Multiculturalism

This paper seeks to investigate the role played by memory in the Federation of Expellees (Bund der Vertriebenen, BdV) professed attempts to enter into dialogue with Polish society. It also seeks to assess why on occasion mutual recrimination continues to tarnish the wider framework of German-Polish relations and explain the reasons for this phenomenon. The initial focus lies with explaining the continued importance of key, often disputed, elements of the historical encounter between Germans and Poles. To complement this analysis, the latter part of the article considers whether the BdV and its associated organizations have contributed to the wider process of German-Polish reconciliation, or whether the activities of the BdV act as a brake upon full resolution. The paper argues that although in recent years the BdV has attempted to make a positive contribution to German-Polish relations, its chances for success are constrained by its inability to move away from positions that are the...

The concept of god, at least in some religious traditions, is one of the most difficult concepts to grasp, and presupposes a long evolution in an individual. The interdisciplinary project " Drawings of gods : A multicultural and interdisciplinary approach to children’s representations of supernatural agents " aims to demonstrate the richness of drawing as a method for studying representations of god in children and thus contribute to our understanding of this concept, its origins and its development. In this perspective, drawings from a variety of cultural and religious traditions (Switzerland, Japan, Russia, Iran, Brazil, Netherlands and so on) were collected and analysed by the project team and their partners from different countries. The purpose of this workshop is to bring together these researchers with the objective on one side of sharing the results of their research, and on the other side critically examining the contributions and limitations of this methodology, w...

Introduction. The study relevance is concerned with the complexity of urban space management issues, including a number of aspects: social, economic, urban planning proper, etc. The subject of analysis in this article is the role of social activity in managing the urban space. The purpose of the study is to identify the place and functions of the social activity within the framework of the efficient management of urban processes. The objectives of the study include: determining the parameters of the urban spatial characteristics, in terms of subject differences of various disciplines; analyzing approaches to managing the urban space; clarifying the role of the social activity in this management. Materials and methods. The study is based on an integrated approach that enables to consider the complex phenomenon of the urban space from different perspectives and, in relation to this complexity, determine the social aspects of urban space management. Results. Exploring the urban cultura...

In the context of immigration and settlement, Canada and Germany are often portrayed as opposites: Canada represents a settler society and Germany an ethnic nation. The different approaches and attitudes of the two countries towards immigration can be linked to different historical understandings of nationhood. Canada could not be imagined as a country without its immigrants; immigration is an integral aspect of national identity. Conversely, although Germany has always received immigrants, national identity has historically been conceived in ethnic terms. In this paper, I explore some of the contradictions in Canadian and German immigration debates related to national belonging. for example, Canada’s identity as a settler society has long marginalized Indigenous populations, while in German debate the narratives of ethnically-belonging Germans and newly-arriving migrants openly engage with each other. By exploring these contradictions, I develop a perspective of the dialectic of mi...

This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework to assist in understanding how the immigrant family is impacted by recent changes to immigration policy in Canada. We contend that neoliberalism, broadly defined, is a helpful lens through which to comprehend some of the specific policies as well as discursive outcomes which have real effects on immigrant families. Based on our findings from an in-depth literature review, our goal is to identify and summarize the recent changes to the Canadian policy environment and to develop a critical conceptual framework through which to understand policy change in relation to families and immigrants. Key Words: families, neoliberalism, policy change, social policy, multiculturalism, gender, race, neoconservatism Acknowledgements The research for this paper was supported by a Partnership Development Grant titled “Integration Trajectories of Immigrant Families” by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.

On October 17, 2009, seventy-six Tamil refugees arrived off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia. This study examines how the Canadian newsprint media portrayed this event and in which policy context this coverage occurred. We analyze articles published between October 2009 and January 2010 from the Vancouver Sun, the Toronto Star, and the National Post. A discourse analysis addresses issues of framing, representation, and identity to understand how the Tamil refugee migration was represented in media debate. Our results show that there was an overall negative representation of the Tamil refugees as the press emphasized issues of criminality and terrorism, and constructed the refugees as risk. The discussion established security—rather than human rights—as a focal point and portrayed the immigration system as both “failing” and “abused” by “bogus claimants.” This security-oriented framework provided a discursive background for the refugee reform Bill C-11 to be ushered through Pa...

