Academic literature on the topic 'Italian and Anglo-Australian Women'

A questionnaire survey of 665 members of the Chinese, Italian, German, Greek, Arabic aild Anglo Australian communities investigated community expectations for women with physical disabilities. Germans' attitudes resembled those of the Anglo mainstream culture but other communities differed significantly in the following ways: women with disabilities were described as less likely to work, marry, have children, be socially active or live indepeildently. Most communities expected them to experience greater shame, be more withdrawn, less cheerful and less optimistic than did Anglo Australians. There was less expectation that such women would discuss their disabilities, act autonomously or strive for indepeildence.

This study examined to what extent ethnic group differences in young adults' individualistic-collectivistic orientations could be attributed to their parents' socialization orientations. Data were collected from 320 21-yr.-olds and their parents from Anglo-, Greek-, and Italian-Australian families as part of a longitudinal investigation. The findings indicated that the relations between parents' and young adults' individualistic-collectivistic orientations differed for women and men and varied among ethnic groups.

In the process of language shift from the immigrant languages to English, everyday communication within the family can become increasingly problematic due to strong divergences in the linguistic competences of the older and the younger generations. This article explores the process of language mediation between different generations, as it occurs within a Sicilian-Australian family belonging to the last wave of Italian mass immigration to Australia Through a corpus of spontaneous conversations, the study focuses on the role played by a second generation woman as a mediator within her family. The linguistic analysis shows that, in order to overcome communication breakdown, she makes full use of her competence in all three languages: Italian, Sicilian and English, and employs codeswitching extensively as a conversational strategy to accommodate participants with different language abilities. Furthermore, while she maintains Dialect as the language of the most inner family circle, she shifts to Italian as the more ‘learneable’ language that can contribute to cohesion in the extended family.

Using an ethnographic account of weddings and network activities among Italo-Australian youth in Perth, and, in particular, a symbolic analysis of garters and bouquets, this paper explores the intersections of ethnicity, gender and sexuality, and reviews social scientific theories of ethnic identity and cultural transmission. By investigating the double standard-where men are free to be sexually active and women are not-it confronts some of the stereotypes about 'second generation Australians' and 'culture clash', female oppression and the control of sexuality. Of particular concern is the way that some Italo-Australian women perceive sexual freedom in Australian society. The paper argues that the moral community represented by the youth network and, in particular, the challenges posed by it to the traditional model of female honour, allow for significant generational changes in the construction of ethnic identity. By analysing how identities are constructed and articulated across difference, and how 'this kind of relativising' is 'embodied in the habitus [cf. Bourdieu 1977] of the second generation' (Bottomley 1992a: 132), the paper explodes homogeneous conceptions of what is Italian, and ltalo-Australian culture.

ABSTRACTBackground:In many English-speaking countries neuropsychological assessment of non-English speakers is often performed in English or through an interpreter. Relying on interpreters often involves unstandardized and ad hoc translations of tests which may limit valid assessment.Methods:In a sample of 75 Italian-born elderly Australians from the general community (48 women and 27 men, aged 56–90 years) we administered standardized and normed psychological tests in both English (WMS-III, WAIS-III, BNT, Schonell Graded Word Reading Test) and Italian (Milan Overall Dementia Assessment, MODA). We examined the hypothesis that long-term retrieval ability assessed in English is primarily influenced by cognitive abilities assessed in Italian and by English language competence.Results:Regression analysis showed that the strongest predictor of long-term retrieval in English was long-term retrieval in Italian (R2= 0.229, F(72) = 29.12, p<0.01). After inclusion of an estimate of general cognitive ability in Italian, English language competence failed to add significantly to variance explained in memory tested in English (p > 0.05).Conclusions:Results of the present study support the view that long-term retrieval memory is not significantly affected by second language proficiency after control of cognitive ability assessed in Italian. As a consequence, if an Italian-born elder Australian with English as a second language scores poorly on a diagnostic memory test, this result may be due to cognitive impairment rather than language issues. If, instead, we attribute poor performance to language competence, an increased risk of false negative diagnosis may arise.

