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Background: Adverse perinatal health outcomes are notably high among African-born women living in Australia. This problem is partly attributed to their lower engagement in maternity care services as compared to Australian-born women. Various barriers might limit African-born women's access to and use of services; however, these barriers are not well documented. Therefore, this review aimed to synthesise current qualitative evidence on barriers and facilitators of access to maternity care for African-born women living in Australia. Methods: The search was conducted in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, PsychInfo, and Maternity and Infant Care databases on 16 April 2023. All articles retrieved were meticulously screened for eligibility by two independent reviewers with any disagreements resolved through discussion. The quality of the included articles was evaluated using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Studies were screened in Covidence and analysed in NVivo. The findings were organised and presented using Levesque's framework of healthcare access. Results: Out of 558 identified papers, 11 studies comprising a total of 472 participants met the eligibility criteria. The review highlighted provider-side barriers such as shortage of information, unmet cultural needs, long waiting times, low engagement of women in care, discrimination, and lack of continuity of care. User-side barriers identified include communication issues, difficulty navigating the health system, and lack of trustful relationships with healthcare providers. In contrast, the review pinpointed provider-side facilitators including positive staff attitudes, service availability, and the proximity of facilities to residential homes, while user-side facilitators such as cultural assimilation and feeling valued by healthcare providers were noted. Conclusions: This review identified barriers and facilitators of access to maternity care for African-born women living in Australia. Empirical evidence that would inform potential changes to policy and practice to address African-born women's unique health needs was highlighted. Designing and implementing a culturally safe service delivery model could remove the identified access barriers and improve African-born women's engagement in maternity care. Moreover, reinforcing factors associated with positive healthcare experiences is essential for improving maternity care access for this priority population. Systematic review registration: PROSPERO CRD42023405458. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Between December 2020 and January 2021, we conducted an online mixed-methods survey to explore racism in the province of Manitoba, Canada. The survey was completed by exactly 500 residents of the province and was largely representative of the demographics of the province. The survey measured views on racism, multiculturalism, religious diversity, assimilation and linguistic diversity, and also explored lived experiences with racism. In this article, we report respondents' views on multiculturalism, religious diversity, assimilation and racism. The strong majority of Manitobans recognized that racism is a problem in their area of the province, and yet views towards assimilation and support for religious diversity remain mixed. These findings show contradictions between overall support for broad themes like diversity or multiculturalism yet high levels of continuing discrimination and racism in the province. Our findings emphasize the impacts of whiteness, with the intersectional complexities further emphasized by the qualitative stories shared by participants, giving accounts of racism at work, in stores, healthcare, justice and in different demographic groups. Specifically, incidents of racism against Indigenous Peoples were the most commonly experienced and witnessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Despite numerous studies on the economic transnational connections of immigrants, focusing mainly on remittances to their home countries, the remittance behaviours and related factors of immigrants in South Korea, a country experiencing increased racial and ethnic diversity, remain relatively understudied. Applying a resource‐dependent and reactive transnationalism framework, this study examines the associations between assimilation, human capital, and immigrants' remittance behaviours. Additionally, we investigate whether perceived unfairness moderates these relationships, reflecting reactive transnationalism. Utilizing data from a 2021 Survey on Immigrants' Living Conditions and Labor Force (N = 7981), we delve into various remitting behaviours, including remittance frequency, the share of monthly remittances in expenditures, and the total remittance amount. The independent variables include assimilation indicators (length of stay in Korea and intention to remain), human capital factors (education and income) and perceived unfairness in the workplace. Ordinary least squares and logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine these relationships. Our findings support both linear and resource‐dependent transnationalism: assimilation and human capital levels are associated with immigrants' remittance behaviours. However, the interaction between perceived unfairness and reactive transnationalism was observed specifically for human capital, indicating that immigrants with higher human capital are more responsive to unfairness and discrimination. As a result, they may want to increase their self‐esteem by sending money back to their home country. This study not only contributes to understanding immigrant remittance behaviours in South Korea but also highlights the conceptual significance of examining remittance behaviours through reactive transnationalism, particularly the critical role of perceived unfairness among highly skilled immigrants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the workplace learning of immigrant settlement workers (ISWs) at immigrant service agencies (ISAs) in Canada. Adopting a combination of governmentality and workplace subjectivity as its theoretical framework and institutional ethnography as its methodology, the study examines three forms of workplace subjectivity. First, constructive subjectivity is formed by incorporating racialized immigrants' prior professional and linguistic skills into service delivery. However, the initial hiring intention is grounded in institutional governance, which deliberately prepares these workers for the knowledge of outcome measurement evaluation. Second, organisational training naturalises ISWs' professional subjectivity to fulfil their apparatus role for the institutional regime. Lastly, cultural subjectivity manifests itself in two modes of paradoxes. The promotion of Eurocentric workplace knowledge assimilates ISWs' behaviour, communication, and bodily comportment to the practices of neoliberal workplace value. Outcome measurement adopts culture-blind criteria, emphasising programme quantification while ignoring ISWs' cultural identities in service delivery. In light of these findings, we argue that ISWs' workplace subjectivities are purposefully