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Gaines, Joseph Harry. "Music as socio-cultural behavior : implications for cross-cultural education. A case study /." Access Digital Full Text version, 1989. http://pocketknowledge.tc.columbia.edu/home.php/bybib/10858209.
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Thesis (Ed.D.) -- Teachers College, Columbia University, 1989.Typescript; issued also on microfilm. Sponsor: William C. Sayres. Dissertation Committee: Mara̕ E. Torres. Bibliography: leaves 143-162.
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Das, Nibedita. "Courtyards houses of Kolkata : bioclimatic, typological and socio-cultural study." Thesis, Manhattan, Kan. : Kansas State University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/2097/146.
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Okewole, I. A. A. "Human behaviour settings : A comparative analysis of adaptation of residential environments in Ibadan, Nigeria." Thesis, University of Manchester, 1987. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.383236.
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Teevale, Tasileta. "Obesity in Pacific adolescents: a socio-cultural study in Auckland, New Zealand." Thesis, University of Auckland, 2009. http://hdl.handle.net/2292/5828.
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The purpose of this thesis was to explore socio-cultural factors that may promote or prevent obesity in Pacific communities residing in New Zealand. Specific objectives were to describe the behaviours, knowledge, beliefs and values of Pacific adolescents and their parents, as related to food consumption, physical activity and body image and to compare the responses of obese Pacific adolescents and their parents to their non-obese or healthy weight counterparts. A mixed-methods approach was utilised to gather data. Information was collected from a questionnaire administered to 4215 students who participated in the New Zealand arm of the Obesity Prevention In Communities (OPIC) project and sixty-eight individuals (33 students and 35 parents) from 30 Pacific households participated in individual interviews as part of the qualitative phase of the study. To meet the comparative objectives of the study, Pacific adolescents were recruited by obese (n=16) and healthy weight (n=17) status. The outcome of the analysis found that cost and affordability of food, time-constraints through employment obligations and lack of health education or experience negatively affected the health-promoting behaviours of Pacific adolescents and their parents (i.e. not meeting the current guidelines for healthy eating and regular physical activity). Healthy weight Pacific adolescents were significantly more active, consumed fruit and vegetables regularly and had habitual levels of breakfast and lunch consumption compared to obese Pacific adolescents. Obese adolescents were inactive, had takeaway family meals more often and skipped breakfast and lunch meals more frequently. Obese adolescents were also dissatisfied with their body weight, received more parental encouragement to lose weight and engaged in weight control behaviours more than the healthy weight cohort. Healthy weight adolescents and parents seemed to have more health-related knowledge and experience than obese adolescents and parents. There were no differences in the knowledge, values and beliefs about the health-protective effects of food and regular physical activity between obese and healthy weight Pacific adolescents and their parents. There was sound knowledge observed in the link between food and particular eating habits, physical inactivity and body size to obesity risk and study participants desired to increase their healthful behaviours, particularly amongst the obese. The key difference between healthy weight and obese adolescent households was in parental presence at home. Healthy weight adolescents came from households that were more likely to have a full-time or part-time parent at home. While obese adolescents were more likely to come from households that had both parents working full-time, particularly for sustained periods of time in shift-type working arrangements. Furthermore, all students and parents perceived overweight and underweight bodies undesirable for adverse health consequences, suggesting they understand the link between obesity and health. Most students and parents desired average-sized bodies that were functional, i.e. for adolescents, bodies that could be competent in sports and dance, for Pacific adults, bodies that could achieve daily tasks like housework, childrearing and meeting the needs of the family were desired and valued. This thesis finds that socio-environmental influences like socio-economic position, occupational type, health education and experience were much more instrumental influencers on health behaviours than socio-cultural factors. Attitudes, values and beliefs about food, physical activity and body image, which were comparable between obese and non-obese Pacific adolescents and their parents, were not as influential on health behaviours. Obese adolescents held the same attitudes, beliefs and values about food, physical activity and body image as their healthy-weight counterparts, but these factors were not protective for obesity-risk. To address obesity in Pacific youth in New Zealand, a number of macro-environmental changes are recommended to reverse obesity trends. Developing food pricing control policies to mitigate healthy food costs, revising sustained employment hour policies, making changes to school food and physical activity environments and incentivising healthy workplaces are some suggestions. This study suggests certain structural environmental factors related to poverty affects the health-promoting behaviours of Pacific communities in New Zealand. Future obesity intervention efforts for Pacific groups need to address poverty status and specific interventions that prioritise the elements of motivation, self-esteem, self-confidence and life-skills training as well as making policy changes to structural barriers is likely to be more effective.
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Barron, David. "Schizotypy : a multi-country study of psychometrics, socio-cultural influences, cognitive processes, and electrophysiological markers." Thesis, University of Westminster, 2017. https://westminsterresearch.westminster.ac.uk/item/q3832/schizotypy-a-multi-country-study-of-psychometrics-socio-cultural-influences-cognitive-processes-and-electrophysiological-markers.
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Schizotypy represents a latent personality organisation reflecting a putative liability for schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizotypic traits include anomalies in cognition (e.g., hallucinations), socio-emotional function (e.g., constricted affect), and behaviour (e.g., odd behaviour and language) that do not meet the clinical threshold for psychotic disorders. This thesis presents a series of studies investigating schizotypal measurement across ethno-cultural settings, examining cognitive antecedents and outcomes of schizotypy, and a schizotypal-continuum exploration into electrophysiological function. Studies 1-3 examined the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire (SPQ) as a measurement tool for schizotypy. These studies re-evaluated the domain structure of the English SPQ and the German SPQ, and developed and evaluated a Malay translation of the SPQ. Further, through the evaluation and development of these measures, schizotypy was explored within the framework of ethnic and cultural identities. This included evaluations between African Caribbeans in the UK and Trinidad, with White British participants; Malay and Chinese participants in Malaysia, and; central European White participants from Austria and southern Germany, with a similar cultural (migrational) group in the UK. Studies 4a and 4b concerned schizotypy, cognitive processes, and conspiracy ideation. From an initial pilot, associations were established with conspiracy ideation, included as a prima facie outcome of disordered thinking. A follow-up study showed that analytic thinking mediated the relationship between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking (but not Ideas of Reference) and belief in conspiracy theories. Study 5 investigated whether a combination of high schizotypal ratings and abnormal electrophysiological function could be established. Second, this study allowed for a unique comparison between culture and ethnicity, within the assessment of electrophysiological function. Finally, this study allowed for an investigation into associations between the domains established in Study 1 (namely, Cognitive-Perceptual, Paranoid, Disorganised, and Negative) and electrophysiological function. Results indicated little evidence of association between the schizotypy and schizophrenia literature; that is, there was no apparent electrophysiological deficits for high schizotypal individuals and no ethno-cultural influence. Further, the results of the regression indicated no support for associations at the higher-order domain level and electrophysiological function. Taken together, these studies informed the schizotypal literature through multiple routes. Indeed, this thesis addressed both the personality (cognitive outcomes) and clinical (electrophysiological) nature of schizotypy with the foundation of a thorough measurement examination.
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Alemu, Leulekal Akalu. "A study of socio-cultural identity and adjustment of Ethiopian immigrants in Atlanta." DigitalCommons@Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center, 2012. http://digitalcommons.auctr.edu/dissertations/307.
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The study examined the socio-cultural identity and adjustment process of Ethiopian immigrants in Atlanta, Georgia. One hundred and sixty-two randomly selected Ethiopian immigrants, aged 15 and above, were interviewed by using a self-reporting survey questionnaire. The survey was designed to assess if there was a relationship between psychological problems and adjustment process, socio-cultural identity crises among Ethiopian immigrant parents and their children who live in Atlanta, and to explore if Ethiopians are integrating or assimilating with the American culture. The results indicated that the majorityof respondents felt that life in America is stressful, and more than half of the respondents said they have not experienced psychological problems. The majority of the respondents keep and use their culture, and prefer integration over assimilation. The results also show that Ethiopian immigrants prefer to be identified as “Ethiopian” and “Ethio-American” by their nationality, instead of “black” and “African American.” Even though Ethiopian immigrants agree living in America is stressful, most of the respondents deny that their adjustment process affects their psychological well-being. Ethiopians are new immigrants in the new world. This study introduces the Ethiopian culture and identity to the entire community to minimize the cultural barrier. The findings from this study may also have practical significance for Ethiopian immigrants in the United States.