Prato is an intermediate Italian city 20km from the historic centre of Florence, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The city of
Prato was born as a polycentric agricultural settlement, a characteristic that remains today, and, since the 20th century it has
established itself for its textile activity, becoming one of the most important industrial districts in Italy, the largest textile
center in Europe and one of the world leaders in production of yarns and fabrics (about 7,000 companies in the fashion
sector). At the same time, the historic center of Prato has significant cultural value, as a medieval Italian walled city. Still
today, its walls, monuments and palaces can be visited and are representative of the local heritage and cultural landscape.
Prato has long been a destination for immigration from neighbouring areas within Italy, but since the 1990s immigration
from China, Albania, Romania and Pakistan has intensified. With the social fabric profoundly altered as a result of the arrival
and expansion of extremely diversified cultural contexts, the city, with its communities, is now facing new conservation
responsibilities. Today the city, also home to major universities, is developing projects aimed at environmental sustainability,
including forestation, the Prato Urban Jungle, and a circular economy, the Prato Circular City.
Challenging binaries, Prato has strong dichotomies such as rural and industrial production in an historical context,
modernity and tradition, nature being brought back to the city, as well as tangible and intangible heritages. In 2022, the
municipality, as part of its draft Structural Plan, commissioned research on Prato’s identity and multiculturalism. This paper
narrates the objectives, method and results of the research together with conclusions.

Nurses have faced during the COVID-19 pandemic a tough professional situation in which they have had to work in a resource-limited context and with a high probability of COVID-19 transmission. In today’s multicultural societies, care for immigrant patients is also included. In our study, we have delved into the perception of hospital nurses towards migrant people in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. We used a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 nurses. Seven categories emerged and were distributed in the three blocks of the interviews: (a) perception before the pandemic: prejudices make a mark and communication problems; (b) perception after the pandemic: prejudices weaken and communication worsens; and (c) how to improve care: improve communication, more nurses, and no need for training. The approach in the interpersonal relationship between nurses and patients during the pandemic has improved health care. ...

This collection brings together perspectives from emerging and established scholars, working from empirical data from real-life classroom experiences, to investigate pedagogical issues in the application of EMI across a range of educational contexts in Asia. Drawing on research across different levels of education covering institutions across various contexts across Asia, the book engages in key questions around power, marginalization, attitudes, intercultural communication, and identity construction as they unfold in classrooms in which a plurality of languages and varieties of English collide and are mediated, appropriated, and accommodated. The volume explores the pedagogical challenges, policies, and practices of EMI which emerge in these settings, highlighting real-life problems in EMI program development and the wider pedagogical implications for EMI implementation in varied educational environments. Taken together, the chapters offer opportunities for further research toward challenging traditionally held beliefs and blind implementation of EMI and encouraging critical perspectives from both researchers and policymakers alike. Pedagogies of English-Medium Instruction Programs in Asian Universities will be of interest to scholars and practitioners in English-medium instruction, English language teaching, TESOL, and applied linguistics.

The Multicultural Masculinity Ideology Scale (MMIS) measures an individual’s perception of being a man, adapting in a specific cultural context. The MMIS was first introduced in a study by Doss and Hopkins (1998), where gender-specific masculinity ideology items were chosen based on theoretical grounds and constructed into a scale. The MMIS has been empirically examined and validated in different cultures (e.g., Anglo-American, African-American, Chilean, Russian and Korean cultures). The aim of this study is to explore the psychometric properties of the MMIS in the Malaysian context from the responses of 100 Malaysian male respondents in a public university. Psychometric properties were investigated using factor analysis, convergent validity tests, discriminant validity tests and internal consistency reliability assessment. Factor analysis by using varimax rotation discovered two cross-cultural components: Hypermasculine Posturing and Achievement. Internal consistency reliability wa...

Introduction. The difference which nature has placed between one man and another is so wide. Also, the difference which comes by religion, cultural habits and similar elements in the human life can be further enlarged by education. During the last ten years, interethnic relations in Macedonian educational system become central topic for the activity of educational policy makers. In that line, the novelty of this research lies in the designing of student practicum by making cross-cultural contacts in the sphere of education. Methods. Macedonian government's programs and legal framework promote interethnic communication, but implementation of principles as respect, tolerance, and acceptance in the school life still is reduced only on using different languages of ethnic communities in teaching process. At the same time, appears the need to enhancing teachers' capacities for work in a multicultural environment and ensuring all children receive a high-quality education. Results. ...