coordinated by translocal governance ruling power that upholds funders' requests for outcome measurement. The findings are significant in developing ways of understanding and exploring ISWs' learning agency in ISA workplaces by capturing and emphasising their voices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In contemporary society, the persistent manifestation of gender discrimination continues to impede the advancement of women in their pursuit of gender equality. Within the historical context of the assimilation program, Indigenous Australian women confronted systemic gender disparities. This scholarly investigation endeavors to elucidate the nuanced facets of gender discrimination experienced by Indigenous Australian women affiliated with the stolen generation, as discerned through the lens of Doris Kartinyeri's seminal work, "Kick the Tin." Employing a qualitative research paradigm, this study uses a liberal feminist framework to scrutinize the gathered data meticulously. The findings underscore that Kartinyeri's "Kick the Tin" unveils the entrenched gender discrimination endured by Indigenous Australian women during the assimilation era, delineating their prescribed roles as domestic laborers within the prevailing white societal framework, thereby perpetuating the marginalization of this demographic. In its essence, the narrative challenges the systemic marginalization of Indigenous Australian women, concurrently advocating for their empowerment as a catalyst for fostering an equitable societal milieu. Consequently, this research augments scholarly discourse, serves as a poignant catalyst for heightened social consciousness, and catalyzes imperative shifts toward mitigating the pervasive impacts of gender discrimination on a broader scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the interesting things about the Javanese calendar is its weapons. There are several ways to commemorate birthdays based on wetness in the Blitar community, such as making red and white porridge/jenang, making blessings, and fasting wet. This research is carried out with a qualitative approach through literature research, namely research conducted using library data, both in the form of articles and books and theses. The results of this study The assumption of Kejawen as a clinic and shirk is certainly uncomfortable for most Javanese people. Therefore, a reasonable explanation of Kejawen is needed to dismiss these small assumptions. Conclusion The Javanese people, especially in the areas that were once under the rule of the Mataram kingdom, have distinctive characteristics in terms of dating. The combination of the saka calendar and the Hijri calendar gave birth to the Javanese Islamic calendar initiated by Sultan Agung of the Mataram kingdom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given the increasing interest of students of all ages towards digital texts, but also the prevalence of the visual over other forms of language, the use of images in the teaching of any type of content should be a priority of the didactic act -- or at least a common didactic practice. Most frequently, however, teaching staff limit this priority to the use in well-defined contexts of certain visual teaching tools, be they digital/ technological or in the form of graphic and figurative materials. Without questioning their effectiveness, we promote their combination with last generation didactic techniques, which could profit from the children' s interest in the visual or hybrid spectacular (Ilie 2020: 159), in ways that stimulate, and even prioritize, the development of their aesthetic and cultural sensibility. In this article, we propose to describe one of these techniques, the art-language technique, and then to exemplify various modalities of using it, especially in the primary education. By assuming the reasoned association of a theme or a message of a literary/non-literary text with an artwork chosen from a series made available by the teachers (Ilie, 2020: 160), the art-language technique can be used in a variety of curricular, but also extra-curricular contexts, that could facilitate children's access to a wide range of contents from the school curricula specific to primary education. The applications presented in this work will take into account the areas of Language and Communication, Man and Society, Arts and Technologies, as well as Personal Development. Of course, the formative valences adjacent to the use of this technique derive from the inter- and pluri-disciplinary character it implies, giving students the opportunity to creatively express emotions and thoughts in a variety of situations. With the help of the teaching staff, the visual art works could be transformed, on one hand, into anchors that can facilitate the adequate assimilation of aesthetic and cultural contents; on the other hand, they could become excellent vehicles of supplementary meanings, resulted from the subjective experience of the student, placed in the posture of a sensible, but also critical observer, who sees beyond color and form. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing presence of highly skilled African immigrants in Quebec, Canada, there is a paucity of research on their adaptation processes, specifically regarding survival and social support. This study addresses this gap by investigating the survival strategies of highly skilled African immigrants (HSAI) in Quebec, utilising photovoice to vividly capture their social support systems and survival cultivation. Drawing on Ungar's (2012. The Social Ecology of Resilience: A Handbook of Theory and Practice. Springer) ecological perspective of survival, and Tardy’s model (1985. “Social Support Measurement.” American Journal of Community Psychology 13 (2): 187–202) of social support, this research elucidates the strategies employed by HSAIs to thrive. Data collection involved respondents sharing photographs that symbolise their survival while assimilating into Quebec's labour market, revealing that family, cultural groups, religious organisations, recreational activities, and professional networks play pivotal roles in their adaptation. These findings highlight the importance of a multifaceted support system in fostering survival and successful integration, suggesting that policymakers should focus on enhancing these networks to aid HSAIs’ adjustment to life in Quebec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Agricultural drainage ditches are essential for maintaining flow efficiency and are often managed by brushing (i.e., vegetation clearing along ditch banks) and dredging. These maintenance practices not only impact flow but also the ditches' capacity to process and assimilate agricultural chemicals. However, the influence of ditch management on microbial activities, essential in processing and transforming these contaminants, remains underexplored. Methods: We conducted a four-year surface water sampling campaign in two long-established (over 40 years) agricultural drainage ditches situated in eastern Ontario, Canada. One drainage ditch underwent intensive bank brushing and channel dredging, while the other remained unmanaged. We assessed the impact of these contrasting ditch management practices