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Wessels, Johannes Mattheus. "Paul's approach to the cultural conflict in Corinth : a socio-historical study / J.M. Wessels." Thesis, North-West University, 2006. http://hdl.handle.net/10394/1729.
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Steinbach, Marilyn. "Socio-cultural factors affecting the language learning experiences of south Asian female immigrants." Thesis, National Library of Canada = Bibliothèque nationale du Canada, 1998. http://www.collectionscanada.ca/obj/s4/f2/dsk1/tape11/PQDD_0004/MQ43957.pdf.
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Iordanaki, Evangelia. "A socio-cultural study exploring Greek and English 11-year-old children's responses to wordless picturebooks." Thesis, University of Cambridge, 2017. https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/267984.
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This thesis investigates how Greek and English 11-year-old students respond to wordless picturebooks. Through the identification of themes in their responses, the study explores the children's engagement while interpreting these books, and also demonstrates how wordless picturebooks can be addressed to and enjoyed by fluent readers. The central tenets of the thesis are described through a socio-cultural perspective of reader response theories. The approach taken places emphasis on the reader's active engagement, for each reader uses visual decoding skills and culturally-oriented knowledge in an effort to resolve the ambiguities of the pictures in a wordless story. The socio-cultural dimension is highlighted throughout this study since the entire process of reading is considered a socio-cultural event. Case studies were conducted, comprising of two groups of four 11-year-old students in England and two groups of the same size in Greece. The data collected includes the children's videoed group discussions, their drawings and their individual short semi-structured interviews. The sessions were verbatim transcribed and analysed drawing on existing frameworks for the analysis of children's discussions on picturebooks, but also incorporating new categories emerged from the data. Based on empirical evidence, this study refines and extends pre-existing research on reader response theories and wordless picturebooks. The main findings indicate that the children's engagement with wordless picturebooks is a dynamic process shaped by four factors: visual decoding, expectations, emotions, and context. The importance of expectations is particularly highlighted, as the children's narrative and cultural expectations were either reinforced or challenged by their reading of the wordless books. This study has implications for teachers, researchers and publishers. It widens the range of readership of wordless picturebooks and increases the purposes of their use, as it reveals their special nature and complexity. Last, this thesis encourages teachers to support students' technical vocabulary on images, and invites schools to integrate wordless picturebooks into their curriculum for older children.
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Islam, S. M. Abidul, and Lili Liu. "The Invisible Factors That Break Socio-cultural Wall : A qualitative study on immigrant entrepreneurship." Thesis, Uppsala universitet, Företagsekonomiska institutionen, 2019. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:uu:diva-388130.
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Research Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify the socio-cultural barriers that self-employed immigrant entrepreneur’s face and the overcoming factors that help them to survive. Research Questions: 1. What are the socio-cultural barriers that immigrant entrepreneurs face in the context of self- employment? 2. What are the factors that help immigrant entrepreneurs to overcome the socio-cultural barriers? Methodology: This study is followed by qualitative research and explorative approach. The data collection was done by semi-structured interviews. Ten immigrant entrepreneurs are the convenience sample of our study. Findings: Language, legislation and lack of trust are the most unfavorable socio-cultural barriers that self-employed immigrant entrepreneurs face in the host country. Result shows that knowing the right information is important for immigrant entrepreneurs. For technology, immigrant entrepreneurs are now learning more about it by themselves. Besides, technology helps them to learn the language faster as it is more convenient than in school. Their previous experience and transnational identity are their biggest strength that helped them to break the socio-cultural wall. Immigrant entrepreneurs are often influenced by the native people in a positive way and that influences drive them to learn new things to overcome those barriers. The co-ethnic networks do not always play a positive role rather this study found that these networks actually play a dual role. Research Limitations: All of our sample are collected from Sweden, but for language and laws, the result might vary from person to person from different corners of the wall. This study was concerned with the self-employed entrepreneurs; not with the large level of enterprises.
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van, Maastricht Sylvia. "Learning disabilities : socio-cultural context and inclusion : a comparative study between Greece and Wales." Thesis, Swansea University, 2004. https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa42808.
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This study looks at learning disabilities in socio-cultural context. It does so by comparing the experiences of two small groups of people that each attend a day centre for adults locally considered as having learning disabilities. One of these centres is on the Greek island of Aniksi, the other in the small Welsh town of Ffynnon. It considers what goes on in these centres, the processes of classification that have lead to admission to the service, the experiences of the people that attend them and their parents. By examining the lives of individual people in local context, in particular in the area of work, socio-cultural elements have been identified that contribute to or act as barriers to their inclusion. I hope that this research will further understanding of their lives and the forces that shape them.
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Tangney, Susan Jean. "An interpretive study of student-centred learning through constructivist, humanist and socio-cultural lenses." Thesis, Open University, 2011. http://oro.open.ac.uk/49153/.
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The notion of student-centred learning is ubiquitous in the pedagogic literature, in learning and teaching statements of universities, and within course documentation. However it is not often defined, and an informal investigation of university staff revealed a variety of conflicting Interpretations. This ambiguity Is problematic for academic developers, and so warranted further Investigation through literature review and interviews with academic staff from the researcher's university. The literature review revealed diversity in understanding, and on examination, ideas were underpinned by a range of perspectives on learning per se. Three different perspectives, namely constructivism, humanism and socio-culturalism were examined for their respective alignment and value in thinking about student-centred learning. Many interpretations were within a constructivist framework, others more aligned with humanist or socio-cultural perspectives. The term student-centred learning was also used in association with contemporary ideas such as employability, widening participation and social justice. A constructivist grounded approach was used to collect data through interviews with lecturers teaching in art and design, and transcripts considered from the three perspectives above. It is argued in the findings that although constructivist interpretations of student-centred learning dominate the literature, other perspectives are also evident in the conceptions and practice of the group interviewed, and incorporation of these offered a more appropriate approach to contemporary issues in higher education, especially in building a partnership approach between lecturers and students. It is suggested that technicist approaches, though often based within constructivism, may have caused the proliferation of a 'slogan' approach to the student-centred learning discourse.
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Hirst, Beverley. "A socio-cultural study of the role of relationships in learning in higher education." Thesis, University of Huddersfield, 2014. http://eprints.hud.ac.uk/id/eprint/23692/.
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This research takes a socio-cultural view of learning, which foregrounds the role of relationship. It argues that the ways in which learning is investigated in the extant literature mean that the actual processes underpinning learning and the role that relationships play in this are left unspecified. This means that the role of relationships in learning is under theorised in the learning literature in general and in the H.E. literature in particular, due to a discourse around independent learning which prevails in this setting. It sets out to plug this gap. Taking an ethnographic approach this research used observational data, interviews, conversations and document analysis in order to study the role of relationships in learning in H.E. The work of Vygotsky, Lave and Wenger and Bronfenbrenner was drawn upon in order to analyse the everyday quotidian and implicit practices and processes underpinning learning in H.E. and the role that relationships play in this, using Thematic Analysis. A theoretical framework was thereby constructed to analyse these practices and processes and provide understanding of the role of relationships in learning in H.E. Findings pointed to students’ need for relationship with both their lecturers and peers as an ontological imperative. Furthermore, that relationship formation and maintenance can be impacted upon by the ways in which individual identities interact. The importance of intersubjectivity for learning and also how contextual processes are able to influence the formation and maintenance of relationships were also highlighted. Findings allowed reflection upon emergent issues and current H.E. practice.
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Chevalier-Forget, Sophie. "Creating Canadians: A Socio-Cultural Study of the North-West Mounted Police, 1883--1887." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28848.
