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Schools represent the primary setting where refugee children learn about Australian life and culture. They serve as a broad context for acculturation not only for academic development and language acquisition but for cultural learning too. This paper focuses on the after-school homework tutoring programme that uses University of Western Sydney (Australia) secondary teacher education students as tutors for African refugee students in secondary schools to facilitate their inclusion into Australian society. African refugees may receive lower returns for education in comparison with other Australian migrants. Using Bourdieu's theory of social capital and cultural reproduction as a conceptual framework, this paper discusses the part played by schools in constructing barriers that prevent under-represented groups such as refugees participating in the education process. It aims to explore the success of community engagement programmes like Refugee Action Support, which is designed to act in the interests of others (refugees) characterized as socio-culturally disadvantaged.

Purpose – This paper seeks to investigate the individual-level determinants of self-declared social tolerance towards six groups/practices in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): tolerance to linguistic differences, racial distinction, religious dissimilarity, homosexuality, acquired immuno deficiency syndrome (AIDS) victims and immigrants. Design/methodology/approach – Using individual-level data from the 2005 World Values Survey, the paper simultaneously estimates multivariate probit models for all six dimensions of social tolerance. Findings – Apart from the strong interdependency among all social tolerance indicators, the analysis reveals that individual attributes affect tolerance towards the six groups differently. For instance, education enhances social tolerance for all groups except homosexuals while access to media increase tolerance for people living with AIDS. Research/limitations/implications – Effective social tolerance policies can be enhanced through joint targeting of the indicators considered. Moreover, tolerance-enhancing policies generally benefit from improved access to education while improved access to media could increase tolerance for AIDS victims. Originality/value – The originality of the analysis lies in the joint analysis or determination of a wider spectrum of social tolerance indicators. This paper can help to inform policies that are aimed at reducing SSA's recurrent inter- and intra-group conflicts attributed primarily to the region's high levels of ethnic and cultural fragmentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Africa, as one of the rapidly growing markets, presents a significant opportunity for cross-border e-commerce companies to penetrate their consumer market, which is in dire need of development. This study utilizes the Information System Success model to investigate the impact of cross-border e-commerce platform quality on consumers' purchase intentions. Additionally, the study identifies the role of perceived value and trust in the purchase process. Moreover, the moderating effect of consumer acculturation on the relationship between cross-border platform quality and perceived value is examined. A total of 446 valid responses were obtained through a questionnaire survey and analyzed using structural equations. The findings reveal that platform information quality, system quality, and service quality significantly enhance consumers' perceived value, thereby positively influencing their purchase intention. Furthermore, the results highlight the joint effect of perceived value and trust on purchase intention, and trust plays a mediating role in this relationship. The moderating effect of acculturation is also confirmed, indicating that it negatively moderates the impact of system and information quality on perceived value, while positively moderating the impact of service quality on perceived value. These findings complement and extend existing cross-border e-commerce research and provide valuable insights into the buying behavior of African consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to economic influences emanating from abroad, African people have always created unique socioeconomic relationships and ideas. Examining four well-known Swahili words, utani, chama, ujamaa, and ujanja, this paper offers some tentative and exploratory comments on 'indigenous' moral-economic concepts in Tanzania. These terms convey not only notions about social relations but also relations, which one could consider economic, along with unique cultural connotations. Various things Westerners consider separate are impossible to disentangle in these concepts; joking and mutual aid, dance and politics, wit and cunning, all related to people's subsistence economy. These phenomena cannot easily be put into pre-arranged Western categories nor should they be disregarded from a modernist perspective, because these concepts and practices reflect a rich tradition of self-help solutions in Africa, thereby serving as a source of imagination for alternative visions of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: More than 80% of the African population depend on traditional medicine as a primary healthcare. Although the African migrant community is increasing in Australia, there is no research documenting if and how African migrant communities have maintained or changed their use of traditional health practices after migration. This study aims to answer the following research questions: does acculturation influence the use of traditional medicine? and how are cultural health practices or beliefs manifested among African migrant women in Australia? Method: A mixed methods design which involved a cross-sectional survey (n = 319) and individual interviews (n = 15) was