The Way Forward: African Francophone Immigrants Negotiate Their Multiple Minority Identities

This article explores multiple affiliations that first-generation Francophone sub-Saharan African immigrants in Alberta build with their communities of origin, the Francophone community in general, and the broader Canadian society. This article posits that dominant racial and ethnic ideologies generate feelings of exclusion from multiple communities. It also sheds light on major challenges faced by this population in the process of integration and illustrates how these barriers are related to racism and linguistic discrimination. At the same time, we observe that African Francophone immigrants reinterpret their social identities in inclusive ways that draw our attention to alternative means of approaching identities. In addition to immigrants’ identity strategies, some initiatives have been implemented within the mainstream of the Francophonie and the broader Alberta society that allow us to identify ways of avoiding identity exclusion and increasing equity.     

Individual and social correlates of aggressive behavior in Lebanese undergraduates: The role of trait emotional intelligence

This study investigates the relationship between Aggressive Behavior and individual factors, namely trait Emotional Intelligence, personality dimensions, emotion regulation and self-worth, as well as social factors, namely accepting/rejecting parenting styles and exposure to violence. The sample consisted of 252 university students in Lebanon (154 females), from 16 to 30 years old. Results from hierarchical regression analyses (controlling for age and gender and in the presence of social and individual predictors) showed that the Self-control and Emotionality factors of trait Emotional Intelligence were significant negative predictors of Aggressive Behavior while controlling for age and gender and in the presence of social and individual predictors). Exposure to violence and openness to experience also predicted Aggressive Behavior. Implications for future research and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Towards refinement of abductive or inductive hypotheses through propagation

In this paper we address the problem of distributed sources of information, or agents, that observe the environment locally and have to communicate in order to refine their hypothesis regarding the actual state of this environment. One way to address the problem would be to centralize all the collected observations and knowledge, and to centrally compute the resulting theory. In many situations however, it would not be possible to adopt this centralized approach (e.g. for practical reasons, or privacy concerns). In this paper, we assume that agents individually face abductive or inductive tasks in a globally coherent environment, and we show that general mechanisms can be designed that abstractly regard both cases as special instances of a problem of hypothesis refinement through propagation. Assuming that agents are equipped with some individual revision machinery, our concern will be to investigate how (under what conditions) convergence to a consistent state can be guaranteed at more global levels: (i) between two agents; (ii) in a clique of agents; and (iii) in general in a connected society of agents.     

Edward said: Identity,politics and history 1

Abstract

This paper draws on the work of Edward Said in order to extend understandings of the social and historical roots of identity, and to introduce possible new insights into the inextricable relationship between the West and the Rest. Edward Said, a critical thinker and exponent of postcolonial theory, was profoundly concerned with a range of political, historical and literary matters. His concerns focused on elucidating and analysing the social and political conditions that he argued are shot through culture. For Said nothing and no-one is immune from history, ideology or the political and social conditions that we inhabit. Said's preoccupation focused on illuminating that which is irreconcilable and he emphasized the tensions and contradictions in texts and in societies (especially America and the Middle East). His political and literary writing is ethical as it emphasizes the psychoanalytic endeavour to continually think anew and to investigate one's projections and illusions. There is no place for complacency in Said's work.     

Circulating emotions,beliefs and fantasies: The Middle East and the West1

Abstract

Much ink has been spilt analysing racism, ethnicity and ‘otherness’. These analyses are frequently sophisticated, nuanced and committed to delivering improved ethical, emotional and political relationships. As we have witnessed recently, however, emotions, beliefs and fantasies remain stubborn. We are all diminished (no matter our history) by these troublesome psychic processes, entrenched beliefs and unthinking assumptions that pulse away unchecked. Feelings of fear and hatred sit alongside complex identifications and disavowal of self and other. This contemporary political and social context is loaded with discourses of a ‘clash of civilization’, the otherness of Muslims and Islam and a dominant view which asserts that Western societies have to be protected from potential explosions of terrorism and the corrosion of Western values. These discourses impact on citizens and erode the possibilities of inter-connectedness and a sense of shared communality. This paper is an exploration of a specific example of intransigence.     

Arab Americans With Disabilities and Their Families: A Culturally Appropriate Approach for Counselors

The authors present a brief introduction to Americans of Arab descent and a brief overview of Arab culture. Then, culturally appropriate counseling considerations related to family, attitudes toward disability, religion, communication, acculturation, help‐seeking behaviors, and stereotypes are highlighted. In the last section, the authors provide conclusions and recommendations for culturally appropriate considerations in working with Arab Americans with disabilities and their families. Los autores presentan una breve introducción sobre los americanos de origen árabe y un breve resumen de la cultura árabe. Después, se destacan consideraciones para la consejería culturalmente apropiada relacionadas con la familia, actitudes sobre discapacidad, religión, comunicación, aculturación, comportamientos de búsqueda de ayuda, y estereotipos. En la última sección, los autores proporcionan conclusiones y recomendaciones para consideraciones culturalmente apropiadas a la hora de trabajar con americanos de origen árabe con discapacidades y sus familias.