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There is no other organization quite like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and its precursor, the North-West Mounted Police (NWMP). Created in 1873 to establish a lawful government presence in the newly acquired territories of the North-West, the organization grew from 300 to 1000 men between the years of 1883 and 1887. Facing such important challenges as the completion of the Canadian Pacific Railway and the 1885 Northwest Campaign, the historiography has found that the organization had succeeded in enforcing the law, lending credence to the romantic myth of the mounted police. This research seeks to understand who joined the mounted police, and how their time in the force influenced the organization. This quantitative study looks at the birthplace, provincial provenance, religion, age, and time spent in the force to understand the enlisted men and commissioned officers who became "Mounties". Recruiters sought out English-speaking farmers from Ontario, but men from all walks of life, including medical professionals, labourers, and even a circus clown, joined the organization. The constables and non-commissioned officers were primarily unskilled workers. In the end, the majority of these men served less than a single service term, making their time in the force more like temporary employment than a career. While political patronage influenced the appointment of commissioned officers, efforts were made to ensure a representation of men from all Canadian provinces and territories. Most officers had previous military experience and enjoyed many more benefits than the enlisted men, including a pension system, which helped explain why almost 80 percent made a career of the mounted police. This study, based on an exhaustive review of over 1200 personnel files, will reshape our understanding of who these Mounties were and contribute to the history of law enforcement in western Canada.
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Koo, Yew Lie. "Submissive and asservative reading : a case study of variable reader roles in a multi-cultural society." Thesis, University College London (University of London), 1998. http://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/10020310/.
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Soontayatron, Somruthai. "Socio-cultural changes in Thai beach resorts : a case study of Koh Samui Island, Thailand." Thesis, Bournemouth University, 2010. http://eprints.bournemouth.ac.uk/15787/.
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Apart from the obvious and visible effects on the economy and the physical environment, tourism can contribute to social and cultural changes in host societies. Many host communities put their hopes on tourism as an economic driver and development tool. However, it is still unclear whether tourism is more useful or harmful towards host destinations. It is obvious that international tourism would be a short pathway to make the transition from a traditional way of life to a modem form of society. Many studies show that destinations consider these changes positively in terms of modernisation and affluence. However, the interaction between two different cultures creates change processes over time, especially in an Eastern context where the modernisation process is Western in orientation. Prior studies on residents' attitudes and perceptions toward socio-cultural impacts of tourism identify various relationships. However, much less analysis has focused on the influence of cultural factors. Additionally, most previous studies focus on residents' attitudes and perceptions towards tourism development through quantitative surveys with cluster or factor analysis based on a limited range of predetermined attributes. Few studies explore the changes from an indigenous culture perspective. The aim of this research is to develop a better understanding of the residents of a Thai beach resort's attitudes towards tourism, in particular their perceptions of the socio-cultural impacts of tourism development and the associated behavioural changes in their society. Koh Samui was chosen for this investigation as it is a self-contained model of a beach resort development where there are sociocultural impacts. A constructivist paradigm approach was adopted. Consideration is given in the literature review and the methodology chapters to issues related to conducting research in the Thai context. Choosing qualitative research serves as a bridge, which can link theory, practice and deeper findings. This research employed participant observation and semi-structured interviews. The background of the local residents and local context in Koh Samui were explored as well as local residents' behaviour patterns and the interaction between them and tourists on a day to day basis. Following a period of immersion in the community, residents' and local authorities' perceptions and attitudes toward the socio-cultural impacts of tourism development in Koh Samui were investigated through semi-structured interviews. Isan migrant workers emerged from the data analysis as a key issue due to the fact that local people believed these migrant workers were responsible for the majority of socio-cultural impacts in Koh Samui including demographic changes, rise in crime, drug abuse, prostitution and AIDS infection, demonstration effects, and increased poverty and slums. Consequently, local people were offended by and fearful of Isan migrant workers. In addition, the analysis suggests that Isan migrant workers had adapted to more readily to tourist culture. Acculturation and social identity theory are explored to explain this situation. Social identity suggests that Isan migrant workers were out-group of Koh Samui as well as sense of belongingness as a self-esteem was a key answer to this adaptation in Isan migrant workers. Buddha's teaching and the Thai avoidance of confrontation are the main players in order to reflect on how Thai people cope with socio-cultural changes. The majority of local residents in Koh Samui are Buddhist and this has taught them to accept problems and learn how to live with them. A fundamental factor is an Eastern world view. In Koh Samui, it was necessary for local people to accept tourism and cope with socio-cultural changes in their community so as not to reject the apparent benefits of tourism. The findings illustrate many contexts in which local people are led by their cultural background to accept tourism. Following a crisis in local agriculture which was dependent on coconuts, tourism seemed to be the only way for local people to survive. It is, therefore, difficult for them to blame tourism as a cause of the main socio-cultural problems in their community. Therefore, they try to apportion blame elsewhere, in this case on the Isan migrants. Buddhism is followed by ninety-five percent of Thai people. It is undoubted that Buddhism has a strong influence on everyday life of Thai people, their society and culture. The implications of Thai cultural conditions and responses in the everyday life that were emerged from the analysis are discussed including Thai loose social structure, cool heart behaviour, the concept of Choei, face-saving and avoidance of confrontation, Boonkhun relationships, Kreng-jai value, Num-jai value, and brotherhood or helpful relationships. The importance of exploring an indigenous cultural perspective is discussed together with lessons that can be learned for tourism development and its socio-cultural impacts.
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Lin, Wen-Chuan. "Culture, ethnicity and English language learning : a socio-cultural study of secondary schools in Taiwan." Thesis, Cardiff University, 2007. http://orca.cf.ac.uk/55670/.
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Learning English in Taiwan has become a primary economic concern as industry has recognised the need to compete within global markets in which trade is carried out predominantly in English. The national, longitudinal achievement data in English has consistently demonstrated a substantial gap in English between candidates (age 13) living in urban and rural locales. This thesis explores differences in secondary school students' access to English as a foreign language in four schools in Taiwan. The schools were chosen to represent locales dominated by different ethnic groups. Multiple methods were employed and the design of the research was guided by Rogoff's description of planes of analysis. Questionnaires adapted from Scribner and Cole' (1981) seminal work on literacy were used to assess students' engagement in learning English in everyday contexts. Classroom observations were conducted in eight classrooms, two in each school, and semi-structured interviews were carried out with students, teachers and parents. Key findings reveal that students from various ethnic groups and locales have access to different socio-cultural resources that position them differently with respect to formal school English learning. The study found a greater asymmetry in rural in contrast to urban locales between school and community values such as ethnic cultural legacies. In some schools teachers accessed students' ethnicity and dialect to bridge between school and outside school knowledge. Individual students' access to English followed complex trajectories that often reflected tensions relating to ethnicity, gender and social class background. Learning English was found to be a value-laden practice that has been exacerbated by the heightened political pressure to learn English to ensure Taiwan's place in the global economy. The theoretical and methodological approaches, and findings bring to light some of the socio-political implications to English language teaching for practitioners, policy makers, and academics concerning foreign language learning in countries such as Taiwan facing competition in global economic markets.
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Gunersel, Adalet Baris. "A qualitative case study of the impact of socio-cultural factors on prominent Turkish writers." [College Station, Tex. : Texas A&M University, 2008. http://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2961.
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More, B. A. "Urban planning, neighbourhoods and social cohesiveness : a socio-cultural study of expatriate residents in Dubai." Thesis, University of Salford, 2017. http://usir.salford.ac.uk/43803/.
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In an era of globalisation and hyper-urbanisation, cities are rapidly emerging as drivers of social, cultural and economic change. Cities are imbibing the values of urbanism: the absence of intimate and personal relationships, and human relations which are largely anonymous, superficial and transitory. The concept of community neighbourhoods in urban living is gradually disappearing, which has led to more challenges for urban planners, designers and the architects. As architecture and urban planning are expressions of social and cultural milieus, this research focuses on contemporary urban planning approaches, with a theoretical framework that assesses the social cohesiveness and sustainability of neighbourhood communities. Academic literature in key areas of urban social sustainability, social cohesiveness and urban neighbourhood planning guides the theoretical framework. The key attributes of social cohesiveness identified by primary research are social interactions, sense of community and social ties. The aim of the study is to assess and analyse the role of the physical planning of the built forms, layout and design in creating socially cohesive neighbourhoods in the multicultural city of Dubai. The study focuses on four selected neighbourhoods in Dubai to analyse the extent of social cohesiveness evident and present and within these neighbourhoods. The study involves mixed methods: with quantitative, qualitative, spatial and observation analysis examining the physical factors of the neighbourhood and its impact on social cohesiveness. The findings of the study conclude that physical layout and built form contribute towards social cohesiveness among residents. There is a willingness of the residents to be part of a socially cohesive society; and if opportunities are provided through urban planning, this can help foster a socially cohesive multicultural society in Dubai. The study concludes that the role of urban planners, architects are important in building socially cohesive neighbourhoods in Dubai. The study seeks to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on building socially cohesive urban neighbourhoods; more specifically, in the context of Dubai’s transient multicultural expatriate population.
