Tribal Affiliation Research Articles

Statewide collaborative partnerships among American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities in California to target the opioid epidemic: Preliminary results of the Tribal Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) key informant needs assessment

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities have disproportionately been impacted by the opioid epidemic with the second highest opioid-related overdose death rates compared to other ethnic groups. The diversity among California AI/AN tribes, including regional differences in economic opportunities, tribal affiliation and organization, resources and infrastructure, requires a strong community-based partnership approach to assess global statewide patterns in service availability, acceptability, and utilization, as well as capturing the unique challenges and service needs within each region. This article describes a statewide community-based needs assessment of strengths and weakness among key informants in CA to identify facilitators and barriers to treatment of substance use disorders (SUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD). We conducted structured interviews of 21 healthcare professionals from Urban Indian Health Programs, Tribal clinics and community-based organizations throughout California. The interview assessed (1) barriers to accessing services; (2) risk factors; (3) protective factors; (4) community substance use description; (5) SUD and OUD services available; and (6) service system needs. Findings indicate an overall increase in SUD and OUD in AI/AN communities. Key informants discussed the importance of comprehensive and culturally centered care, wrap-around services, such as treatment of mental health issues alongside substance abuse, and the need for AI/AN-specific treatment facilities that integrate traditional and cultural activities into western health services.

Put your money where your mouth is: Using deep learning to identify consumer tribes from word usage

Internet and social media offer firms novel ways of managing their marketing strategy and gain competitive advantage. The groups of users expressing themselves on the Internet about a particular topic, product, or brand are frequently called a virtual tribe or E-tribe. However, there are no automatic tools for identifying and studying the characteristics of these virtual tribes. Towards this aim, this paper presents Tribefinder, a system to reveal Twitter users’ tribal affiliations, by analyzing their tweets and language use. To show the potential of this instrument, we provide an example considering three specific tribal macro-categories: alternative realities, lifestyle, and recreation. In addition, we discuss the different characteristics of each identified tribe, in terms of use of language and social interaction metrics. Tribefinder illustrates the importance of adopting a new lens for studying virtual tribes, which is crucial for firms to properly design their marketing strategy, and for scholars to extend prior marketing research.

Changes on the Socio-Cultural Lifestyle of the BangsaSama as Influenced by the Migrants: A Case Study

This study was made to bridge the gap between the BangsaSama and the migrants in their quest for co-existence and improving their socio-cultural lifestyle in the changing society. Understandably, by knowing the importance of their co-existence, one is invariably geared towards the promotion of unity and harmonious relationship among the diversified groups of people. Hopefully, the results of this study would help the Tawi-Tawians attain freedom in making their destiny towards a strategic southern frontier of national community with a distinct identity of their own. This study utilized the triangulation technique of the qualitative research. The descriptive narrative survey technique with key informants’ (kI) personal interview and the organized focus group discussion (FGD) were the basic tools of gathering the data needed in this study. The fifty-five (55) migrant participantsin accordance with their tribal affiliations andsixty-three (63) BangsaSamanative participants are composed of professionals, laymen and religious leaders. They served as the primary sources of information and feedback. Optimistically, this study would become as basis of understanding of their own people so that peace and development will reign among the different ethnic groups that constitute the pluralistic society of Tawi-Tawi.

Identity, Community and Belonging in gcc States

Studies of identity and belonging in Gulf monarchies tend to privilege tribal or religious affiliation, if not the protective role of the ruler as paterfamilias. I focus instead on the ubiquitous foreigner and explore ways in which s/he contributes to the definition of national community in contemporary gcc states. Building upon and moving beyond the scholarly literature on imported labor in the Gulf, I suggest that the different ‘categories’ of foreigners impact identity and the consolidation of a community of privilege, in keeping with the national project of ruling families. Furthermore, I argue that the ‘European,’ the non-gcc Arab, and the predominantly Asian (and increasingly African) laborer play similar, but also distinct roles in the delineation of national community: while they are differentially incorporated in ways that protect the ‘nation’ and appease the citizen-subject, varying degrees of marginality reflect Gulf society’s perceptions or aspirations of the difference between itself and ‘the other(s).’