on the diversity and compositional structure of surface water microbiome communities, with a particular focus on the distribution of genes associated with nitrogen (N) cycling, using shotgun metagenomics sequencing and an assembly-based metagenome approach. Results and discussion: From 117 surface water samples, we reconstructed 157 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs), predominantly from the Patescibacteria superphylum. Brushing alone, conducted about 10 months prior to dredging, had an insignificant impact on the aquatic microbial community. However, dredging led to a significant reduction in community diversity and abundance of genes affiliated with denitrification, dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonia, and complete nitrification through comammox. Ditch management resulted in noticeable shifts in the microbial community, evidenced by the enrichment of taxa in Polaromonas, Emticicia, Flectobacillus, and Patescibacteria in the water of the managed ditch sites. The metagenomes of these taxa harbor genes involved in various nitrogen biotransformation pathways. Interestingly, following dredging, the levels of ammonia and ammonium, nitrite, and total Kjeldahl N in the managed ditch did not increase, but significantly decreased; likely due to ditch substrate removal and potentially increased flow efficiency and dilution. Being one of the few studies conducted to date, this study provided unique insights into the consequences of drainage ditch management on freshwater microbiomes involved in N cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Son Kijŏng's monumental victory in the 1936 Berlin Olympic marathon propelled him to the status of hero in both colonial Korea and Imperial Japan. His triumph symbolised the successful fulfilment of Japan's colonial policy of assimilation (dōka). Yet, this very event – the moment when assimilation was ostensibly realised – created the opening for a legendary act of resistance to Japanese colonial authority: the publication, in the Tonga ilbo, of a photograph with the Japanese flag on Son's chest blotted out. This article explores colonial-era representations of Son's achievement as well as the formation and solidification of a historical narrative that portrays Son as a champion of Korean nationalism. Rather than any act performed by Son, it is the malleability of representation established during the colonial era that has allowed for the valorisation of Son as a symbol of resistance to Japanese colonial authority. More recently, colonial-period images of Son, building on the established dominant historical narrative of resistance, have been refashioned as blank canvases from which imagined historical outcomes can be created and formed into narratives that speak to current ideological demands for portrayals of active resistance to Japanese colonial rule. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whether immigrants and their descendants are catching up socioeconomically with the rest of society is a fundamental question in the study of immigrant assimilation. In this paper, we examine the progress that Hispanic immigrant men make catching up with the earnings of later-generation Whites across generations. We rely on data from multiple years of the Current Population Survey linked with individuals' tax earnings. This unique dataset allows us to overcome some important limitations of previous studies that employ a synthetic generation approach in which individuals born approximately one generation earlier are used as proxies for actual parents. Our matching strategy also enables us to identify the exact third generation and evaluate the contribution of ethnic attrition to estimates of intergenerational mobility. Second-generation Hispanic men are found to experience lower mobility than later-generation Whites for most values of parental earnings. However, their lower mobility can be explained by their immigrant parents' lower education levels. In contrast, third-generation Hispanic men experience lower mobility even after accounting for parental education and ethnic attrition. This finding is consistent with a stalling or reversal in the socioeconomic progress of Hispanics beyond the second generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay uses Freudian–Lacanian psychoanalytic theory to interpret Hassan Blasim's short story "The Nightmares of Carlos Fuentes". Blasim's story depicts the psychological struggles of an Iraqi emigrant relating to his embattled sense of belonging in a Dutch society due to the recurrent nightmares of his "traumatic" past. It challenges his assimilationist fantasies. I develop Lacan's idea of ontological lack as a structural susceptibility that is exacerbated by actual experiences of trauma to underline how racialized refugees from the war-torn global South are doubly vulnerable to experiencing subjective dehiscence between their efforts to forget past war traumas and the challenges of assimilating into (white) host nations. This essay uses Blasim's story to illustrate a serious psychological issue experienced by racialized minority subjects in white/European host countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Industrial Removal Office funded 39,000 Jewish households to leave enclave neighborhoods in New York City from 1900 to 1922. Compared to neighbors with the same baseline occupation, program participants earned 4 percent more ten years after relocation. These gains persisted to the next generation. Benefits increased with more years spent outside of an enclave. Participants were more likely to speak English, and married spouses with less Jewish names. More Jewishly-identified men (as measured by own names) were more likely to return to the city. We contextualize these results with new national evidence on Jewish economic and cultural assimilation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Europeanisation of national political parties is often considered a crucial element in the democratisation of the EU. Yet, party Europeanisation has remained limited. The traditional argument explaining this is that the low political relevance of European affairs creates limited incentives for party organisations to Europeanise. But what happens in a context where Europe ìs politically relevant? Denmark, with its high parliamentary and public scrutiny of European affairs, provides us with such a case, allowing a view through the looking glass on whether and how national political parties Europeanise in a Europeanisation-friendly context. This article finds that Danish parties Europeanise rather differently from what has previously been found elsewhere, focusing strongly on internal cohesion, to the detriment of transnational cooperation. As such, empirically scrutinising a long-standing theoretical argument, this article adds much-needed nuance to the debate on party Europeanisation, its causes and relevance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this introduction to the special issue on 'The Europeanisation of identities through everyday practices', we argue for a more thorough shift towards everyday practices, lifeworlds and leisure-time activities as important terrains for research into (ultimately