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Araya, Brito Marcela, Molina Karla Durán, Melgarejo Susan Herrera, Clavo Raquel Peñaloza, Díaz Cintia Rivera, and Muñoz Paula Vega. "Language and socio-cultural model of learning: a discourse analytical study of children TV shows." Tesis, Universidad de Chile, 2014. http://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/130545.
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Informe de Seminario para optar al grado de Licenciado en Lengua y Literatura InglesaThere have been several studies that explore how the language employed in TV shows promote children’s learning. (Brandsford et al., 2005; Grossman & DeGaetano, 2009; Jukes, 2008; Buerkel-Rothfuss et al, 1982; Hunt 2001 & Singer et al, 1980 ). Nevertheless, investigating children’s learning using discourse analysis as well as learning theories is an area that needs further development. This research defines discourse analysis as its theoretical and methodological framework in order to investigate what type of linguistic resources in children TV shows can be identified into a sociocultural model of learning. The present study has been made from a qualitative perspective. The data is composed by 13 children TV shows which were recorded from both cable and free-to-air channels and have been subsequently analyzed. According to the results of the analysis of these shows, seven categories were created to group instances in which discourse strategies are used to promote learning viewed from the sociocultural theory perspective. Each category has subcategories that explain how the constructs of the sociocultural theory are displayed in language. This study only benefited from a small sample for data analysis. As such, further research should be carried out in order to extend the knowledge regarding discourse strategies present in TV programs for children. Keywords: discourse strategies, TV shows, children, sociocultural theory, learning theories.
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Roberts, Meagan. "A Case Study of Adult Deaf Literacy Learners: Literacy Practices through a Socio-cultural Lens." Thesis, University of Ottawa (Canada), 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/28772.
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The purpose of the study was to examine a literacy program serving Canadian deaf and hard of hearing adults, through a socio-cultural perspective of learning. A provincially-funded literacy program for deaf adults provided an opportunity to understand the dynamics of literacy learning within a richly cultural environment. Theories of situated learning and situated cognition were used to examine learning within six literacy learning settings. The findings of the research study showed evidence of situated learning and communities of practices. Four socio-cultural themes emerged from the findings: ASL as a shared language, roles of instructors, new literacy practices and personal development. The socio-cultural elements played a role in the lived experiences of the learners and helped shape the students' identities as deaf literacy learners. The findings of the study provide new insights on how literacy learning can be embraced using a socio-cultural perspective and deepens our understanding of deaf literacy learning.
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Lee, Heekyeong 1971. "A socio-cultural-historical analysis of six Korean students' experiences in L2 learning contexts : learner agency and symbolic power." Thesis, McGill University, 2005. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=100643.
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This inquiry explores six Korean students' personal narratives about their living and learning experiences in their study abroad contexts. My goal is to examine the relationships between learner agency and symbolic power embedded in these six students' second language (L2) sociocultural contexts such as school, home and communities. The theoretical framework is derived primarily from Vygotskian sociocultural theory, Bakhtinian dialogic theory, and Bourdieuian critical approach to language practices. Drawing on an interpretive qualitative approach, I examine social, cultural, historical and political forces that influence the ways these students perceive, evaluate and negotiate their challenges and struggles in their social worlds. In a conventional approach to language studies, students are often seen as passive objects to be controlled by task instructions provided by classroom teachers. A growing number of L2 researchers challenge the artificial distinction between language learners and their social worlds. They emphasize that L2 learning should go far beyond mastery of vocabulary and syntax. However, over-simplified understanding of sociocultural influences on L2 practices can stereotype L2 students from the same cultural background assuming they share similar knowledge, beliefs and values. A reductionistic stance of culture has the danger of neglecting the complexity of L2 individuals' different voices and meaning-making processes. I argue that these L2 learners are far more complex than just 'ESL students' or 'non-native speakers'. I collected the participants' narratives for a six-month period primarily through open-ended interviews, including a variety of documentation such as samples of course work, personal notes, emails, and field notes. The analyses of the data suggests that although all six participants share certain commonalities such as being Korean and being educated in a Korean national educational system, they are quite diverse in the challenges they experience and types of symbolic power they perceive, evaluate and negotiate in their different social worlds. While engaging in various L2 literacy practices, they were consciously crossing different social spaces, taking different positionings, and negotiating among multiple beliefs, values and meanings about social relations of power. Their agency to negotiate the complex social relations of power manifests in the ways they invest in achieving different forms of capital, such as 'cheong' relationships as social capital and searching for meaning in life as spiritual capital. The data implies that L2 students are complex yet active social agents. Thus, these students' struggles in their L2 learning processes should be conceived as a complex process of exercising learner agency in their multiple social worlds, rather than be attributed only to cognitive capability or lack of motivation.
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Ghubash, Rafia O. S. "Socio-cultural change and psychiatric disorder : an epidemiological study of women in the Emirate of Dubai (UAE)." Thesis, King's College London (University of London), 1992. https://kclpure.kcl.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/sociocultural-change-and-psychiatric-disorder--an-epidemiological-study-of-women-in-the-emirate-of-dubai-uae(e16b1e6a-78b4-4777-b88c-f0dfedb5bf12).html.
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Rowlandson, John. "A socio-cultural case study of the Canadian Government's telegraph service in western Canada, 1870-1904 /." Thesis, McGill University, 1991. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=60683.
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In this thesis, the development of a Dominion government telegraph on a portion of the Canadian frontier is analyzed as a formative moment of socialization and cultural expression. It utilizes a socio-cultural framework for understanding the 'experience of space'; notably how changes in presence or access to one another--facilitated by this new mode of communication--are central to this experience.The thesis argues that the telegraph is crucially related to issues of public confidence. Its approach draws upon recent social and cultural treatments of communication technologies which stress the ways that the material reality of such technologies become part of a larger social and symbolic order. The thesis refers to indicators such as reliability, public works, public interest, competence, and trust to investigate a social apprehension of confidence. 'Confidence', in this case, is not treated as fixed and equally understood, but as something that is invested, shared, built-up and worn down. Thus concerns for and with 'public confidence' help to reveal changes in socio-cultural development.
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Sahovic, Dzenan. "Socio-cultural viability of international intervention in war-torn societies : a case study of Bosnia Herzegovina." Doctoral thesis, Umeå University, Political Science, 2007. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-1001.
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This dissertation explores the ‘socio-cultural dilemma’ facing international peacebuilders in war-torn societies through a case study of the post-conflict process in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This is done with the help of a typological approach of the grid-group Cultural Theory framework, which defines four social solidarities – or ideal type cultures – of individualism, egalitarianism, fatalism and hierarchy. A central argument in the thesis is that international intervention is culturally individualistic and/or egalitarian, thus socio-culturally unviable in war-torn societies, which are usually dominated by hierarchical and fatalist social solidarities.
This underlying socio-cultural conflict is used to trace the Bosnian post-war process, where the relationship between the managing international institution – the Office of the High Representative of the International Community – and the local nationalist elites repeatedly changed in response to the failure of international policies to produce the desired result, namely broad socio-cultural change in the local politics and society. Four different periods in the process are identified: 1) ’economic conditionality’, 2) ‘Bonn Powers’, 3) ‘the concept of ownership’ and 4) ‘Euro-Atlantic integration’. Each period is defined by different culturally biased policies, supported by corresponding social relations and strategic behaviours.
The individualistic and egalitarian biased approaches usually resulted in failures, as they were not viable in the local socio-cultural context. After adapting to the local context, new viable approaches produced results in specific policy areas, but at the cost of unwanted side-effects in the form of reinforcement of dominant social solidarities. The result was therefore contrary to the broad goal of the process, which was to transform the local political culture.