Social support as a predictive factor: Solution-focused thinking in clinical social work

In recent years, clinical social workers have tended to use the solution-focused approach in their practice. This study examines the relationship of solution-focused thinking and its components (Goal Orientation, Resource Activation, and Problem Disengagement), with the following variables: social support, income, occupation, gender, tribal affiliation, and education. The study used a sample of 300 participants in Kuwait. The results showed that a significant relationship exists between solution-focused thinking and the variables of income, occupation, gender, tribal affiliation, and education. In addition, the findings of this study showed that social support is a predictive factor for solution-focused thinking. The results of the study could assist clinical social workers in improving the quality of intervention they provide to clients.

Prospects for Post-Conflict (De)Stabilisation of Libya

Wraz z wydarzeniami arabskiej wiosny niektóre reżimy z basenu Morza Śródziemnego zostały zmuszone do reform lub obalone i zastąpione przez opozycję demokratyczną. Spośród kilku przykładów takiej rewolucji Libia jawi się jako przypadek szczególny. Osobliwości systemu zbudowanego przez Muammara Kaddafiego, sponsorowane dochodami z eksploatacji złóż ropy, skutkowały destrukcją struktur państwa i nasileniem trybalizmu. Rewolucja z 2011 r. zmieniła wprawdzie konstrukcję polityczną Libii, lecz nie mogła przekreślić minionych dekad neopatrymonialnych i represyjnych rządów. Sam kres reżimu Kaddafiego nie jest zatem przesłanką pokoju po konflikcie, a Libia musi uprawomocnić swoją transformację i wypracować narodowy konsensus. W artykule analizowane są trzy scenariusze rozwoju sytuacji (stopniowa stabilizacja, „dżihadyzacja” oraz defragmentacja) w pokonfliktowej Libii. Celem autora jest rozważenie ich prawdopodobieństwa z uwzględnieniem splotu specyfiki wewnętrznej oraz sytuacji międzynarodowej.

Legal-Political Rhetoric, Human Rights, and the Constitution of Medina*

The article demonstrates how the Constitution of Medina (622 ce) is a multidimensional rhetoric of justice that countered rampant violence in the nascent city-state known as Medina. To make this argument, the article first introduces this legal-political text and explicates the rhetorical exigence that mandated Medina's inhabitants to articulate a framework for rights and obligations. Second, the article demonstrates how the constitution unified this citizenry by (1) recognizing everyone's equal standing, equality, and rights—especially to religious freedom and justice—across their religious and tribal affiliations; and (2) establishing institutional measures that realize these rights. As rhetoric of possibility, the Constitution of Medina constituted a community and modeled rights discourse.

TRIBAL AFFILIATIONS IN THE PUBLIC SPHERE

Photography in the Middle East has soared in the last decade as a practice of daily documentation and a dynamic form of visual communication in an organic and vernacular sense. This paper explores tribal dynamics and symbolic affiliations in today’s United Arab Emirates (UAE) through the use of imagery, specifically photography. The central question here is how content produced responds to geography and heritage and influences the identities shared. In exploring the answer, the study aims to untangle the complex psychologies of belonging in relation to physical and social boundaries within the defined attributes of identity and pride. Tribal affiliations are constituted upon an articulated framework of references, geographical and sociocultural boundaries, as convened via adornments as well as rituals and gender roles. People’s surroundings as well as their intimate and private spaces offer an incomparable — and indeed underestimated — insight into their values, cultures and ideologies. Identity, be it in the individual or plural sense, is endlessly reflected in everyday practices. This research visualizes and explores all the above, while deconstructing the dynamics using visual media tools in multimedia communication.