also politically relevant) identifications among Europeans. Doing so entails the idea that the Europeanisation of identities might unfold in a more subliminal manner, and might hence be anchored less in policy changes and people's positionings towards political issues in a narrower sense. In contrast, mindsets, aspirations and frames of reference might undo a more unconscious transformation due to various activities in lifeworldly, cultural, leisure time-related, and even private spheres. Drawing on a multitude of fields (e.g. cultural heritage, university cooperation, everyday routines in the border region, arts, sports and gaming) as well as varying approaches and different methodologies, this Special Issue aims at demonstrating that ever more Europeanised identities might emerge from multiple sources and activities, which are not obviously tied to political agendas and frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyses the impact of European Union (EU) funds on corruption in the EU ex-communist countries by following a panel Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL) approach. The panel includes 10 former EU communist countries, over 2007–2019. The key findings reveal that an improvement in the EU funds paid and their rate of absorption can reduce the level of corruption in the long-run in the recipient EU ex-communist countries. This is due to better monitoring of EU funds paid compared with national resources, and a more efficient and fairer channel of EU funds absorption. In parallel with the EU funds, corruption can be controlled in certain conditions by the degree of economic development, size of government, level of democratisation and religiosity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses attitudes around the projection of the EU among Latin American elites, namely the determinants of support for a Free Trade Agreement between the two regions and the trustworthiness of the EU government. We take as data elite surveys conducted in 15 Latin American countries (2014–2019) and consider sociodemographics, ideology, support for democracy, views of foreign powers, exports to the EU, and electoral democracy. Results show that ideology and support for democracy are key determinants of support for an interregional FTA, and that the trustworthiness of governments in the US, China, and Spain covary with attitudes toward the EU. The latter (trust in the government in Spain) proves to be the main driver and, furthermore, its impact is conditional on the economic strength (observed as exports) of the EU: wherever the EU is not a strong economic actor in Latin America, trust in the Spanish government does nothing but improve the image of the EU. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Which factors influence bilateral counterterrorism (CT) cooperation between EU Member States? Although scholars have studied European CT, the question still needs to be answered. This paper addresses the issue by introducing a new theoretical framework that combines CT and Foreign Policy Analysis (FPA) literature. As citizens' threat perception increases, governments are pressed to act. Overall, centrist cabinets tend to rely more on cooperation agreements; likewise, pushed by threat perception, left-wing executives also recourse to international cooperation. I tested this framework on a newly collected dataset, which comprehends bilateral CT agreements signed among EU Members from 2002 to 2017. As such, this paper fosters studies on EU CT, focusing on a less debated issue: bilateral cooperation between EU Member States. The results support the initial hypotheses, disclosing a robust influence of threat perception and cabinet ideology on the number of bilateral CT agreements signed. Furthermore, they show that the perception of the threat is more influential on cooperation than the actual impact of terrorism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a bottom-up perspective, cleavage theory links the socio-economic trends existing in the political community with the shape acquired by party politics. Globalization and European integration impacted European society, creating novel socio-economic divides and bringing new social, cultural and economic issues into the political discussion. The impact of the novel cleavage over the pre-existent societal socio-political fractures acquires a central role in the study of European Union politicization. Deploying critical discourse analysis (CDA) and discourse-historical approach (DHA), this study aims to comprehend how the emergence of a novel cleavage has influenced the discourse of the mainstream European parties. The manifestos of the European Christian democratic, socialist and liberal parties from the last three European Parliament elections are analyzed to assess the contemporary relevance of the left-right political competition in a scenario characterized by the salience gained by transnational issues and the electoral success of populist elites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The agreements on Next Generation EU (NGEU) and the Multiannual Financial Framework 2021–2027 (MFF 2021–2027) are extraordinary milestones for the EU integration process. Not only do both regulations have important redistributive effects within a defined timeframe, but both regulations shape the hierarchy of objectives and instruments of EU budgetary policies. This is particularly true for cohesion policy, which has been characterised as the model of EU multilevel governance (MLG). Drawing on historical institutionalism and Peter Hall's classification of policy change, this text examines the dynamics of change in MLG. In particular, this research looks at the timing and scope of changes in EU cohesion policy since the 1980s. We ask whether or not the adoption of NGEU and the MFF 2021–2027 is likely to represent a critical juncture for the MLG and to what extent both regulations modify objectives and instruments of cohesion policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on Euroscepticism tends to portray parties opposing European integration or criticising the European Union (EU) as a family of Eurosceptic parties (either hard or soft). Recent literature, however, offers empirical evidence on the ambivalence and diversity of the EU critique. What is still unclear are the reasons behind the chameleonic nature of Euroscepticism and the implications that this may have for the EU critique and the changes proposed about EU policy or institutions. The present article addresses this question exploring the role of EU crises to capture the changing nature of Euroscepticism and suggests that it is related to contextual pressures on the political debate around the EU. The paper develops this argument and illustrates it through the analysis of the Alternative für Deutschland in Germany, covering the EU crises of the last decade, including the recent period of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine invasion. Drawing on a corpus of party manifestos and speeches between 2013 and 2022, this study shows that there are three main frames used by the party to criticise the EU. It also concludes that these frames involve distinct political implications for the EU critique and the alternative proposals presented by the party. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), despite being regarded as the most developed integration project in the post-Soviet area, has faced different hurdles in acquiring international recognition. Especially, the EU, the EAEU's Significant Other, has been reluctant to formally recognize it, in spite of close ties with EAEU member states as well as of its own self-image as a supporter of regional integrations. This paper focuses on this puzzle and examines how the EU has been discursively explaining its non-recognition of the EAEU at the institutional level. Based on the analysis of EU-articulated narratives since 2010, the paper reveals three dominant representations of the EAEU in the EU discourse: (1) Russia's geopolitical project; (2) a protectionist union; and (3) a dysfunctional union. These narratives have been used by Brussels to create the EAEU's image as a threatening Other, thus justifying why the EU cannot formally recognize the EAEU and officially engage with it. The paper also identifies five different stages of the EU's discursive representation of the EAEU since 2010, when its tone and content varied. The paper concludes that such non-recognition from the Significant Other still limits the EAEU's international agency despite its increasing interest in cooperation with non-Western actors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The European Union (EU) has developed cultural policy initiatives that seek to promote cultural Europeanization with the purpose of constructing European identity narratives and facilitating citizens' sense of belonging to Europe and the EU. The article focuses on the citizens' perspective to cultural Europeanization through ethnographic research on one central action in the EU cultural policy, European Heritage Label (EHL). We analyse the interviews conducted in selected EHL sites with Central and East European (CEE) citizens who were visiting the sites as well as with cultural heritage practitioners working at three EHL sites located in CEE countries. We ask how the practitioners and the visitors engage with European identity narratives and elaborate their European belonging. We especially scrutinize how everyday encounters and experiences, such as mobility, shape identifications with 'Europe' and perceptions of what is 'European'. The interviews are interpreted in the theoretical framework of 'being' and 'becoming' European. This framework indicates a centuries-long liminal position of the Central and Eastern Europe. It enables us to scrutinize CEE citizens' sense of belonging to Europe in an intersection of dual Europeanization, i.e. cultural Europeanization and 'Europeanization' of the CEE countries to overcome this liminal position and become 'true' Europeans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How has the Europeanisation of football at the level of governance (due to for example the effects of the Bosman ruling and the formation of the UEFA Champions League) – influenced the identities of football fans? This paper explores how such structural Europeanisation in football is influencing identifications among fans. Based on an analysis of articulations in selected online message boards, we distil the positioning of fans towards 'Europe' in football, and the factors which shape it. We control for three main avenues of impact: the club level, the league level, and the societal context. Our inquiry is based on a set of paired comparisons of fan scenes for football clubs in four different European countries. Results show that the factor carrying the most explanatory power is the club's participation in European-level competition. Although this broadly confirms a 'contact hypothesis' – according to which the more fans are exposed to cross-border contacts, the less relevance they attribute to aspects of national belonging – significant variations of how frequent exposure to European-level competition translates into more Europeanised perceptions do exist. For European identity studies, the work corroborates that a lifeworld arena such as football can foster Europeanised identifications, albeit not in a uniform manner. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I discuss Lithuanian LGBQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual and queer) people's views on belonging to the West/EUrope. I will argue that the research participants' age group, location of residence, their (not)involvement with LGBTQ+ leisure culture and/or their migrant status made a significant impact towards forming their subjective sense of (not) belonging to the West, when they discussed their personal experiences of spending time abroad. When belonging to the West/EUrope was discussed against the backdrop of national belonging, the research participants syncretised the elements of the dominant nationalistic narrative, and the Rainbow Europe narrative in order to homosexualise the national canon and to construct an accommodating version of Lithuania as the Rainbow Nation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cross-border regions are often deemed laboratories for initiatives to increase Europeanization. Our paper examines the German-speaking Community of Belgium in the Euregio Maas-Rhine to assess the relevance of everyday cross-border activities to the perception that living in a border region presents a unique opportunity to feel and think as a European. Departing from the assumptions of both Deutsch's transaction theory and Allport's contact hypothesis, we analyze Eurobarometer data (population-level surveys) and use data from focus groups with regional MPs. Results from quantitative data analysis suggest that perceptions of life in cross-border regions are positively influenced by frequent cross-border movement (functional dimension) as well as general trust in other people (emotional dimension). Our qualitative data from focus groups support the findings from the quantitative analysis and demonstrate further that it is not merely the quantity but the quality of contacts that contribute to a gradual 'growing together'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides a comprehensive exploration of Malcolm X's activism and his evolving views on black nationalism and separation. It examines the different interpretations of black nationalism throughout history and emphasizes Malcolm X's unwavering support for black nationality. The article delves into his advocacy for territorial separation and independence, as well as his views on self-defense and violent revolution. It also touches on the concept of emigration and potential destinations for the black community. Overall, the article offers a nuanced understanding of Malcolm X's beliefs and the complexities of black nationalism. [Extracted from the article]

