Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Health Care Utilization Behavior Of Elders In A Multicultural Urban Environment, Katherine Marie Condon

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this research is to determine the influences of social, environmental, behavioral, and economic forces on the health care service utilization of four racial/ethnic groups of non-institutionalized elders in a multicultural urban environment. To address these issues this dissertation examines three intertwined themes of culture, aging, and health, using a sample of elders residing in Miami-Dade County, FL in four racial/ethnic groups: white non-Hispanic; black non-Hispanic English speakers; Cuban; and non-Cuban Hispanic.

The research questions were analyzed using both quantitative and qualitative data. Data for the quantitative component uses telephone survey data from the Dade County Needs Assessment. …

Rastafarianism And The Nation Of Islam As Institutions For Group-Identity Formation Among Blacks In The United States : A Case Study Comparing Their Approaches, Michael A. Barnett

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores the Rastafari movement and the Nation of Islam as institutions that provide a group-identity for their adherents. The study seeks to determine the characteristics of the identity that is institutionalized by each movement, and the nature of the institutionalization process. The research was conducted primarily in South Florida where both movements exist. An extensive literature review in conjunction with in-depth field interviews were used as the primary research methodologies. What was of particular interest were the reasons that the members of the movements chose one movement over the other, also the similarities and dissimilarities between the movements …

Vulnerable Identities: Maya Yucatec Identities In A Postmodern World, Juan Castillo Cocom

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In numerous anthropological works there have been preoccupations about the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Whatever social researchers have concluded, one thing is consistent: the tendency to interpret ethnographic "data" in terms of binary oppositions. This dissertation reviews the works which have been centered upon binary oppositions, as for instance, in the case of Yucatan, between the Maya and the Dzul-the Yucatec Maya term for white males-and highlights the fact that such works have failed to recognize that within and between each "pole," or social group there are individuals that have multiple identities, and that do not recognize themselves …