Differences in academic achievement have been noted in children from various ethnic backgrounds. In Australia, differences in educational attainment between Anglo-Australian and Italian students have been documented, Italian students performing more poorly. Since the influence of environmental factors on students' achievement is well supported in the literature, the present study compared the family environments of Anglo-Australians ( n = 25), Italian-Australians ( n = 29), and Southern Italians ( n = 29) via administration of the Family Environment Scale to mothers. Significant differences were found, the Anglo-Australian sample scoring higher on the Active-Recreational subscale and lower on the Organisation subscale than both Italian groups. Differences between the Anglo-Australian and Southern Italian groups showed the Anglo-Australians scoring significantly lower on the Achievement Orientation subscale and higher on the Intellectual-Cultural Orientation subscale. There were no significant differences between the Italian groups. These findings suggest preservation of Italian cultural values within Australian society, which may contribute to a restriction of learning opportunities for Italian children and possibly affect their educational achievements in later years.

The first aim of the research was to determine the applicability of certain variables from the Health Belief Model (HBM), the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA), the risk dimensions from the Psychometric Paradigm, the Common-Sense Model of Illness Representations and the Locus of Control to Italian women’s beliefs and behaviours in relation to screening mammography. These models have predominantly been derived and evaluated with English-speaking persons. The study used quantitative and qualitative methods to enable explanation of research-driven and participant-driven issues. The second aim was to include Italian women in health behaviour research and to contrast the Italian sample with the Anglo-Australian sample to determine if differences exist in relation to their beliefs. In Australia many studies in health behaviour research do not include women whose first language is not English. The third aim was to evaluate the Anti-Cancer Council of Victoria’s (ACCV) Community Language Program (CLP) by: (a) identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the program as seen by the participants; and (b) assessing the impact of the program on women’s knowledge and beliefs about breast cancer, early detection of breast cancer, self-reported and intended breast screening behaviours. The CLP is an information service that uses women’s first language to convey information to women whose first language is not English. The CLP was designed to increase knowledge about breast and cervical cancer. The research used a pre-test-intervention-post-test design with 174 Italian-born and 138 Anglo-Australian women aged 40 years and over. Interviews for the Italian sample were conducted in Italian. The intervention was an information session that related to breast health and screening mammography. Demographic variables were collected in the Pre-Test only. Qualitative open-ended questions that related specifically to the information session were collected in the Post-Test phase of the study. Direct logistic regression was used with the participants’ beliefs and behaviours to identify the relevant variables for language (Italian speaking and English-speaking), attendance to an information session, mammography screening and breast self-examination (BSE) behaviour. Pre- and Post-Test comparisons were conducted using chi-square tests for the non-parametric data and paired sample t-tests for the parametric data. Differences were found between the Italian and Anglo-Australian women in relation to their beliefs about breast cancer screening. The Italian women were: (1) more likely to state that medical experts understood the causes of breast cancer; (2) more likely to feel that they had less control over their personal risk of getting breast cancer; (3) more likely to be upset and frightened by thinking about breast cancer; (4) less likely to perceive breast cancer as serious; (4) more likely to only do what their doctor told them to do; and (5) less likely to agree that there were times when a person has cancer and they don’t know it. A pattern emerged for the Italian and Anglo-Australian women from the logistic regression analyses. The Italian women were much more likely to comply with medical authority and advice. The Anglo-Australian women were more likely to feel that they had some control over their health. Specifically, the risk variable ‘dread’ was more applicable to the Italian women’s behaviour and internal locus of control variable was more relevant to the Anglo-Australian women. The qualitative responses also differed for the two samples. The Italian women’s comments were more general, less specific, and more limited than that of the Anglo-Australian women. The Italian women talked about learning how to do BSE whereas the Anglo-Australian women said that attending the session had reminded them to do BSE more regularly. The key findings and contributions of the present