The Caribbean region faces a unique challenge regarding the definition of its cultural identity due to the extended impact of colonization and slavery. The region is a diverse mix of cultures and traditions, blending ethnic and racial groups from various homelands. However, its history of cultural clashes and miscegenation has contributed to a distinct texture and character, with roots tracing back to slavery of earlier days. Many populations were forced to abandon their cultures and assimilate into the colonizers' ways, leading to a widespread diaspora. This has resulted in many individuals feeling uprooted and unbelonging, experiencing a profound sense of displacement from nation, cultural background, linguistic heritage, historical context, as well as individual and collective encounters. Despite these challenges, there is still hope for a brighter future. The Caribbean can redefine itself as a region of inclusivity and diversity, embracing its rich cultural heritage and celebrating the unique identities of its people. During the 1920s and 1930s, Caribbean literature experienced significant transformations and embraced multiracial and multicultural perspectives. This happened alongside the decline of British power and the rise of US influence in the region. While expatriate intellectuals such as George Lamming and V. S. Naipaul promoted "West Indian" literature internationally, national Caribbean literature celebrated and criticized the fundamental changes in geopolitics. It represented multiculturalism, analyzed gendered divisions of labor and space, and explored literature's form and purpose. Some notable works during this period include In the Castle of My Skin (1953), Black Midas (1958), The Mimic Men (1967), and Omeros (1990). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to examine the existing evidence on gamification in educational settings, highlighting its impact on motivation and academic performance. Methodologically, a Systematic Literature Review (SLR) was developed under the PRISMA statement criteria using three multidisciplinary databases: Web of Science, Scopus, and Scielo. According to the inclusion, exclusion, and quality criteria, it was determined to include 9 SLR articles on gamification that address at least one of the two key variables: student motivation or academic performance. The articles were published between 2016 and 2022, available in open access, written in English or Spanish, and with content that is directly related to the research questions. The results reveal that gamification significantly influences motivation by facilitating the assimilation of knowledge, the improvement of skills and academic competencies of students, and specifically refers to a wide range of capabilities that are essential for success in the educational environment and that can be enhanced through playful and interactive learning experiences. These skills can be cognitive, self-learning, social, or collaborative, among others. It is concluded that creativity and adaptability are key to successfully implementing gamification in the classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International students (IS) are increasingly positioned as "ideal" economic immigrants for their supposedly limited settlement and integration needs, resulting in a growing number of education-migration, or edugration, immigration pathways. However, the settlement and integration experiences student-migrants undergo during edugration are undertheorized. Using collaborative autoethnography (CAE), we examine five graduate student-migrants' edugration experiences in Canada. Our interest is not whether student-migrants are sufficiently integrated or settled through the eyes of the state, but rather the experiential impacts of edugration; in other words, we examine not the process of assimilation but the experience of being positioned as "easily" assimilated subjects. Our findings suggest three distinct experiential categories produced by edugration: unfamiliarity, uncertainty, and ambivalence. Together, these experiences form a unique settlement and integration experience due to extended periods of temporariness. Through this conceptualization, we argue that the recruitment of IS through multi-step migration pathways like edugration presents ethical questions for both the state and higher education. While we support strategic calls for more coordinated, cross-sectoral efforts to improve the lived experiences of student-migrants, we caution against justifying these calls based on neoliberal, econometric, or (neo)colonial rationales regarding (1) the value of IS as human capital, and (2) assimilationist notions of settlement and integration. We instead encourage more critical, nuanced discussions of student-migrant experiences which actively resist such logics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased arrival of immigrant/refugee populations often leads to public debates. These debates about immigrant/refugee policies are often raised in parliament. Inside parliament, speakers use specific arguments to persuade their audience, aiming to construct specific national identities, and to promote the national homogenizing discourse. To accomplish this, the politicians often exploit narratives and more specifically, national narratives, reframing aspects of history in order to shape the national conscience. The aim of this research is to analyze how two political leaders of opposite Greek parties, Kyriakos Mitsotakis and Yanis Varoufakis, use narratives on the Greek immigration/refugee movement to the USA in the 1920s to argue about the contemporary Greek policy toward immigrant/refugee issues. To analyze their narratives, we utilize the model of positioning suggested by Bamberg (1997), drawing a distinction between three levels: the narrative world, where we focus on how the characters are positioned in relation to one another within the reported events; the narrative interaction, where we examine how the narrator positions him/herself in relation to the audience through specific argumentative strategies (Reisigl and Wodak 2001); and the broader socio-ideological framework, which concerns the positioning of the narrator toward the Discourses, namely, toward the ideologically defined ways of representing reality. According to our findings, at the level of the narrative world the two politicians construct differently the USA immigrant/refugee policy. These constructions result to different arguments at the level of the narrative interaction, where Mitsotakis promotes as a norm the exclusion of the Others, while Varoufakis promotes their assimilation. Given that both the exclusion and the assimilation of the Others comprise homogenizing practices, we realize that, at the level of the broader socio-ideological framework, both political leaders, each from a different perspective, reinforce the national discourse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Throughout the nineteenth century, federal Indian policy oscillated between two extreme positions: assimilation versus isolation. While scholars have often been interested in the impact of past federal policy on current levels of economic development among American Indian tribes, none have explicitly examined the influence of federal assimilation policy on long-run economic development. In this paper, I take advantage of tribal-level variation in the application of federal policies to estimate the effect of assimilation on long-run economic performance. To quantify the impact of such policies, I introduce a novel measure of cultural assimilation: the prevalence of traditional