In other words, the defining and re-defining of the OHR’s role in the Bosnian process was a consequence of the dilemma of having to make an unsatisfactory choice: either to adapt to the way the political game is played in the Bosnian socio-cultural context in order to achieve effectiveness in the policy process, or to stay true to the peacebuilders’ own cultural biases and attempt to change the local socio-cultural accordingly. In essence, it is argued, this is the socio-cultural viability dilemma that is inherent in international peacebuilding.
In unveiling of the socio-cultural viability dilemma, the dissertation explores central problems in the Bosnian post-conflict process. It provides a credible explanation to a number of hitherto unexplained difficulties and paradoxes experienced in Bosnia. It concludes that the international intervention in this particular case was neither a success story nor a failure per se, but one which failed to properly address the dilemma of socio-cultural viability. The key conclusions regarding peacebuilding in general are that there should be a greater under¬¬standing of socio-cultural issues in peacebuilding in order to better manage the socio-cultural viability dilemma. Practically, this means that international peacebuilders need to adapt to local context and strive towards the goal of local ownership of the process. The aim should be to make the intervention as viable as possible, as quickly as possible, to boldly implement policies that promote changes in the local socio-cultural context, and to withdraw only after the necessary conditions for local ownership are in place.
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Petit, dit Dariel Odessa. "Exploring e-learning adoption in nurse education : a socio-cultural case study using Q and Bourdieu." Thesis, University of Nottingham, 2011. http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/12256/.
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This research study employed Q-methodology (Q) to explore the factors influencing e-learning adoption in a nurse education context, and Bourdieu’s Theory of Practice (TOP) to analyse these findings using a case study of one school of nursing in the UK. E-learning adoption has been limited in nurse education despite a wide body of literature promoting its use for improved learning outcomes. Most research studies to date have used surveys to explore the overarching factors influencing academics to adopt e-learning across higher education more generally, but these findings have not identified the underlying issues influencing their responses to these factors, nor do they allow a deep analysis of discipline-specific factors. This study identified four groups (Factors) of academics each responding differently towards e-learning in their teaching. The first group represented the ‘e-advocates’ who saw technology as having the potential to improve nurse education by giving more control to learners and preparing future nurses for their evolving role in health care. The second group represented the ‘humanists’ who although sharing similar pedagogical beliefs as the first group had not been motivated to engage with technology because of the value they placed on human interaction. The third group was described as the ‘sceptics’ who had had previous negative experiences with e-learning and were unconvinced about technology’s ability to improve learning outcomes. Finally, the fourth factor, the ‘pragmatics,’ although ostensibly positive in their views towards e-learning, held different pedagogical beliefs from the three other groups and felt it was their responsibility to cover certain content in a face-to-face setting. The unique combination of Q and Bourdieu’s TOP enabled a deeper analysis of the four groups’ views and the socio-cultural context shaping them, thus providing new insights into academics’ responses to e-learning. Moving beyond the binary labels commonly attributed to those considered either ‘early adopters’ or ‘laggards,’ the findings make a contribution to the e-learning adoption literature by revealing a wider breadth of views and responses towards technology. Moreover, this study showed that internal beliefs determined the extent to which external factors were perceived as influential. This serves to explain why some individuals overcome certain barriers to e-learning adoption whilst others succumb to them. The findings from this study will inform policy-makers, e-learning strategists and professional development staff on how to more effectively present and promote e-learning.
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Whitehead, Louise. "Involuntary urban resettlement : a study of socio-cultural livelihood impoverishment and reconstruction in Phnom Penh, Cambodia." Thesis, Oxford Brookes University, 2008. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.506077.
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This thesis explores socio-cultural livelihood impoverishment caused by involuntary urban resettlement in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where people are involuntarily displaced from informal dwellings in the city centre to resettlement sites in an urban area. Within the field of development-caused forced displacement and resettlement (DFDR), research has identified the principal risks of impoverishment. These risks have been encapsulated within a theoretical framework, the Impoverishment Risk and Reconstruction (IRR) framework, formulated by Michael Cernea whilst working at the World Bank (Cernea 2000). Cernea considers this model to be adaptable to differing situations of involuntary resettlement but, while the economic impoverishment risks of urban resettlement are widely appreciated, the socio-cultural risks of urban resettlement have yet to be fully explored. This thesis aims to extend and test the IRR framework in the context of urban resettlement through an exploration of the socio-cultural livelihood impoverishment risks within urban resettlement and also examines the extent of sociocultural livelihood reconstruction that occurs post-resettlement, with particular emphasis on the role of the displaced in re-establishing social livelihood patterns. This thesis explores the nature of socio-cultural impoverishment, which occurs as a result of involuntary urban resettlement in three case study sites in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The empirical findings of the thesis reveal specific socio-cultural impoverishment risks that are particular to urban resettlement such as the size of the resettlement site, with larger sites attracting higher levels of support from Non- Governmental Organisations (NGOs), increased stress due to the fragmentation of nuclear families and exclusion from ceremonies and festivals due to financial impoverishment. The study also reveals that urban resettlement does not impoverish all areas of the displacees' socio-cultural lives but there is evidence of new alliances and networks formed as a consequence of resettlement. The thesis questions the validity of using the reconstruction aspect of the IRR framework in the context of involuntary urban resettlement where the majority of cases occur in countries not adhering to international planning guidelines around resettlement, therefore raising concerns about the validity of using a diagnostic, state-centric framework. In addition, the thesis argues that the normative framework does not recognise the significant role played by the resettled in their socio-cultural livelihood reconstruction. The findings from this thesis lay a foundation for further study and add depth to the IRR model, enabling policy makers to assess more fully the socio-cultural impoverishment risks from urban resettlement. Furthermore, the study highlights the need to further develop and refine methodological tools to better encapsulate the nature of sociocultural livelihoods.
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Tang, Kwok-chun. "Stability and change in school mathematics : a socio-cultural case study of secondary mathematics in Macau /." Hong Kong : University of Hong Kong, 1999. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record.jsp?B20842284.
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Abedin, Aida. "Afghan Women in Sweden: A Qualitative Study of Their Socio-Cultural Integration and Sense of Belonging." Thesis, Malmö universitet, Fakulteten för kultur och samhälle (KS), 2018. http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:mau:diva-21841.
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This study aims to investigate on the social and cultural integration experiences of Afghan women in Sweden, in terms of their social networks and their socio-cultural practices. In addition, this paper questions where the Afghan women feel belonging to and what factors shape this sense of belonging. For this reason, a qualitative methodology is applied and the data is compiled through semi-structured interviews with ten Afghan women residing in Malmö, Sweden, with using both focus group interviews and individual interviews as the data collecting procedures. The concepts of socio-cultural integration, sense of belonging and social network have been utilized as the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of the study. With regards to social networks, this research intends to investigate on the social interactions of the participants with people of their own ethnic group and also with Swedes. Regarding the socio-cultural practices, the eating habits and the holiday celebration and participation of Afghan women participating in the research are examined as indicators of their cultural integration. The findings of the study reveal that language proficiency is considered as the key factor for socio-cultural integration among the participants. In general, the participants experience different levels of social interactions both with other Afghans and with Swedes. The study also shows that while the participants are committed to the Afghan cultural practices such as eating Afghan foods and celebrating their holidays, they also welcome some of the Swedish cultural practices. In addition, mutual respect has a fundamental place in Afghan women‟s interactions with the host culture and values. Moreover, the participants of this study experience different notions of belonging, and factors such as their family ties, safety, and discrimination vs. acceptance shape their feeling of belonging to both Sweden and Afghanistan. In general, the findings of this study confirm Beg‟s statement (2005) that Afghan women are not a homogenous group, and experience different varieties of socio-cultural integration and different notions of belonging.
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KHO, Tung Yi. "Eurocentrism, modernity and Chinese sociality : an ethnographic study of everyday socio-cultural life in new-millennium China." Digital Commons @ Lingnan University, 2014. https://commons.ln.edu.hk/cs_etd/22.
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This dissertation seeks to contribute to our understanding of Eurocentrism, Modernity,and their impacts on traditional Chinese cultural formations. It is based on ethnographic research conducted in Shenzhen, South China and Qinghai, West China, and explores the impacts of Chinese modernization on everyday forms of sociality.