research were numerous. The focus on one cultural group ensured comprehensive analyses, as did the inclusion of an adequate sample size to enable the use of multivariate statistics. Separating the Italian and Anglo-Australian samples in the analyses provided theoretical implications that would have been overlooked if the two groups were combined. The use of both qualitative and quantitative data capitalised on the strengths of both techniques. The inclusion of an Anglo-Australian group highlighted key theoretical findings, differences between the two groups and unique contributions made by both samples during the collection of the qualitative data. The use of a pre-test-intervention-post-test design emphasised the reticence of the Italian sample to participate and talk about breast cancer and confirmed and validated the consistency of the responses across the two interviews for both samples. The inclusion of non-cued responses allowed the researcher to identify the key salient issues relevant to the two groups. The limitations of the present research were the lack of many women who were not screening and reliance on self-report responses, although few differences were observed between the Pre- and Post-Test comparisons. The theoretical contribution of the HBM and the TRA variables was minimal in relation to screening mammography or attendance at the CLP. The applicability of these health behaviour theories may be less relevant for women today as they clearly knew the benefits of and the seriousness of breast cancer screening. The present research identified the applicability of the risk variables to the Italian women and the relevance of the locus of control variables to the Anglo-Australian women. Thus, clear cultural differences occurred between the two groups. The inclusion of the illness representations was advantageous as the responses highlighted ideas and personal theories salient to the women not identified by the HBM. The use of the illness representations and the qualitative responses further confirmed the relevance of the risk variables to the Italian women and the locus of control variables to the Anglo-Australian women. Attendance at the CLP did not influence the women to attend for mammography screening. Behavioural changes did not occur between the Pre- and Post-Test interviews. Small incremental changes as defined by the TTM and the stages of change may have occurred. Key practical implications for the CLP were identified. Improving the recruitment methods to gain a higher proportion of women who do not screen is imperative for the CLP promoters. The majority of the Italian and Anglo-Australian women who attended the information sessions were women who screen. The fact that Italian women do not like talking or thinking about cancer presents a challenge to promoters of the CLP. The key theoretical finding that Italian women dread breast cancer but comply with their doctor provides clear strategies to improve attendance at mammography screening. In addition, the inclusion of lay health advisors may be one way of increasing attendance to the CLP by including Italian women already attending screening and likely to have attended a CLP session. The present research identified the key finding that improving Anglo-Australian attendance at an information session is related to debunking the myth surrounding familial risk of breast cancer and encouraging the Anglo-Australian women to take more control of their health. Improving attendance for Italian women is related to reducing the fear and dread of breast cancer and building on the compliance pattern with medical authority. Therefore, providing an information session in the target language is insufficient to attract non-screeners to the session and then to screen for breast cancer. Suggestions for future research in relation to screening mammography were to include variables from more than one theory or model, namely the risk, locus of control and illness representations. The inclusion of non-cued responses to identify salient beliefs is advantageous. In addition, it is imperative to describe the profile of the cultural sample in detail, include detailed descriptions of the translation process and be aware of the tendency of Italian women to acquiesce with medical authority.

Paul Solanges was one of the most prolific (in correspondence) and enthusiastic fans of Australian author Henry Handel Richardson (HHR). What was it about him that made HHR invest so much time in his translation of her novel, and to what extent can credence be given to the self-portrait in his letters? This thesis reveals his illegitimate royal background, considers his early career as a cavalry officer in North Africa and in the Franco-Prussian War, and describes his long career as manager of the gasworks in Milan. It also portrays in detail his other life as a translator of songs, short stories and operas from Italian to French. Finally, it compares his relationship with Italian novelist Antonio Fogazzaro to his relationship with HHR. A critical edition of Solanges’s correspondence with Fogazzaro and HHR offers the reader a privileged insight into the life and character of this Franco-Italian littérateur.

