nordrhein-Westphalen, Bayern usw.), deren Formen die bestehenden musikalischen Kategorien und Erfahrungsmuster auf der Probe stellen. Die ethnologische Untersuchung dieses Falls ist hier ein Mittel, um im Sinne der histoire croisée (Werner/Zimmermann 2003) einen Einblick in unterschiedliche Aspekte der deutschen Gesellschaft zu gewinnen : als "Einwanderungsland", das zwischen dem Ideal einer pluralistischen Gesellschaft und der Akzentuierung von ethnischen Grenzen hin-und hergerissen wird; als "Musikland", das für sein reiches, klassisches Erbe bekannt ist aber sich auch zu anderen Formen von populärer oder "globaler" Musik öffnet ; als Bundesrepublik, die heute sowohl mit den differenzierten Realitäten in den Ländern als auch mit internationalen Steuerungsinstanzen der Kulturpolitik umgehen muss. So breit der Hintergrund ist, so genau ist hier der Blick auf die konkreten Interaktionsprozesse, um im Sinne einer « dichten Beschreibung » den Enstehungs- und Durchführungsprozess der Festivals in ihren jeweiligen Kontexten zu analysieren, die aufeinander folgenden Auswahletappen von der Ausschreibung bis hin zu den ritualisierten Preisverleihungen zu verfolgen und die Debatten zum „Wert“ der Musik sowie zum Sinn und Zweck der Veranstaltung analysieren zu können.<br>This work aims to show the relations between musical creation, identity politics and globalization in Germany today taken from one case: the creole competitions, a cycle of festivals leading every two years to a prize for “world music from Germany” (since 2010 “Global Music”). According to its accompanying text, this festival is intended to illustrate the “creolization” of music in Germany. When one investigates the genesis of the project and the mobilization of candidates, partners and experts, it turns out that the expectations are more complex and that these events, rather than illustrating an established reality, create plural versions of a “world music from Germany”. The crux of this work is to explain the tensions between the values which have currency within the intimacy of this professional sector (“die Nische Weltmusik”) and the public perception of the genre, tarnished with suspicion and controversy. This world of music cuts across questions that mark more generally German society today : as an “country of immigrants” (Einwanderungsland) torn between the idealization of cross-fertilization and the fear of diversity, as a “music country” (Musikland) known for the richness of its intellectual heritage, but desirous to promote examples of contemporary music and as a political system divided between local structures and globalized frameworks which define public culture. Just as the background of this work is large, so too the attention given to specific situations has to be precise : to show the organizing frameworks of the contests, the various criteria taken into account by the juries in their deliberations and the debates which emerge among the spectators on the “spirit” of this manifestation.<br>Ce travail vise à rendre compte des relations entre création musicale, politiques de la diversité et mondialisation dans l’Allemagne d’aujourd’hui en partant d’un cas : creole, un cycle de compétitions organisé selon un principe fédéral, qui donne lieu à des festivals dans différentes villes et débouche tous les deux ans sur un prix récompensant trois ensembles de « musiques du monde d’Allemagne ». Selon les textes des programmes, cette manifestation est censée illustrer la créolisation du monde et les connexions émergeant entre différentes cultures et genres musicaux présents en Allemagne. Lorsque l’on se penche sur le processus d’émergence de ce projet et les dynamiques de mobilisation des participants, il s’avère cependant que le spectre des attentes est plus complexe et que ces événements, plutôt qu’illustrer une réalité univoque, fabriquent en des versions plurielles tout un monde de musiques d’Allemagne. L’étude de ce cas n’est pas une fin en soi mais un moyen pour appréhender divers aspects de l’Allemagne contemporaine. Les débats qui ont cours dans l’intimité du secteur des « musiques du monde » manifestent plus largement des tensions traversant la société allemande d’aujourd’hui : en tant que terre d’immigration partagée entre l’idéalisation du métissage et la mise en avant de cultures distinctes, en tant que « pays de musique » connu pour la richesse de son patrimoine savant et en même temps désireux de promouvoir des artistes « populaires » ou « modernes », en tant que système politique fédéral devant composer avec les diverses instances locales et les cadres mondialisés du marché et de la politique culturelle. Autant l’arrière-plan considéré dans ce travail est large, autant l’attention portée aux situations d’interaction se veut précise : pour rendre compte du processus de fabrique des festivals et des environnements différenciés dans lesquels ils s’inscrivent, des logiques de sélection et des dynamiques de délibérations des jurys, des cadres organisant chaque épreuve ainsi que des débats qui surgissent parmi les spectateurs sur « l’esprit » des festivals creole.