I conceive of Eurocentrism foremost as an Ontology, a mode-of-being grounded in a cosmology about the nature of reality and human being-and-becoming in the world. I argue that because Eurocentrism is an ontology predicated on materialism and individualism - “matter” being the basis of reality and the “individual”, the fundamental unit of society, respectively - it was able to manifest materially and to spread by way of coloniality. Its perpetuation was justified by two interrelated premises: that the West in being Modern was the avant-garde of progress and, concomitantly, that the history of the West should be the fate of all humanity. It is on the pretension of being Modernity’s progenitor, along with its corollary of the Modern being Universal, that Eurocentrism was materialized as an ontology throughout the globe. Because of Modernity’s historical imbrication with the West, one cannot speak of Modernity without implicating Eurocentrism and vice versa.
The ideologies of Euro-Modernity have permeated the Chinese social fabric since the colonial encounters of the 19th C. The depth of their penetration renders the desire for Modernity in China today ubiquitous: being modern is verily the mark of progress. But since the Modern is of Eurocentric provenance, involving a certain cultural ontology that was itself the result of a momentous religio-cultural revolution in the West, my research is animated by the following query: How and to what extent has the Eurocentrism implied in Chinese modernity transformed traditional forms of Chinese sociality? My research thus consists of an ethnographic study of contemporary Chinese cultural change, examining Modernity’s impact on the most fundamental aspects of Chinese culture today: its forms of sociality.
My studies in Shenzhen and Qinghai reveal that while much of Chinese life has adopted the standard ideologies and practices of Modernity, rich socio-cultural practices of communality and kinship remain. These practices of sociality are a crucial cultural resource making possible the felicities of everyday Chinese living. They stabilize and sustain Chinese socio-cultural life as it is confronted by the de-culturing effects of Modernity. This insight is noteworthy since it challenges the ubiquitous faith that becoming Modern will yield a better life in some hoped-for future, mostly by material progress. Against this, my findings suggest that the “better” life in China is already attainable in the here-and-now, inhering not in greater material progress but in the nourishment of the relations that have traditionally bound kith and kin. Hence, life’s meaning does not reside in the domain of matter, as per the illusion of Modernity; it is found in the ineffable realm of moral economy and sociality: in the mutuality-of-ourbeing. This insight harbours potential, for if acted upon, offers up all peoples the possibility of a human future beyond the monoculture of Modernism.
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Chien, Yu-Yi. "Adjustment of international students in a UK university : reasons for study abroad and subsequent academic and socio-cultural experiences." Thesis, University of Exeter, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10871/15044.
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Research on international students contributes to our understanding of the internationalization of higher education. This study investigates the adjustment of first-year, full-time, postgraduate, international students at a southwestern UK university through a mixed methods research design. The main focus is on reasons for studying abroad, academic experience, and socio-cultural experience. Twenty-six students participated in the qualitative interviews. 250 students responded to a quantitative questionnaire survey. The results indicate that adjustment is a complex set of experiences and many factors may have an impact on it. The data suggest that value of overseas study, personal or family related factors, lack of opportunities at home, and financial or promotional reasons are main motivators driving students to study abroad. Postgraduate international students tend to pay more attention to academic than socio-cultural adjustment because personal agency and cultural identity operate more explicitly in socio-cultural than academic adjustment. Additionally, the data reveal that both acculturation and hybridization account for the processes that inform students’ socio-cultural adjustment. For theories explaining the findings regarding reasons for studying abroad, the push-pull model appears to be more applicable than the Theory of Planned Behavior, whereas Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory is found to be less relevant because international postgraduate students tend to have special characteristics, which differ from those of host country students, and their satisfaction perceptions regarding different needs are guided by various cultural factors. This study also suggests that the U-curve hypothesis is not supported by the research data, as methodological issues, different internal and external factors, cultural expectations, individual responses or attitudes, and technological and world development have the potential to impact on adjustment. This research adds to theoretical knowledge associated with the adjustment of international students and, in practical terms, increases our current knowledge regarding student recruitment and international student support services.
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Naz, Farhat [Verfasser]. "Socio-Cultural Implications of the Community-Based Water Management : A Case Study of Gujarat, India / Farhat Naz." Bonn : Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Bonn, 2011. http://d-nb.info/101621927X/34.
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McVeigh, Colleen. "Tourism and development in highland Sardinia : an economic and socio-cultural impact study of tourism in Baunei." Thesis, McGill University, 1992. http://digitool.Library.McGill.CA:80/R/?func=dbin-jump-full&object_id=56625.
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Tourism is being promoted as an economic development strategy world-wide. It is seen as particularly suitable for creating employment in areas which lack alternative development options. This study examines the economic and socio-cultural impacts of tourism on Baunei, a community located on the eastern coast of Sardinia. The research shows that the type of tourism found in Baunei (i.e. locally controlled and small-scale) is providing benefits to local people without causing significant economic disruption or social conflict. The fact that residents are actively seeking to develop tourism in their area is perhaps the best indication that tourism is not acting as a disruptive force in Baunei.
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Kaüfeler, Heinz. "Modernization, legitimacy and social movement : a study of socio-cultural dynamics and revolution in Iran and Ethiopia /." Zürich : Ethnologisches Seminar des Universität Zürich, 1988. http://catalogue.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/cb35416986f.
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Perrotta, Carlo. "The construction of a common identity through online discourse : a socio-cultural study of a virtual community." Thesis, University of Bath, 2009. https://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.520326.
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This thesis investigates the relationship between identity and discourse in a networked collaborative environment in order to explore the following question: Is the construction of a common identity taking place?
The research question draws on the socio-cultural theory and, in particular, on the view according to which the development of a common identity is an important dimension of learning. More specifically, the thesis builds upon recent criticism attracted by the sociocultural notion of ―Community of Practice‖ for its inadequate account of the relationship between identity, language and practice, both in traditional and computer-mediated settings. The empirical section of the thesis reports a study which applies the concept of recognition work developed by James Gee to the discursive dynamics identified in a ―discussion room‖ of an Italian online community of young psychologists and psychology students. In the study, discourse analysis was carried out on 20 online discussions and on 23 semi-structured interviews.
The findings demonstrate that the notion of recognition work can be used to study how identities are constructed and negotiated through discourse, and provide an additional insight into the role of computer-mediated communication in the relationship between identity and learning. The findings also have theoretical implications, raising the question as to whether the emphasis on communities of practice has exhausted its possible contributions to a socio-cultural theory of learning. Additionally, the thesis also considers the implications for the design of virtual learning environments that try to foster collaborative learning through networked discourse.
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Didier, Emilie Marie Claude. "Socio-economic and cultural impacts of recent Chinese immigration in African cities a case study of Cameroon /." Thesis, Click to view the E-thesis via HKUTO, 2009. http://sunzi.lib.hku.hk/hkuto/record/B43785128.
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Guan, Eng Ho. "Exploring the socio-cultural structure of formal ESL instruction in classroom talk : a case study of a secondary school in Brunei /." Title page, contents and abstract only, 2003. http://web4.library.adelaide.edu.au/theses/09PH/09phg913.pdf.
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Gambrell, James Arthur. "A Critical Race Analysis of Travel for Transformation: Pedagogy for the Privileged or Vehicle for Socio-Cultural Transformation?" PDXScholar, 2015. http://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/2485.
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Transformative learning theory (TLT) describes the process of reframing discriminative, untenable worldviews with a more inclusive, permeable, and reflective epistemology. Although TLT has been around for more than 50 years, few studies empirically engage critical theoretical frameworks to move beyond personal learning to identify the impacts of transformation on society. Through a critical race theory (CRT) framework, this study analyzed how the participants' socio-cultural identities (race, class, gender, sexuality, and heritage language) impacted the transformative learning of eight study-abroad students from a medium-sized, rural Midwestern university. Focusing on the extent to which the participants experienced the elements of transformative learning during a month-long study-abroad experience in Spain, this project explored what the experience of traveling to an "other" place and experiencing "otherness" had on transformative learning. This qualitative study drew from extensive ethnographic observations, photo analysis, and informal, semi-formal, and focus-group interviews. During the study, the researcher analyzed data to construct codes and categories for further analysis, incorporating multiple member-checks to promote the narratives of the participants. Following data collection, the researcher used constructivist grounded theory to further scrutinize the data searching for salient themes and patterns connected to the research questions. Race and class privilege (or marginalization) had an impact on the study-abroad participants' worldviews and transformative learning. Participants from backgrounds of racial and class privilege experienced transformations that were deeply engaging on a personal level, but were not motivated toward more justified beliefs or action toward others. In contrast, participants from backgrounds of lesser socio-cultural privilege demonstrated increased critical social reflection and transformative outcomes, both personal and social. These findings led the researcher to question if there might be more effective avenues toward critical social transformation than the pedagogy of the privileged of travel for transformation.