Unraveling Deep Branches of the Sigmodontinae Tree (Rodentia: Cricetidae) in Eastern South America

Neotropical cricetid rodents of the subfamily Sigmodontinae constitute an incredibly diverse and ubiquitous clade of mammals in South America. In spite of recent advances in sigmodontine systematics, a variable collection of genera from eastern South America with no clear tribal affiliations and well-differentiated morphologies has been pervasive in most classification attempts, being generally listed as Sigmodontinae incertae sedis. Here, we assess the phylogenetic relationships of these incertae sedis genera based on supermatrix and multispecies coalescent analyses of a multilocus molecular dataset (one mitochondrial and five nuclear loci) for 76 genera, calibrated with ten fossil-based node dates. Both analytical approaches provided concordant and unprecedented resolution of suprageneric clades within the large Oryzomyalia clade (constituted by most sigmodontine genera), recovering a natural group constituted by the genera Wiedomys, Wilfredomys, and the Atlantic Forest endemics Juliomys and Phaenomys - here redefined as the Wiedomyini tribe - and a sister-relationship between this group and the tribe Abrotrichini. The enigmatic spiny rodent genus Abrawayaomys was recovered as sister to Akodontini in three of four analyses, but pending higher support. Morphological comparisons performed among the four wiedomyine genera highlighted a number of shared external, cranial, and dental similarities useful to emend the tribe diagnosis, such as the presence of chromo-genetic fields associated with the muzzle, pinnae, and rump, the long and narrow rostrum flanked by shallow and narrow zygomatic notches, and the asymmetrically divided procingulum of M1, among other characters. Molecular dating coupled with fossil evidence suggests Wiedomyini as one of the oldest sigmodontine tribes with a late Miocene autochthonous origin in eastern South America, highlighting the relevance of this region as an ancient cradle of sigmodontine lineages.

APPROACHES TO THE EVALUATION OF CULTURAL ADAPTATIONS OF HOME VISITING IN TRIBAL COMMUNITIES.

The research that underlies evidence-based practices is often based on relatively homogenous study samples, thus limiting our ability to understand how the study findings apply in new situations as well as our understanding of what might need to be adapted. In a preliminary effort to address those gaps, the requirements for the Tribal Maternal Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program (MIECHV) included the expectation that grantees design and implement rigorous evaluations to address local priorities and to help build the knowledge base regarding the use of evidence-based home-visiting programs in tribal communities. A priority that emerged across many Tribal MIECHV grantees was to determine the added benefit of the cultural adaptations that they were making to their home-visiting programs. While there is literature to describe recommended processes for making cultural adaptations to evidence-based programs themselves, there are very few guidelines for evaluating these adaptations. In this article, we review the varied evaluation approaches utilized by Tribal MIECHV grantees and provide three case examples of how evaluators and tribal communities worked together to articulate evaluation questions and choose appropriate and feasible evaluation designs. The lessons derived from these Tribal MIECHV evaluation experiences have implications for the role of the evaluator in diverse communities across the country evaluating home visiting and other evidence-based practices in settings characterized by unique cultural contexts.

Entrepreneurial Intention of a Senegalese Entrepreneur in a Brotherhood Context: Towards The Emergence of New "Atypical" Entrepreneurs

The purpose of this article is to understand the starting point of the intention of religious entrepreneurs, that we call "Atypical", for the simple reason that their entrepreneurial intentions include not only the economic aspect but there is also evidence of some foundation walls spiritual view of the context in which operate these entrepreneurs: the Tijanie brotherhood. These religious entrepreneurs create travel agencies specializing in the phenomenon of the "Zyara”1. To do this, we will focus initially on generalities about highlighted Islam in Africa, and then we will introduce our paper on the emergence of the Tijaniyya brotherhood. In a second step, we will emphasize the economic dimension of the Tijaniyya, which includes both the phenomenon of the «Zyara», and trade which can arise; but also the emergence of atypical entrepreneurs in their entrepreneurial intentions through creative type travel "Zyara”. Our epistemological positioning is interpretative; that is, we go from the field to interpret the intentions of these entrepreneurs, given the absence of literature dealing with entrepreneurship in a religious context. This means that our mode of reasoning is inductive; what brought us to do indepth interviews with this type of entrepreneurs in Senegal. This article presents concrete results concerning the entrepreneurial intentions of the religious entrepreneurs object of our present study. These intentions are religious orders, in the context of these entrepreneurs; on a categorized these intentions under five major axes; « Love and Propaganda of the Brotherhood ; Join the useful to the pleasant ; Respect and love of members of the brotherhood ; Self-achievement ; Tribal or family affiliation ».