conducted. Survey data were analysed using SPSS (version 23) and logistic regression model was used to test associations. Qualitative data were analysed thematically using NVivo 11 software to identify themes and conceptual categories in the participants' responses. The study was informed by acculturation theory. Result: Both the survey and the interview data indicated that cultural health practices were retained as an important form of healthcare for African migrant women in Sydney. The findings indicated that African migrants continued to use traditional medicines as part of their cultural identity and to build cohesive ethnic community to share traditional values and cultural practices. Women who relatively stayed for shorter period of time in Australia and migrated at a later age were more likely to use TM. Conclusion: Acculturation proxy measures increased the likelihood of TM use suggesting African migrant women retain their cultural health practices in Australia and use of TM was manifested as part of their cultural identity. The findings have implications to improve the provision of culturally sensitive and responsive health services when caring for African migrant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cancer screening invitations can explicitly recommend attendance or encourage individuals to consider the risks and benefits before deciding for themselves. Public preferences for these approaches might vary. We explored ethnic minority women's preferences for a strong recommendation to be screened.Methods: Women aged 30-60 years from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Caribbean, African and white British backgrounds (n = 120 per group) completed face-to-face interviews with a multi-lingual interviewer. The interview included a question on which approach to screening invitations they would prefer: i) A strong recommendation from the National Health Service (NHS) to go for screening, ii) A statement that the NHS thinks you should go for screening, but it's up to you to decide, iii) No recommendation. Analyses examined predictors of preference for a strong recommendation.Results: Preferences varied by ethnicity (χ 2(5) = 98.20, p <.001). All ethnic minority groups had a preference for a strong recommendation to be screened (53-86% across ethnic groups vs 31% white British). Socio-demographic factors (marital status, education and employment), and indicators of acculturation (main language and migration status), contributed to explaining recommendation preferences (χ 2(5) = 35.95 and χ 2(3) = 11.59, respectively, both p <.001), but did not mediate the ethnicity effect entirely. Self-rated comprehension of written health information did not contribute to the model.Conclusions: A strong recommendation to participate in cancer screening appears to be important for ethnic minority women, particularly non-English speakers. Future research could explore how to best arrive at a consensus that respects patient autonomy while also accommodating those that would prefer to be guided by a trusted source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background:Migrants from developing to developed countries rapidly develop more obesity than the host population. While the effects of socio-economic status on obesity are well established, the influence of cultural factors, including acculturation, is not known.Objective:To examine the association between acculturation and obesity and its risk factors among African migrant children in Australia.Design and participants:A cross-sectional study using a non-probability sample of 3- to 12-year-old sub-Saharan African migrant children. A bidimensional model of strength of affiliation with African and Australian cultures was used to divide the sample into four cultural orientations: traditional (African), assimilated (Australian), integrated (both) and marginalized (neither).Main outcome measures:Body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity (PA) and sedentary behaviours (SBs) and energy density of food.Results:In all, 18.4% (95% confidence interval (CI): 14–23%) were overweight and 8.6% (95% CI: 6–12%) were obese. After adjustment for confounders, integrated (β=1.1; P<0.05) and marginalized (β=1.4; P<0.01) children had higher BMI than traditional children. However, integrated children had significantly higher time engaged in both PA (β=46.9, P<0.01) and SBs (β=43.0, P<0.05) than their traditional counterparts. In comparison with traditional children, assimilated children were more sedentary (β=57.5, P<0.01) while marginalization was associated with increased consumption of energy-dense foods (β=42.0, P<0.05).Conclusions:Maintenance of traditional orientation was associated with lower rates of obesity and SBs. Health promotion programs and frameworks need to be rooted in traditional values and habits to maintain and reinforce traditional dietary and PA habits, as well as identify the marginalized clusters and address their needs.International Journal of Obesity (2008) 32, 594–600; doi:10.1038/ijo.2008.2; published online 5 February 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Who intends to leave Africa and what drives people to emigrate? For the cases of Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and Egypt, we examined peoples' stated intentions to emigrate. The large majority wants to move “out of Africa”, and the typical potential migrant was found to be young, male, displaying relatively modern values and optimistic about the net benefits of emigration. Signs of positive self-selection were clearly evident in Ghana and Egypt, particularly among women. However, negative self-selection was apparent among Moroccan men. The network effects of potential migrants were found to be fairly important in Ghana and Egypt, but in Senegal and Morocco, such ties play no role in triggering emigration intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]