The literacy experiences of a small group of culturally-diverse children were examined in this study. The experiences, too, were diverse – and influential. The children, five girls aged four – five years, attended the same Preschool, in an inner suburb of a large city in Australia. Data were gathered at home, during the last two months of the preschool year and, for three of the children, during writing sessions in the first six months of Year One. Vygotskian ideas on meaning-making were integrated with other perspectives on development, literacy learning and teaching from a sociocultural, theoretical framework. The purpose was to identify dimensions of children’s literacy experiences and provide insight into ways in which children negotiate culture, literacy, and schooling, challenge current perspectives, contribute to research knowledge and determine how teachers might take account of cultural diversity in classrooms to better support children in literacy learning. A grounded theory method was employed using multiple data collection tools and techniques in both home and school contexts. Data were coded using a process of constant comparison to identify features, characteristics and dimensions of children’s literacy experiences. Independent inter-rater agreement on the coding of features at home, Preschool and school was 98.4%. Findings included a variety of values, beliefs and perspectives amongst parents and between teachers in relation to literacy learning, roles and relationships, and home-school connections. Children’s literacy experiences at home differed in terms of nature, frequency and resources and experiences in each of the settings were very different. A major finding was that children acted as agents of their own learning: mixing, transferring, trying out, adapting, and experimenting to determine appropriate practices and make decisions including when to exercise choice to enact agency. These assimilation and accommodation adaptations were identified as akin to code-switching, labelled as culture-switching, and identified as areas requiring further research.<br>Thesis (PhD Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>School of Cognition, Language and Special Education<br>Full Text

The literacy experiences of a small group of culturally-diverse children were examined in this study. The experiences, too, were diverse – and influential. The children, five girls aged four – five years, attended the same Preschool, in an inner suburb of a large city in Australia. Data were gathered at home, during the last two months of the preschool year and, for three of the children, during writing sessions in the first six months of Year One. Vygotskian ideas on meaning-making were integrated with other perspectives on development, literacy learning and teaching from a sociocultural, theoretical framework. The purpose was to identify dimensions of children’s literacy experiences and provide insight into ways in which children negotiate culture, literacy, and schooling, challenge current perspectives, contribute to research knowledge and determine how teachers might take account of cultural diversity in classrooms to better support children in literacy learning. A grounded theory method was employed using multiple data collection tools and techniques in both home and school contexts. Data were coded using a process of constant comparison to identify features, characteristics and dimensions of children’s literacy experiences. Independent inter-rater agreement on the coding of features at home, Preschool and school was 98.4%. Findings included a variety of values, beliefs and perspectives amongst parents and between teachers in relation to literacy learning, roles and relationships, and home-school connections. Children’s literacy experiences at home differed in terms of nature, frequency and resources and experiences in each of the settings were very different. A major finding was that children acted as agents of their own learning: mixing, transferring, trying out, adapting, and experimenting to determine appropriate practices and make decisions including when to exercise choice to enact agency. These assimilation and accommodation adaptations were identified as akin to code-switching, labelled as culture-switching, and identified as areas requiring further research.

The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of eight high school principals regarding world-mindedness. Classrooms filled with students of various heritages present a three-fold challenge to principals: a) to welcome and educate students of all heritages; b) to teach students to respect and accept people who are different from themselves; and c) to graduate students prepared to live and work in a global economy. The study involved interviewing principals from eight high schools in central and northern Virginia: a) three public high schools with relatively high percentages of LEP students; b) three public schools with much lower percentages of LEP students; and c) two private international schools. The interview questions probed not only how the principals felt about world-mindedness but also about their roles in building world-minded schools and how they would recognize world-mindedness. The findings were as follows: a) all participants agreed on the importance of world-mindedness in education; b) world-minded practices were absent from some schools; c) offering the International Baccalaureate Program did not necessarily make a school highly world-minded; d) participants did not need extensive experiences outside the United States to be highly world-minded; e) demands from outside forces encouraged participants to be world-minded; f) community demographics affected participants' perceptions of schools' levels of world-mindedness; g) participants in schools with diverse student bodies seemed to be more world-minded; h) highly world-minded participants used conversations to raise and maintain world-mindedness; i) highly world-minded participants used websites to promote world-mindedness; j) highly world-minded schools possessed tangible and intangible elements of world-mindedness; and k) some participants confused world-mindedness with anti-racism. Implications were that principals should a) seek professional development opportunities; b) include world-mindedness in communications; c) start with tangible elements to build intangible elements of world-mindedness; and d) have frequent conversations about world-mindedness with stakeholders. The recommendations for further research included a) creating world-mindedness continuums; b) building world-mindedness in homogeneous student bodies; c) using international schools as world-mindedness models; and d) distinguishing world-mindedness from anti-racism efforts. In conclusion, the growing diversity in U.S. classrooms presents principals with a mandate to work toward high levels of world-mindedness and, thus, become diversity change agents.<br>Ed. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Kentucky, 2006.<br>Title from document title page (viewed on May 30, 2006). Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 133 p. : ill. Includes abstract and vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-132).