Morphological phylogeny of Dictyopharidae (Hemiptera: Fulgoromorpha)

AbstractTo explore the phylogenetic basis of the current classification of Dictyopharidae, especially the relationships among the tribes of Dictyopharinae, we present the first cladistic analysis of this family based on 146 morphological characters of adults. Our analysis includes 104 of 125 recognized genera and subgenera within 12 extant tribes of Dictyopharinae, plus nine genera representing all four tribes of Orgeriinae. The results of this study support Dictyopharidae as a monophyletic group with Aluntiini sister to the remaining Dictyopharidae, but do not support Orgeriinae as sister to Dictyopharinae. Seven major lineages – Aluntiini, Arjunini, Hastini, (Taosini + Lappidini) + Nersiini, a Xenochasma+ complex (including ‘Orgeriinae’), Orthopagini, and Dictyopharini – are recovered in Dictyopharidae. The Xenochasma+ complex is proposed here and includes Xenochasma clade + (Scoloptini + ((Fernandea clade + Phylloscelini) + (Rancodini + [Capenini + Orgeriinae]))). Within this complex, some genera are of uncertain tribal placement, and the Orgeriinae are retained as a subfamily until a molecular phylogeny can confirm the results of this paper. The implied weighting analysis supports the monophyly of most tribes of Dictyopharinae (except Taosini), the sister‐group relationships of (Taosini + Lappidini) with Nersiini, and Orthopagini + Dictyopharini, and the current tribal classification for Dictyopharinae. Most Dictyopharinae genera fit their respective tribal affiliation, but some proposed changes are that Pharodictyon, Paramisia, Dictyopharoides s.s., Chondrophana, Sicoris, Chondrodire, and Tupala are provisionally placed in Hastini; Pukuakanga is moved into Nersiini; Sinodictya and Raphiophora are transferred into Orthopagini; and Chiltana, Litocras, and Viridophara are placed in Dictyopharini.

Signposts in the Landscape: Marks and Identity among the Negev Highland Bedouin

Abstract Over the course of the past millennia, pastoral nomads migrated from the Arabian Peninsula and neighbouring regions into the Negev desert. Particularly with the last major wave of Bedouin migration in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, these groups introduced the 'Bedouin Phase' into Negev rock art, a tradition that was central to the Negev Bedouin culture up until the mid to late twentieth century. The 'Bedouin Phase' is mostly made up of combinations of abstract marks, many of which signify tribal affiliations, and a limited number of Arabic inscriptions. Frequently engraved near earlier motifs, the Bedouin tribal markings formed a link with the past while also indicating to their intended audience landownership rights and resource-use entitlement. Rapid and broad changes took place in Bedouin society and culture as it transformed from being semi-nomadic and pastoral-based to being more dependent on agriculture and finally to a broad-based wage labour economy. The article describes how the placement of rock art within the landscape and the function it played for the Bedouin in the region reflects these changes. In the absence of official documentation, the study of Bedouin rock art is of special interest, since these engravings enable a fresh perspective on current-day Bedouin claims to ancestral or historical land ownership rights.