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Teo, Yong Peng Wilson. "Exploring the challenges of working with expatriates : a study of the socio-cultural structure of the Thai business model." Thesis, University of Manchester, 2016. https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/exploring-the-challenges-of-working-with-expatriatesa-study-of-the-sociocultural-structure-of-the-thai-business-model(879b958e-efba-4267-aa67-0da50a487412).html.
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This thesis explores the Thai business model, its history and culture, and the challenges of working with expatriates from the perspectives of Thai employees. Given Thailand's rich and complex history, difference in working styles between Thais and expatriates is not unexpected. This research aims to provide a detailed analysis of this relatively neglected field. Generally, there is a dearth of literature in the English language that reflects the perspectives of Thais regarding their working relationship with expatriates. In-depth information on Thai traditional values and culture in the English language is not readily available due in part to many Thai words not having English equivalents. This has led to a lack of in-depth knowledge about Thai employees, their working attitudes and the elements that make Thais what they are today. Thailand is not known as exemplary in terms of business ethics, professionalism or efficiency. Does this mean that management methods from developed nations are superior and could be applied wholly in Thailand? Would it be possible for Western expatriates to apply their management techniques across the board within the Thai business context, where culture and traditional values are deeply embedded?In seeking insights to these questions and possible solutions, and to obtain in-depth and rich information, this study adopts the survey method and uses interviews conducted with twenty Thai employees who work regularly with expatriates. The findings reveal that Thai working culture is multi-faceted and extremely complex, and that there are significant differences between Thai and expatriate cultures and attitudes that remain poorly understood. Furthermore, despite the conventional belief that Western management methods are superior and should be applied to the Thai business model, the evidence suggests that some Thai traditional values might actually be beneficial for both parties, as well as the organisation they are working for. This study has found that whilst it might be true that some Western influences can be positive, such as the reduction of high-level corruption and a focus on time management, certain traditional values might be worthwhile for expatriates to assimilate, such as kreng jai (similar to being considerate) and hen jai (similar to being understanding). This thesis concludes by suggesting that a compromise or middle ground approach is the way forward for both Thais and expatriates, where the merits of their respective work cultures could complement the other to achieve the overall well-being of the organisation and the people working in it.
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Pozo-GutieÌrrez, Alicia. "Between assimilation and transnationalism : a socio-cultural case study of Spanish migration to Hampshire and Dorset (1950s-1970s)." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2005. http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.423380.
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Vaughan, Lisa Therese. "A socio-cultural study investigating the influences on food and lifestyle choices, and the cultural transition, of British Bangladeshis living in Tower Hamlets East London." Thesis, City University London, 2011. http://openaccess.city.ac.uk/1158/.
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The prevalence of obesity and Type 2 diabetes is increasing world-wide being most evident in non-industrialised populations, and in deprived communities and minority ethnic groups, residing in the "affluent west". In the UK, the South Asian population, and in particular the Bangladeshi community, are up to six times more likely than the general population to have Type 2 diabetes. In Tower Hamlets East London, the prevalence is higher than both the London and England average; with over half of the cases being Bangladeshi. There is strong evidence that it is the interaction between an altered lifestyle, associated with economic development and urbanisation, which has triggered this massive increase in the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes. Genetic causes, and poor foetal and infant nutrition, are also seen as contributory factors. Central to this thesis was the preposition that obesity and Type 2 diabetes are largely preventable and amenable to a wide range of public health prevention strategies. Too often a reductionist medical approach has been taken with the focus on individual behavioural change and few links to the culture of food and eating, or to the broader social, political, or economic context in which people live. This trans-cultural study utilised qualitative approaches over three phases: paired interviews, in-depth semi-structured interviews and multiple pass dietary recall; drawing upon current social science and public health nutrition paradigms to investigate the contextual factors influencing food choices and physical activity, as perceived by the community itself and key informants, as well as the trend in eating patterns between two generations of British Bangladeshis. Multiple drivers were revealed to be influencing food and activity choices with the community being significantly affected by urbanisation, being immersed in an obesogenic environment, the degree of acculturation into the British society and changes to the patriarchal structure of their community. The policy framework at the time of this research reflected an epistemological dilemma of a social issue continuing to be addressed with a largely clinical solution and the perception of a Government which despite outward appearances to the contrary, remained committed to the personalisation of the health agenda. The most recent change to the Coalition Government has seen this paradigm continuing, jarring sharply with the lived realities of the community and the overwhelming evidence that the obesity and diabetes epidemics cannot be dealt with by promoting behavioural change and individualised treatment alone. The long lasting theory in Public Health that the social dimensions of health need to be addressed in conjunction with biological determinants has been confirmed with a complex web of interactions weaving together to influence the choices being made, highlighting the interconnectedness of diet and culture, and the relationship to a culture in transition. The vast array of factors have substantial implications for further development of food and public health policy for this community relating to the prevention diet related non-communicable diseases, as well as for professional practice.
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Dimmett, Deborah Lynn. "Sunlight Upon a Dark Sky - Haiti's Urban Poor Responds to Socio-Political and Socio-Cultural Conflicts: A Case Study of the Grande Ravine Community Human Rights Council." Diss., The University of Arizona, 2010. http://hdl.handle.net/10150/195664.
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This case study investigates the organizational characteristics of a Haitiangrassroots community human rights council (CHRC) that emerged as a response to threepolitically motivated massacres. The impromptu grassroots response of this poor urbancommunity is at the core of the following research question investigated in this study:What organizational characteristics influence the efforts made by the Grande RavineCommunity Human Rights Council to resolve socio-cultural and socio-political conflicts?One of the problems encountered was the suspicion by armed groups believing that thepresident of the organization was informing the police and the United Nationspeacekeepers about their activities. The complex dynamics of the Grande Ravineneighborhood lead to additional questions about building community capacity. Thisraised the possibility of removing the CHRC as an organization that monitors humanrights and expanding its role to include teaching about human rights and theresponsibilities that go with protecting them. A question for further study would bewhether or not a community-based human rights group can make a positive difference inresolving and diminishing socio-cultural and socio-political conflicts in similarneighborhoods.
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Galipeau, Miriam. "A Case Study of Alberta’s Future Leaders Program (AFL): Developing Aboriginal Youth Leadership through Cross-cultural Mentorship, and Sport, Recreation, and Arts Programming." Thèse, Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa, 2012. http://hdl.handle.net/10393/23535.
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In this thesis, in which I use the stand-alone paper format, I employ a Foucauldian lens to examine Alberta’s Future Leaders (AFL), an Aboriginal youth leadership development program. In the first paper, I identify how power relations shape AFL, including its ambitions and struggles towards developing sustainable programming. In the second paper, I examine AFL’s cross-cultural approach to mentorship and the ways in which failing to address issues of culture (re)produces colonial relations of power. Overall, my findings highlight the importance of recognizing and problematizing the power relations at work within Aboriginal youth leadership development initiatives.
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Mathewson, Donna School of Art Education UNSW. "A socio-cognitive model for learning in art museums: establishing a foundation for cultural practice in the secondary school years." Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Art Education, 2006. http://handle.unsw.edu.au/1959.4/27295.
