Search results

Undergraduates are highly susceptible to the development of mental health difficulties. Afro-Caribbean students are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of university yet are less likely than other ethnic groups to receive early intervention. This paper aims to understand the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK.

Critical Incident Technique was used as the qualitative method because it explores the critical factors that contribute to or detract from a specific experience. Seventeen Afro-Caribbean undergraduates participated in five focus groups. This involved engaging in a novel psychosocial activity that incorporated vignettes to encourage the identification of barriers and facilitators to service access. The data were analysed thematically to generate categories of critical incidents and wish-list items.

Analysis revealed rich data from a sub-group rarely researched within UK literature. Fifteen barriers, eleven facilitators and five wish-list items were identified. The importance of mental health literacy, social networks, cultural sensitivity and concerns surrounding services underpinned many categories.

Findings provide a new perspective on barriers reported in previous literature. Novel facilitators were highlighted where, although psychological and sociocultural factors were deemed valuable, structural changes were most desired. Recommended changes illustrate innovative interventions that could make services accessible for young adult Afro-Caribbean populations. Future research should explore the barriers and facilitators identified by Afro-Caribbean undergraduates across various universities who have successfully accessed and engaged with services. This could provide a holistic perspective on viable facilitators enabling access despite the presence of barriers.

The objective of this article is to conduct a case study of the Supermalt brand of malt beer, which has become the preferred beverage of Afro‐Caribbean consumers in Brixton on a very limited marketing budget.

The article uses the concepts of personal identity and brand identity in a qualitative study to explore how Brixton‐based Afro‐Caribbean consumers construct their self‐identities and the brand identity of Supermalt. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 14 Afro‐Caribbean consumers. Each interview was divided into three parts. The first part focused on consumers' self‐identities. The second part explored the role of food and beverage products in the construction of self‐identities. The final part focused on the construction of brand identity for Supermalt.

The article provides information on the self‐identities constructed by Afro‐Caribbean informants. The food and beverage consumption of informants reflects their mixed cultural identity. The brand identity Supermalt appears to be malleable, with ample room for consumer co‐construction. Perceptions of brand identity differ markedly among informants, who are all able to construct Supermalt as one of their own.

The findings are based solely on semi‐structured interviews with a small sample of Afro‐Caribbean consumers. The findings are therefore not generalizable.

The Supermalt brand represents an interesting case for companies aiming to develop strong brands with a limited marketing budget. Based on the Supermalt case, suggestions are made regarding branding in relation to ethnic minorities.

This article provides a study of a brand that has become strong within a narrowly defined group of consumers.

Background: suicide prevention is a priority for health services in England. A high rate of suicide in South Asian women and a dramatic rise in young Afro‐Caribbean's has been reported in the UK.Aims: the aim of this selected review is to present the cultural context of suicidal behavior and possible preventive strategies for the South Asian and Afro‐Caribbean's living in the UK.Methods: relevant data about the cultural context of suicidal behavior in the two ethnic groups is reviewed.Findings: our findings suggest that socio‐cultural factors in women of South Asian origin and social risk factors and situational stress in Afro Caribbean's appears to be related to acts of self‐harm.Conclusions: we could not identify any published studies of effective suicide prevention strategies or on any treatment programmes for the two ethnic minority groups. Addressing the cultural, linguistic and religious need of these groups should be of paramount importance.

The racial diversity of the Caribbean stemmed directly from the historical processes of colonialism, imperialism, slavery, and indentureship. Since the early 17th century, slaves have been imported from Africa to work in the Caribbean. In the British West Indies, slavery was abolished in 1834 but these African slaves worked on the sugar estates until the apprenticeship was abolished on August 1, 1838. Even before 1838, planters frequently complained of labor shortages and appealed to Britain for the approval of imported labor. Thus, there were attempts by the planters in colonies, such as Trinidad, to introduce Chinese labor to the plantations. As early as 1806, there was the importation of 192 Chinese from Macao and Penang into Trinidad. However, this experiment soon failed. In 1834 and 1839, laborers from Portugal were imported into Trinidad. This soon ended as Portuguese workers could not withstand the rigorous conditions of the contract labor system.

This paper seeks to explore varied interrelated challenges and barriers experienced by immigrant seniors.

Senior immigrants representing diverse ethnicities (Chinese, Afro Caribbean, Former Yugoslavian, Spanish) described their challenges, support needs, and barriers to service access. Service providers and policy makers from organizations serving immigrant seniors were interviewed to elicit their views on barriers to access and appropriateness of services for immigrant seniors. Qualitative methods were employed to enhance understanding of meanings, perceptions, beliefs, values, and behaviors of immigrant seniors, and investigate sensitive issues experienced by vulnerable groups. The qualitative data were subjected to thematic content analysis.