Barriers and Strategies for Healthy Food Choices among American Indian Tribal College Students: A Qualitative Analysis

BackgroundAmerican Indian and Alaskan Native individuals experience disproportionate levels of chronic health conditions such as type 2 diabetes and overweight and obesity that are influenced by dietary patterns and food choices. Understanding factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students can enrich education and programs that target dietary intake. ObjectiveTo build an understanding of factors that influence healthy food choices among tribal college students at increased risk for college attrition. DesignA nonexperimental cohort design was used for qualitative descriptive analysis. Participants/settingParticipants (N=20) were purposively sampled, newly enrolled, academically underprepared tribal college students enrolled in a culturally relevant life skills course at an upper Midwest tribal college between September 2013 and May 2015. Participant demographic characteristics included various tribal affiliations, ages, and number of dependents. Main outcome measuresParticipant responses to qualitative research questions about dietary intake, food choices, self-efficacy for healthy food choices, psychosocial determinants, and barriers to healthy food choices during telephone interviews were used as measures. AnalysisQualitative analysis included prestudy identification of researcher bias/assumptions, audiorecording and transcription, initial analysis (coding), secondary analysis (sorting and identifying meaning), and verification (comparative pattern analysis). ResultsQualitative analysis revealed a variety of themes and subthemes about healthy food choices. Main themes related to barriers included taste, food gathering and preparation, and difficulty clarifying healthy food choices. Main themes related to strategies included taste, cultural traditions and practices, and personal motivation factors. ConclusionsQualitative analysis identified barrier and strategy themes that may assist nutrition and dietetics practitioners working with tribal/indigenous communities, tribal college educators and health specialists, and tribal community health workers who target health and dietary intake of American Indian and Alaskan Native students.

Exploring autism and music interventions through a First Nations lens

This research project set out to examine the meaning of music for five First Nations children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in British Columbia, Canada. A pan-tribal framework within an Indigenist research paradigm was used. Data were collected during visits in 2013 and 2014. Five First Nations children with different tribal affiliations and living locations, their families, and professionals were engaged in the project. Methods were conversations, observations, filmed observations, interventions, and notes. It was found that current autism discourses and practices are based on a deficit model within Western paradigms, and therefore not compatible with inclusive, First Nations worldviews and perceptions of autism representations. Music is used for purposes such as relaxation, communication, and when studying. Indigenous music is not used in targeted music interventions. This article presents unique material, emphasizing the lack of cultural sensitivity, and colonial residue in music interventions for First Nations children with autism.

Civil society and democratic transformation in Mauritania: the paradigm of transition and the antecedents of political change

Mauritania is among the poorest of the world’s nations due, in good measure, to its itinerant Bedouin population that has moved gradually towards urbanization in accordance with the new world order. The country has undergone extensive transformation in the face of international pressure and influence that were brought to bear on it, and their effects have affected the process of transformation, especially those pertaining to the acknowledgement of human rights and freedoms of citizens. The democratic transformation of Mauritania has to be understood in the context of factors interplaying between the social and cultural spheres, in particular the tribal nature of Mauritanian society which, in a de facto sense, designs the roadmap for action on the basis of the citizen’s perpetual tribal affiliation and belonging, as well as the interaction between economic and political reform conforming to economic demands. This study clarifies the democratic transformation that has taken place in Mauritania through particular phases. Although the transformation did not necessarily bring about change in the prevailing political modus operandi of the state, it did, nonetheless, change the balance of the ‘powers that be’ in favour of reform. The latter arose through the role played by political parties that enabled the development of civil society and the possibility for political reforms in future. The study analyses the Mauritanian experience with regard to the success of civil society institutions in furthering their goal of complete reciprocity between the people and their members, and in placing these issues at the heart of the discussion and achieving pioneering successes.