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This doctoral investigation examines educational relationships between museums and schools, and more specifically between art museums and secondary art education. The author's analysis of literature pertaining to museum/school relationships and previous research conducted within Honours research establishes systematic contradictions as permeating the public role of museums and educational engagements with museums. In seeking explanation, a theoretical framework, derived from the social theories of Pierre Bourdieu is developed. The framework is used to interrogate the practices of school-based art education and art museums, and the agents involved, to examine how social relations operate to enable and constrain the representation and engagement of secondary school-based perspectives in the museum setting. Aspects that have previously remained unacknowledged are examined to reveal the interplay of factors that influence educational experiences in the art museum setting. Using the findings from the first stage of the analysis, in concert with the Bourdieuan framework, the author develops a model for learning in art museums that explores and articulates a new pedagogical terrain in the art educational use of art museums. A socio-cognitive framework is developed to reflect the strategic incorporation of museological knowledge, contemporary art education philosophies and practices and sociological theory. The aims of the model are to engage secondary art education and art museums using a sociological perspective, provide the tools for secondary art educators to be autonomous in the art museum setting, recognize that individuals relate to cultural materials and experiences in varying and multiple ways and develop educational encounters that predispose learners to engage in the cultural practice of art museum visiting. In intrinsically valuing art museum experiences as distinctive learning opportunities, the model provides teaching and learning strategies that allow for a multi-faceted, developmentally appropriate and cognitively based educational involvement. As the ultimate outcome of the research the model has significance for secondary art students, secondary art educators, teacher educators and art museum educators. It is unique in providing a secondary school-based art educational perspective on learning in art museums that is designed to establish a foundation for cultural practice, within and beyond the school years.
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Liu, Xiaojing. "Socio-cultural factors affecting the success of an online MBA course a case study viewed from activity theory practice /." [Bloomington, Ind.] : Indiana University, 2006. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:3204533.
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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Indiana University, Dept. of Instructional Systems Technology, 2006.Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 67-01, Section: A, page: 0155. Adviser: Thomas Schwen. "Title from dissertation home page (viewed Jan. 24, 2007)."
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Chabbi, Naima. "Towards a socio-cultural approach for the design of the house/settlement system : a case study in Ghardaia, Algeria." Thesis, University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1988. http://hdl.handle.net/10443/357.
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Rapid urbanisation which is a characteristic of most developing countries, has led to the importation of readily available solutions and to an overgeneralisation of human needs. The main objective of this study is to relate design to man's social and cultural needs. First, the study demonstrates the relationship between cultural and social variables that influence house form and settlement patterns. This is followed by a comparative case study analysis of existing house-settlement systems in two residential areas; one a modern government built scheme, the other a traditional development, both in the M'Zab, in Southern Algeria. The main assumption was that traditional houses and settlements were culturally more responsive than their modern equivalents. However, results refuted this assumption and indicated that social change affected many of people's values and attitudes towards housing. This indicates that neither international modernism, in housing provision, nor an attempt to slavishly copy past indigenous solutions are likely to be successful. Through studying human-environmental behaviour and using multiple-methods strategies, it is possible to bridge the gap between design and social research. A reorientation of the educational system would help towards a better communication not only between different professional practices and disciplines, but also involving the lay people. Finally, this study suggests that designing for potential adaptability a characteristic of traditional design, reflects culture, and would not only accommodate change, but would also involve active participation by people and therefore raise the level of responsibilty and satisfaction. The research combined evidence from documentary sources and field surveys. A multiple-method strategy was adopted to compare the two settlement systems of the case study. This included direct observation, interviews and trade-off games. The interview survey included three groups of people: the users, the local planning authorities and the building contractors. By stressing the socio-cultural variables, this study does not deny the role of other variables. On the contrary, the author accepts that design activities should aim towards maintaining a balance between environmental factors and financial constraints. It is, however, argued that human needs must be given at least the same degree of importance, if workable solutions to the problem of rapid urbanisation are to be found.
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Gibson, Brenna Elizabeth. "English seafarer communities in the Later Middle Ages : a study in the socio-cultural economics of an occupational group." Thesis, University of Southampton, 2017. https://eprints.soton.ac.uk/418167/.
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England is a country with its roots steeped in maritime history. As an island, the lives and actions of England’s mariners through time are intrinsically linked to the timeline of the country itself. This was especially so during the fourteenth century, when England’s seafarers were not only actively involved in trade, transport, and fishing, but also played a huge part in naval activities at the outbreak of the Hundred Years War. Despite their importance to the fabric of England’s society at the time, the fourteenth-century seafarer has widely been overlooked by modern-day scholars. This study aims to address this gap in the literature by constructing a snapshot of this occupational group, through research of their economic and social status, as well as their culture. An economic snapshot has been achieved by identifying individual mariners from England’s coastal counties, who were recorded in contemporary documents, and matching them with tax records. The social standing of England’s seafarers was also explored in two ways: the employment of a basket of consumables, which used wage data to observe the fluctuations in buying power throughout the century; and some case studies of individuals’ careers both at sea and on land. Furthermore, the cultural heritage and agency of the shipboard community has been explored through their choice of ship names. The results of this three-pronged study creates a prosoprographical snapshot of this occupational group: the socio-economic study shows that the factors affecting seafarers in the fourteenth century were many and varied, including famine, distance from the continent, disease, war, and availability of resources; while the cultural study opens up the discussion of what kinds of choices the shipboard community was making and what these choices can tell us about what was considered important to them.
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Choi, Min-Chul. "A comparative socio-cultural study of design in Korea, Japan and Russia from World War II to the Millennium." Thesis, University of Brighton, 2016. https://research.brighton.ac.uk/en/studentTheses/87fa2ae8-17c0-4784-96ee-eb1257de2a9f.
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In this thesis, I will explore Korean1 design in relation to the following factors: Imperialism, the Cold War, rapid industrialisation, an improving economy, the advancement of technology, globalisation, Eastern ideals, and sustainable and inclusive design. The purpose of this research programme is to help define the central characteristics of Korean design, and propose suggestions about its future trajectory. I compare the history of Korean design with that of Japan and Russia, partly because this will help to explore the ways in which Imperialism, the Cold War and industrialisation have affected Korean design. Analysis will be presented that demonstrates how the political, social and economic circumstances present in each of the three countries have impacted upon the nature of their design. Furthermore, American and British design policy and practice will be frequently referenced since it has exerted an important influence on Korea, Japan and Russia. In addition, analysis will also be made of the impact of globalisation on design in Korea, Japan and Russia (in so doing particular emphasis will be placed on the automobile and electronic industries since these have been important drivers of increased globalisation).
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Wilmot, Kirstin. "Socio-cultural change in two prestigious secondary schools in South Africa : a sociophonetic study of black and white females." Master's thesis, University of Cape Town, 2011. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/11443.
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Includes abstract.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 98-104).
The aim of this study is to investigate socio-cultural change in two prestigious school environments. It considers how female isiXhosa mother tongue speakers, who attend prestigious English schools, are undergoing changes in identity, which are mirrored in the accent of the prestigious variety of English they speak.
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Spanou, Elena. "A study of residents' attitudes towards the socio-cultural impacts of tourism in the Larnaca region, Republic of Cyprus." Thesis, Middlesex University, 2016. http://eprints.mdx.ac.uk/18940/.
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Island tourist destinations are eager to embrace the economic benefits associated with tourism development without carefully evaluating tourism impacts through tourism impact assessments and residents' attitude studies so as to avoid serious issues that might arise in the process of a destination's development. This report presents the findings of a study conducted in the Larnaca region, of the Republic of Cyprus. The aim of the study was to explore residents' attitudes towards the socio-cultural impacts of tourism, taking into consideration factors that may play a role in the development of their attitudes (such as characteristics of island destinations), as well as their intention to act upon their attitude The study followed a mixed method approach that enabled the achievement a deeper understanding of residents' attitudes that can aid in the overall further development of the area with the least opposition from the locals. Recommendations derived from the findings indicate that tourism development can be a blessing in disguise, due to its complex and dynamic nature with asymmetrical impacts that need to be closely and continuously monitored. Recommendations are disseminated to the stakeholders of the study, namely the Cyprus Tourism Organisation and the Municipality of Larnaca that expressed residents' aspirations regarding the overall development of their area. Recommendations emanated from the study include: further promotion of the Larnaca region locally and internationally, further investment in Hospitality and Tourism related facilities, encouragement of sustainable tourism development, dissemination of tourism benefits to the community, residents‟ involvement in decision making and equal opportunities of development amongst all areas of the Republic of Cyprus. In addition to the recommendation given to the stakeholders, suggestions for further areas of research are identified.