Search

The aim of this paper is to present the initial results of a study on Maya-Yucatecan migrant women who have settled permanently in Los Angeles, California. The reasons that led them to migrate are addressed as well as the way they came to the United States and joined the work force. Certain aspects that permitted their insertion into Los Angeles society are highlighted, together with identity recovery practices to show that adaptation to the host culture is slow, irregular and incomplete, but enough for them to deploy survival strategies. The paper is based on the assumption that female migration lends this phenomenon specific characteristic that warrant special attention. Accordingly, the analysis of the document is based on an interpretation of the meaning of the actions, for which the content of ten in-depth interviews conducted in Los Angeles in 2012 was used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes process of Mexican inmigrants associations in different cities of California. The study is based on data collected from twelve first level associations or “clubes de oriundos". Using qualitative techniques, we document the complexity of the internal organization of these associations, as well as the variety of individual and social efforts to keep them working The research highlights the importance of the role played by the localities of destination in our understanding of the organization process of Mexican immigrants, as well as the possibilities of their collective actions. In this way, we discuss and complement the studies focused on Hometown Associations from the Mexican ;localities of origin. Our findings show that the “clubes de oriundos" are complex associations that impose a high organizational cost on its members, as well as spheres of sociability that members use to satisfy a set of social needs related to their position as immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States has, since its birth been a linguistically and culturally diverse nation, forcing administrators attend minority groups and to respond adequately to their educational needs. Our paper begins with a historical journey that has given us some data on migratory movements in the U.S. and has informed us to the current demographic composition. Among the educational responses that have been given attention to minorities, some have been successful as bilingual educational policies. From a research design that responds to a case study we have analyzed a bilingual school in the county of Los Angeles in California. The school follows the model Two-Way Immersion or Dual Language Immersion. This model is based on the theory of linguistic minorities' integration with the dominant majority and through instruction in two languages to both groups that they become bilingual and develop attitudes of respect for other cultures. The TWI/DLImodel could be useful for some recently started bilingual/multilingual schools of our local communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locke, California is the last rural Chinatown in America that was formed by the early Chinese immigrants in 1915. Locke's value as a historic site commemorating Chinese laborers' contribution to the nation-state has been widely recognized, but its preservation has raised many controversies within and outside the community. The paper shows how the hegemonic discourse of tradition and place could generate contested meanings of heritage and space that solidly grounded on the different ideology and identity discourses. It also provides insights to understand the dynamicity and complex politics of ethnic landscape and heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There exists a movement in the United States that has been gaining strength among residents who rent units in multifamily apartments that seeks to combat being involuntarily exposed to cigarette smoke and residues. Secondhand smoke (smoke from lighted cigarettes) is a carcinogen known to cause over 3,000 lung cancer deaths, and 35,000 heart disease deaths in adult nonsmokers, every year. In the United States it has been linked scientifically to respiratory diseases such as asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, and breathing difficulties, as well as to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and spontaneous abortions. Recent studies have also identified "third hand smoke" (dangerous residues from cigarette smoke that stay on clothing, furniture, railing, walls, curtains, etc. even after second hand smoke has disappeared) as containing substances that also may produce cancer. The movement promotes the creation of voluntary environmental norms that prevent contact with Type A carcinogens in the individual homes, multiple housing units or workplace. This paper presents a health promotion and disease prevention program entitled "Regale Salud" to avoid environmental exposure to cigarette smoke; it also measures the attitudes of renters based on Latino cultural values in creating voluntary policies that prohibit the use of tobacco in common areas, and entire floors or buildings. The ultimate goal of this program is to establish voluntary strategies to prevent environmental exposure to tobacco smoke in residential multiunit buildings were Mexican or Latin American origin families live. This program was designed and evaluated by the Keck School of Medicine, Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) at the University of Southern California (USC) and is part of the strategies of the National Latino Tobacco Control Network (NLTCN. The program utilizes the California Smokers Helpline (a quit line to help those ready to quit) and promotes the voluntary implementation and monitoring of environmental tobacco exposure controls especially designed for multiunit housing were children, the elderly and those immune compromised live. We discuss the implications for the Regale Salud program within a "Latino culture of health" and the health care reform environment in the United States today [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]