Colorblind Individualism, Color Consciousness, and the Indian Child Welfare Act: Representations of Adoptee Best Interest in Newspaper Coverage of the Baby Veronica Case

ABSTRACTTransracial adoption debates revolve around adoptee best interest with support focusing on individual rights and opposition emphasizing identity. How the media portrayed the Baby Veronica case highlights tensions between colorblind individualism and collective color consciousness central to the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). Content analysis of 262 mainstream and Native American newspaper articles illustrates the complex use of both frameworks with Native American sources more often noting the importance of tribal ties and drawing from a more diverse range of authorities. Findings have implications for public attitudes regarding tribal rights, adoption and foster care policies and practices, and the future of ICWA.

Being Native American in business: Culture, identity, and authentic leadership in modern American Indian enterprises

Tribally owned American Indian enterprises provide a unique cross-cultural setting for emerging Native American business leaders. This article examines the manner in which American Indian leaders negotiate the boundaries between their indigenous organizations and the nonindigenous communities in which they do business. Through a series of qualitative interviews, we find that American Indian business leaders fall back on a strong sense of “self,” which allows them to maintain effective leadership across boundaries. This is highly consistent with theories of authentic leadership. Furthermore, we find that leaders define self through their collective identity, which is heavily influenced by tribal affiliation and tribal culture. We add to the literature on authentic leadership by showing the role that culture and collective identity have in creating leader authenticity within the indigenous community.

The Rule of Law and the Administration of Justice: Afghanistan and Kosovo in Comparative Perspective

This short paper employs a comparative law perspective to briefly highlight international efforts to develop rule of law institutions in Afghanistan and Kosovo as of April 2007. Both countries have been subjected to significant recent armed conflicts that have also involved the international community. Both have also been the focus of significant international efforts to improve the administration of justice, which are briefly described. The paper identifies the constitutional and political frameworks for rule of law institutions in each country. In particular, this work briefly surveys the legal historical context in each region before turning to examine the role and function of the current political executive. The paper also considers the state of the judicial systems, the courts and the role of the legal professions in both countries. The paper notes that local conditions have had significant adverse effects on efforts to improve the justice systems in Kosovo and Afghanistan. In this respect, the establishment of national justice systems appears to be detrimentally affected by factors in such as under-qualification of officials, tribal or ethnic affiliations and local allegiances, as well as religious differences in both states. However, recent Freedom House measurements related to the rule of law in both regions suggests some progress can be made, in the face of challenging local conditions, to establish effective and efficient justice systems. While local factors may affect the implementation of rule of law in newly formed or emerging states, the results of efforts to introduce of law and order in Kosovo and Afghanistan seems, as of 2007, to represent some positive steps towards democratic rule of law.

Cost of ruling: An examination of political business cycle, governmental accountability, and alternation in power in Ghana’s democracy

ABSTRACTGhana’s past is littered with frequent swapping of regimes and governments, but often these alternations in power were of the unconstitutional type, triggered by men in uniform. Since the introduction of democracy in 1992, however, the two main political parties, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) and the New Patriotic Party (NPP), have through competitive elections taken turns in ruling the country. While there are few salient issues that divide the two parties, no single variable predicts a winner, sealing the fate of a ruling party, more than the handling of the national economy. The goal of this study is to review two realities in political economy that often impact elections in industrialized democracies and determine the extent to which these are salient in Ghana’s electoral contests. These two realities are the popularity-function and the vote-function. In a typical election, voters consider the popularity of the incumbent party and how it performed on the economy when deciding to either reward it or throw it out of office (popularity-function). On the other hand, through the vote-function paradigm, an incumbent party pays a cost for ruling. Depending on the size of this mathematical constant, an incumbent party gets re-elected or rejected because it either kept faith with the electorate or failed to meet expectations. How does a ruling party react to these realities? Several studies have shown that incumbent parties in Ghana and other emerging democracies manipulate key economic variables in an election year to win over voters. While this is the general expectation of the Political Business Cycle theory, this article posits that a mediating factor—voter’s tribal affiliation—works to neutralize any “windfall of votes” expected from manipulating the economy. Thus, this study concludes that there is a consistent and stabilizing cost of ruling in Ghanaian politics, a development that points to early stages of a responsive and accountable political system.