Seniors reported financial and language difficulties, health problems, discrimination, family conflicts, and social isolation. Although most immigrant seniors appreciated the standard of living in Canada and the services provided to seniors, most believed that support received was inadequate. Seniors encountered systemic (e.g. government policies), institutional (e.g. culturally inappropriate programs), and personal (e.g. transportation, language problems) barriers to accessing social and health services. Service providers and policy makers faced high costs of programs, inadequate financial and human resources, inadequate information about needs of immigrant seniors, inadequate geographical coverage, and lack of inter‐sectoral collaboration.

The challenges experienced by immigrant seniors have implications for programs and policies and can inform the development of culturally sensitive and appropriate services.

The barriers encountered by service providers in assisting immigrant seniors point to the importance of inter‐sectoral coordination, cultural sensitivity training, and expansion of service providers' mandates.

This study revealed numerous unmet needs for successful acculturation of immigrant and refugee seniors in Canada. It also reveals that the most cogent and sustainable approach to close this chasm of support deficits, unattended challenges, and complex stressors is to implement a model that simultaneously addresses the three levels and use a multisectoral approach.

This paper aims to determine the role of ethnic origin on university application among Leicester college students.

The approach takes the form of a quantitative survey of 427 students in sixth form colleges in Leicester.

Five distinct motivational factors were derived from a survey of 427 sixth form college students in Leicester (UK). For all ethnic groups, the student's career is the most important motivating factor; the other motivators are, however, more varied. The influence of the family was most important among Pakistani and African students. Indian and “other” Asian students were most strongly associated with academic and social motivators. White applicants, on the other hand, had no relative strengths with regard to common motivators. What was perhaps more apparent was how unimportant family was on influencing choice. There were also differences between the ethnic groups and the university type applied for. While Afro‐Caribbeans had 100 per cent acceptance to the universities they chose, they were least likely to apply at “pre‐1992” universities. In spite of having the lowest UCAS points score, African students were most likely to apply for and be accepted at “old” universities. Whites (with the best academic performance) were the least likely group to be accepted at the universities (predominantly pre‐1992 institution) at which they applied.

The survey only considered students at sixth form colleges; it excluded those A level students at comprehensive or fee paying schools.

Widening participation remains on the agenda for many universities. Having a fuller understanding of ethnic minorities' influences in university choice will better enable universities to develop marketing programmes for their recruitment.

Since the adoption of Widening Participation initiatives, the profile of applications through UCAS has changed. The study revisits ethnic group motivations to apply to UCAS for university entrance.

Research funded by the Barrow and Geraldine S. Cadbury Trust into the ethnic minority food industry in the West Midlands is described. The structure of this sector and identification of the interrelationships within it, from the food manufacturers through to the retail outlets, were examined. Policy implications of these and the reasons for so many food businesses starting up and subsequently failing are presented.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the suggestion that students from disadvantaged backgrounds become segregated from the wider university environment, cutting off their ability of engagement and having a voice within this arena. The limitations of university Student Unions is discussed, in terms of how they are disengaged themselves with understanding and relating to these independently run cultural groups.

The study has been carried out by a series of interviews within three university Afro‐Caribbean Societies (ACS's). The purpose of this is to create an internal view of the experiences of these groups and examine how being cut off from the wider university experience adds to their losses in equal student participation and engagement.

Although these societies embrace positive images within their cultures, the findings of this study suggests ways these societies can begin to integrate with their wider university societies and encourage engagement, in order to give their voices a platform in both academic and social arenas.

The study becomes an original contribution to existing literature by taking into account cultural groups which have not been acknowledged as already being segregated from the university experience.

This study explores the history of conflict and future options for cooperation between two distinct ethnic groups in New York City, Caribbean-Americans and Jews. The argues, however, that relations between both groups cannot be read through the crude lens of “Black/Jewish relations.” The article is divided in two major parts. In the first part, the authors explore the historical trajectory of relations between the two groups largely by focusing on the Crown Heights district in Brooklyn, home to a variety of Caribbean nationals, and the Jewish Lubavitcher Hasidic community. As the survey of historical material will reveal, in the late 1960s/early 1970s, issues pertaining to contestation over space and resources increasingly affected relations between both groups. A low point was reached in 1991 with the “Crown Heights unrest,” which threw this part of Brooklyn into several days of openly violent conflict. Although – as Part II will demonstrate – issues such as crime, cultural peculiarities, access to resources and political influence, remain on the agenda, both groups have since managed to restore less conflict-prone and productive relationships. Although conflicts have been often couched in terms of these relations, additional cultural factors suggest that the conflict has been shaped by other dynamics.

The political campaigns of Una Clarke and Major Owens show an interesting display of ethnic politics. In this paper, I argue that the presence of a Caribbean population in Brooklyn New York presents itself as a challenge to the already present African-American structure. The Caribbean politicians do not subscribe nor fully ally with the African-American politicians, and instead, seek to carve out a niche for themselves and utilize their ties to home in an effort to cajole the Caribbean populace for support. Through the purview of a political campaign in Brooklyn between an African-American incumbent and a Caribbean insurgent, I attempt to contribute to the transnationalist literature through illustrating the concept of the nation−state, which can be explained as an immigrant’s continual bond to their home country while living abroad.