indigenous names relative to common American first names. To calculate the distribution of name types, I have gathered the names and locations for all American Indians enumerated in the 1900 United States census. After classifying each name, I calculated the reservation-specific share of non-indigenous names. I estimate the relationship between cultural assimilation in 1900 and per capita income from 1970 through 2020. I find that historical levels of assimilation are consistently associated with higher levels of per capita income in all census years. The results are robust to the inclusion of a variety of cultural and institutional controls and regional fixed effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cognitive processing therapy (CPT) is a first‐line treatment for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The primary goals of CPT are to identify and challenge dysfunctional cognitions resulting from the trauma to promote a more balanced set of beliefs and reduce manufactured emotions; encouraging expression of natural emotions further promotes symptom improvement. Between‐session assignments (homework) are an integral part of learning and practicing the skills developed during CPT, and these assignments are theorized to reinforce the proposed mechanisms of symptom change. This article begins with a brief description of the theoretical foundations of CPT and an overview of the session content of the CPT protocol, followed by a case study illustrating the use of CPT with the written account (CPT + A) with a survivor of childhood sexual assault. Although the client demonstrated some avoidance, her successful completion of practice assignments throughout treatment allowed her to identify and examine thoughts contributing to feelings of guilt and self‐blame as well as negative beliefs about the world. She was able to reduce her assimilated and overaccommodated stuck points to form a more balanced view of the trauma, and also process her natural emotions, resulting in a significant reduction of PTSD symptoms. The role of homework at each session and how the assignments addressed the proposed mechanisms of change in CPT are discussed, and recommendations to increase clients' engagement in practice assignments in CPT are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the domain of legal analysis and its methodologies, emphasising the significance of generalisation in legal systems. It discusses the process of generalisation in relation to legal concepts and the development of ideal concepts that form the foundation of law. The article examines the role of logical induction and its similarities with semantic generalisation, highlighting their importance in legal decision-making. It also critiques the formal-deductive approach in legal practice and advocates for more adaptable models, incorporating fuzzy logic, non-monotonic defeasible reasoning, and artificial intelligence. The potential application of neural networks, specifically deep learning algorithms, in legal theory is also discussed. The article discusses how neural networks encode legal knowledge in their synaptic connections, while the syllogistic model condenses legal information into axioms. The article also highlights how neural networks assimilate novel experiences and exhibit evolutionary progression, unlike the deductive model of law. Additionally, the article examines the historical and theoretical foundations of jurisprudence that align with the basic principles of neural networks. It delves into the statistical analysis of legal phenomena and theories that view legal development as an evolutionary process. The article then explores Friedrich Hayek's theory of law as an autonomous self-organising system and its compatibility with neural network models. It concludes by discussing the implications of Hayek's theory on the role of a lawyer and the precision of neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: This study investigates the effects of language loss on bilingual autobiographical memory. More specifically, the study focuses on whether severe language loss would lead to any linguistic changes and/or interfere with how memories are recalled and shared. Methodology: Autobiographical memories were elicited with the help of a cued-recall technique and memory questionnaire from two groups of immigrants—attriters (who experienced significant language loss) and bilinguals (who retained their first language proficiency). Data and analysis: The data set consisted of pre-immigration memories that were originally encoded in the first language, Russian. The frequency of recall (i.e., sharing memories with others as well as reminiscing) and linguistic components (i.e., words) of memories elicited from the attriters and bilinguals were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Findings and conclusion: Overall, attriters were able to recall memories that were originally encoded in the forgotten language. They also reported reminiscing about their pre-immigration memories and sharing their memories with others. However, attriters revealed that the pre-immigration memories came to them with words in the second language, English, which was not the case with bilinguals. Attriters also reframed memories for several Russian culture-specific items and events. This finding is indicative of memory re-encoding —a phenomenon when memories are updated, stored, and subsequently retrieved with added information. While this finding points to the bilingual mind's ability to adapt to language loss, it may also suggest linguistic and cultural assimilation under the influence of the new language and culture. Originality: This is the first investigation of autobiographical memory in bilinguals with severe language loss that highlights the malleability and adaptability of the bilingual mind as well as the importance of language maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The number of Russian immigrants to Finland has already been steadily increasing since 1990, when the President of Finland launched an initiative aimed at facilitating the repatriation of Ingrian Finns living in the territories incorporated into the USSR. Today Russian-speaking immigrants account for approximately 1.3% of Finland's population. The segmented assimilation theory encourages one to explore the lived experiences of second-generation immigrants. This article analyses the data from qualitative interviews conducted within the framework of the field work carried out in the central part of Finland, from 1 October to 31 December 2021. Young people who spoke Russian in their family and were a part of groups where Russian is a tool of communication and used for the intergenerational transmission of cultural traditions were selected for interviews. The empirical data resulting from a study conducted in Finland provide insight into the factors that have contributed to the migration of their families, from the perspective of these young people. Applying the concept of identity as a "moveable feast", this article focuses on the process of self-identification as depending, first, on the dynamics between inherited and obtained identity and, second, on the identity level (ethnicity, nationality, global identity) at which these dynamics are present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines two incidents of Quechan and Tohono O'odham mobility across the U.S.