My thesis explores the social construction of identity of 50 second generation migrant-Australian women aged 17 to 28 years using a qualitative methodology. I conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with 25 women from Latin American backgrounds and 25 women from Turkish backgrounds. My study investigated the intersections of ethnicity, gender, sexuality and nationality. I found that the Latin women constructed their ethnic culture in reference to their country-of-origin traditions, and that they also identified with a pan-ethnic Latin culture that included migrants from other South and Central America countries. I found that the Turkish women constructed Turkish culture in reference to their religious practices, and they saw themselves as �Muslim-Turks� who identified with an Islamic pan-ethnic culture that included Muslim migrants from different national backgrounds. The women in both groups drew upon Anglo-Australian culture when it came to their gender and sexuality constructions. The Latin and Turkish women did not see themselves as �typical� women from their migrant communities. Instead, their sense of femininity was informed by what they saw as Australian egalitarianism. The women in both groups saw Anglo-Australians� gender relationships as an ideal, and as one woman said of Anglo-Australians, �how much more equal can you can get?� The women�s social construction of the nation was equally influenced by multiculturalism and an Anglo-Australian identity. They highly valued their Australian citizenship and felt positive about their lives in Australia. At the same time, they had faced ongoing racism and they reported that other people judged their Australian identities through racial characteristics. One woman said that in order for people to be accepted as Australian, �you have to be Anglo and not look like me�. Despite this sense of social exclusion, the majority of my sample held hybrid migrant-Australian identities. I develop a threefold typology of the women�s identities, and I found that 13 women did not see themselves as Australian, 36 women saw themselves as partly-Australian, and one woman held an exclusively Australian identity. I argue that narratives of multiculturalism and Anglo-Australian identity influenced the women�s social construction of identity. Their belief that Australian identity was multicultural was at odds with their experiences of racism and their own self identities, and so I examine the women�s beliefs in reference to an �ideology of multiculturalism�. This ideology supported the women�s contribution to the nation as second generation migrants, and ultimately, they expressed an unwavering support for Australian multiculturalism.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Swinburne University of Technology, School of Social and Behavioural Sciences.
"September 2004." Title taken from title screen (viewed October 8, 2007). Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-289) and appendices.

AbstractGiven the deadlock in the current negotiations between Germany and Italy and the unavailability of judicial remedies for the victims, the two states could set up a reparation scheme. This chapter sketches some of the main features of such a hypothetical scheme, considering existing internal or international arrangements in the context of transitional justice (the Foundation ‘Remembrance, Responsibility and Future’ (Erinnerung, Verantwortung und Zukunft) scheme; the Australian DART scheme; the deal between Japan and South Korea on reparations to ‘comfort women’; the US/French schemes for reparations and restitution to holocaust victims; the Eritrea/Ethiopia reparations scheme; and the Iraq/Kuwait scheme). In particular, the emphasis is on the system of identification of the eligible victims, the question of financing and the fate of pending and future judicial claims. Assuming the states’ willingness to explore this project, the chapter outlines some of the ways the scheme could operate in practice, drawing from existing models.

This chapter illustrates the export of tarantella to the United States by focusing on the work of New York–based artist Alessandra Belloni, particularly her tarantella dance performance and her “Rhythm Is the Cure” dance workshop. The chapter examines Belloni’s work both within a world music framework and from a woman-centered, New Age perspective. This work includes a complex process of adaptation of the Southern Italian rhythms, since it enhances an exotic image of Italy as it often emerges in Anglo-American culture, while at the same time adding a woman’s perspective to it. Belloni’s reinterpretation of tarantella plays a particularly significant role within the Italian-American cultural scene. The second part of the chapter situates Belloni’s work within the larger process of post-WWII Italian migration to the United States, while also discussing larger issues of representation of (southern) Italian culture within the Anglo-American context.