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Although Canada’s population is often described as a “mosaic” and it espouses official policies of bilingualism and multiculturalism, as well as being a highly-ranked country for gender equality (e.g. it is ranked 19 in the WEF’s 2014 Global Gender Gap Report), the composition of the Parliament of Canada (members of parliament (MP) and senators) does not mirror its demographics or espoused values.

This qualitative case study explored the effects of interrupted education—including the linguistics challenges—on 14 (N = 14) Ukrainian higher education refugee students who arrived in Poland after the Russian invasion on 24 February 2022. All participants were refugee students who were enrolled in Ukrainian universities prior to the Russian invasion, and were forced to interrupt their studies and flee to Poland for safety. The two research questions guiding this inquiry are: (1) What effects have interrupted education had on Ukrainian higher education refugee students? and (2) What linguistic challenges have Ukrainian higher education refugee students faced in Poland? For the first research question, data revealed that the abrupt interruption in their education, in addition to the war, migration, and other life occurrences, has destabilized participants’ outlook, emotions, and identity, making them feel uncertain about their personal and professional goals. For the second research question, participants expressed their appreciation toward Poland and the Polish people for the welcoming, supportive environment, and shared challenges associated with participating in the Polish higher education system. The implications of the findings are discussed through the lens of policy and best practices for supporting arriving refugees in Poland and other countries welcoming Ukrainian refugees experiencing interrupted education.

El artículo analiza la violencia escolar en el contexto de los actuales escenarios sociales y las nuevas prácticas culturales y simbólicas. Los ámbitos de exclusión, los medios masivos, las estrategias preventivas, las tecnologías de la comunicación, las formas actuales de producción son invocados para analizar una violencia implosiva que irradia desde el interior del sistema y destruye lo social. En dicho contexto, son interrogadas las promesas de la escuela de incluir e integrar las diferencias de raza, género, sociales, culturales, etcétera. Los  nuevos relatos emancipadores, más allá de su eficacia, parecen disfrazar —y renovar— los viejos circuitos diferenciales de la escuela mientras una parodia en gran escala reproduce los simulacros y diluye la promesa multicultural.

With the increased electoral success of anti-immigration parties, questions on what actual impact the parties obtain naturally follow.Previous research only sparsely has explored this question. Furthermore, within this body of research we are given different answers. While some arguethatanti-immigration parties have made an impact on public policy others find no such evidence. We argue that some of this inconsistency is a consequence of the methodological strategies that have been employed. Previous studies are single case studies or comparisons of a smaller number of countries. Consequently different parties in different institutional settings are compared making it hard to estimate the actual impact of the party of interest. In order to circumvent such methodological problems this studyexplore the question of anti-immigration party impact from a local level and asks if the Sweden Democrats (SD) has managed to influence decisions on refugee receptions in Swedish municipalities.Our ...

The Routledge Handbook of Language Policy and Planning is a comprehensive and authoritative survey, including original contributions from leading senior scholars and rising stars to provide a basis for future research in language policy and planning in international, national, regional, and local contexts.

The Handbook approaches language policy as public policy that can be studied through the policy cycle framework. It offers a systematic and research-informed view of actual processes and methods of design, implementation, and evaluation.

With a substantial introduction, 38 chapters and an extensive bibliography, this Handbook is an indispensable resource for all decision makers, students, and researchers of language policy and planning within linguistics and cognate disciplines such as public policy, economics, political science, sociology, and education.

In 1 967, during the États généraux du Canada français, Québécois and Franco-Canadian met for the last time as French Canadian. The dissapearance of French Canada is a perequisite to the construction of a Bilingual Modern Canada, as well as to a Francophnone Modern Quebec. Those two processes form two cultural geopolitic strategies based on two different visions of the country. Our goal is to know better this event and, from which those two geopolitics would cross and clash. In order to do this, we have to examine what has been known as " la thèse de l'abandon which provides an interpretation that has served as a final explanation to French Canada's last moments. According to this thesis, French Canadian from Quebec, acting as a majority, left the other French Canadian to their fate as powerless minorities in dominant English speaking provinces. In invalidating this thesis, we will try to demonstrate that it makes sense only in regard to the construction of a new multic...