-Mexico border in the late 1890s. Contrasts between the incidents reveal the influence of international relations on U.S. Indian policy, as federal officials responded to local events in ways that were shaped by issues ranging from extradition laws to customs protections to diplomatic pressures. More broadly, the incidents shed light on some of the variety inherent to Indigenous relationships with the border and some of the textures of Anglo-America's conceptions of the border as an instrument of cultural assimilation, capitalist development, and territorial surveillance and control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This article problematizes the use of resilience as a psychological and developmental indication of well-being. We base our argument on the possibility that resilience theories internalize responsibility for survival within the individual, and that survival is dependent on the ability to assimilate to injustice. Resistance, on the other hand, represents acts of intentional, active, and often collective survival which can expose and oppose social injustice. Method: Bringing together transdisciplinary scholarship on resistance, we propose a conceptual framework of sociocultural resistance. This framework seeks to forward studies of health that acknowledge the complexity of relationships, culture, and power constitutive of the human condition. Results: We provide examples of sociocultural resistance in the psychological and developmental sciences and suggest the use of diverse theory and methods in the study of resistance. Conclusions: Resistance research is a timely, necessary, and critical turning point in the social sciences with the potential to change unjust systems and promote a nuanced view of health. Public Significance Statement: Scientists who study resilience focus on how individuals and communities cope with adversity to "bounce back" to health. Studies of resilience, which do not also attend to systemic oppression (e.g., racism), overlook opportunities to transform unjust social conditions that impede health and well-being. This conceptual article presents researchers with an alternative perspective to study how marginalized groups resist adversity through the development of a framework of sociocultural resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cultural transformations experienced by the occidental world since the decade of 1960 led to a modification of the relationship that the teachers used to have with their educational profession. They went over from a vocation to a profession without further ado. This is the idea that François Dubet puts forward in his analysis of what he calls the "decline of the institution". In this article, we started by considering this theory in order to put to the test its pertinence and to understand the relationship that the university teachers construct with their profession. By means of interviews in a private university, we demonstrate that what prevails is a conception and a relation with the teaching labor that can be assimilated with a vocational commitment based on a belief in a "missionary" dimension of university teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research article examines the complex interplay of hybridity, identity, and resistance in Mohsin Hamid’s novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist. Through the protagonist Changez, the narrative explores the dichotomy between traditional Pakistani culture and Western modernity. The analysis delves into Changez’s struggle with his dual identity, shaped by his Pakistani roots and American education. The novel highlights the tension between cultural assimilation and resistance as Changez navigates the stereotypes and expectations imposed by both societies. His journey underscores the impact of colonial education and the lingering effects of colonialism on identity formation. The article also addresses the broader implications of cultural hybridity, emphasizing the challenges of maintaining a cohesive identity amidst conflicting cultural influences. This study contributes to the understanding of post-colonial identity and the ongoing struggle for self-definition in a globalized world. Future research should explore similar themes in other contemporary works to further elucidate the dynamics of cultural hybridity and resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Until the mid-1980s, the Atacameño indigenous people were broadly caricatured as Chilean peasants or herders. In the 1980s, they began a process of resurgence as indigenous in order to attain legal recognition. Structural approaches to indigeneity have explored this phenomenon by seeing Atacameños as passive subjects whose identity has been imposed, fixed, or mediated by the law and by external actors (e.g. bureaucrats, intellectuals, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs)). Problematizing these viewpoints, I argue here that Atacameños, rather than adopting indigeneity based on predetermined structural factors or instrumental motivations, are active agents in their resurgence and the articulation of their identity against cultural assimilation and extractive industries. Based largely on oral evidence collected from indigenous leaders and other key actors, I show that the dispossession and threats that the neoliberal Chilean Water Code brought to the Atacameños served as critical historical sediment for the resurgence and articulation of their indigeneity. The results problematize the hegemonic perspective that presents authenticity as a requisite for indigeneity and indigenous people as colonial power victims. Instead, Atacameños are situated agents who revived their identity within a broader process in order to challenge dominant structures concerning access to resources, principally water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aims at exploring the issues of third space, hybridity, and the identity crisis of Pakistani people gvivil in the West, especially in the United States of America, in light of the analysis of Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist. s'vHbaHB iK imoH vreiHsbHi eHi vcrHo i eH ioHKeeiHioerHioHi eHi esceiv igHbci'e scaHisHiiig oeHi eHiedi Ha According to the study of Mohsin Hamid's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, the greatest hindrance to natural and mutually beneficial connections across many nations and cultures is American society's hatred and lack of acceptance for individuals from other cultures. Moreover, the study underscores the stark truth that Pakistani citizens, notwithstanding their sincere efforts, ultimately find themselves trapped in a liminal space that exists between their native culture and the host culture, rendering those aliens in both. This heightened degree of alienation is manifested in the characters' hardships, which illustrate the enormous obstacles they face when attempting to assimilate into a culture that frequently sustains feelings of estrangement and exclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]