Wilkinson U Navarra Day3

Kent WilkinsonRegents Professor in Hispanic and International

Communication Texas Tech University

Universidad de Navarra Lecture – Day Three, April 14, 2010

Diaspora, Identity, Ethnicity and Health Communication

Outline for Today’s Session• Definition and discussion of three key

concepts: diaspora, identity and ethnicity• Discussion of the role(s) of media in creating

and maintaining these three concepts• Break • Discuss select student homework

submissions• Hispanic-oriented health communication –

applied example• Open discussion of student questions,

interests, etc.

DiasporaWhat does the term ‘diaspora’ refer to?

the dispersion of ethnic or religious groups who have left their place of origin and are spread around the world, living among other ethnic/religious groups.

Map of Jews in Europe as of 2005http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diáspora

Migrations of Africans and People of African Descent 1492-1992http://www.bc.edu/schools/cas/aads/DiasporaMap.html

Appadurai’s “-scapes”Arjun Appadurai published an article in 1990

which has been cited frequently by globalization scholars. He discusses the interaction among 5 “-scapes” which can help us understand the concept of diaspora:

Technoscape - the rapidly-expanding infrastructure of high- and low-technology that facilitates message exchanges at greater volumes and decreasing cost.

Financescape - the movement of capital and other forms of equity via electronic data transfer within and across nation states.

Appadurai’s “-scapes”Ideoscape – transmission of political ideologies

and counter-ideologies of governments and other political actors vying to influence policy, public opinion, etc.

Ethnoscape - the diverse and increasingly mobile landscape of people moving within and across national boundaries for multiple reasons.

Mediascape - the communication industries which produce and distribute information and entertainment and the content itself which influences people’s sensemaking of their environment.

Cultural/Social IdentityThe distinct personality of an individual

regarded as a persisting entity; the individual characteristics by which a thing or person is recognized or known. (http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu)

We tend to identify with particular cultural or social groups (in-groups) and perceive ourselves to be distinct from members of other groups (out-groups). We may emphasize or diminish certain affiliations in different social settings.

How do the media influence our perceptions of ourselves and others?

EthnicityAffiliation resulting from racial or cultural ties; the

quality of belonging to an ethnic group. From the Greek ethnos: ‘tribe’ or ‘nation.’

Situational Ethnicity: Multicultural, multilingual individuals have a broader range of options to draw from as they interact with others. Thus they can adopt different ways of communicating their self to others according to a social context. Consider the case of a bilingual Latina:At a professional lunch with her English-speaking co-

workersVisiting the home of her monolingual (Spanish) in-

lawsAt home raising her children in a bilingual, bicultural

environment

Ethnicity and MediaMainstream cultural shifts in many countries have

created new opportunities for identity construction.Traditional “mass” media markets have fractured

and concentrated efforts to reach ‘niche’ audiences through streamlined media have emerged.

Interactive media allow consumers to be producers as well as recipients of media content (i.e. webpages, blogs, social networking sites). These may be customized according to racial, ethnicity, gender and other facets of one’s identity.

New technologies offer more dynamic and complex ways for people to stay connected—or reconnect—with the cultural in-groups they are affiliated with.

Countries with High Obesity and Diabetes Levels

ADULT OBESE POPULATION

Nauru 78.5%Tonga 56.0%Saudi Arabia 35.6%United Arab Emirates

33.7%United States 32.2%Bahrain 28.9%Kuwait 28.8%Seychelles 25.1%Seychelles 25.1%United Kingdom 24.2%

DIABETES IN ADULTSNauru 30.7%United Arab Emirates

19.5%Saudi Arabia 16.7%Bahrain 15.2% Kuwait 14.4%Oman 13.1%Tonga 12.9%Mauritius 11.1%Egypt 11.0%Mexico 10.6%

Using Multi-Method Communication Research to Combat Diabetes and Obesity Among Rural Hispanics in West Texas

– Obesity and Type II diabetes mellitus are major health threats in the U.S. now and in the future.• Potential Consequence of Childhood Obesity: 1st

generation of Americans to have a shorter life span than their parents?

• Estimated lifetime cost of care for child w/ Type II diabetes - $7,000,000.

– Hispanics have higher obesity and diabetes rates than most other population groups.• Non-Hispanic whites 6.6% Asian Americans 7.5%• Hispanics 10.4% Non-Hispanic blacks

11.8% (2004-2006 national survey data for people diagnosed with diabetes, aged 20 years or older)

Combating Diabetes and Obesity Among Rural Hispanics in West Texas• Bilingual, cross-generational study of

language and media use and preferences among Hispanics in counties surrounding Lubbock, Texas.

• $50,000 grant from F. Marie Hall Institute for Rural and Community Health (TTUHSC). January–July 2007.

• Multi-Method Research Design• Approach the same problems from multiple directions• Include expertise from the College of Mass

Communications and Department of Communication Studies

Surveys• Survey “intercepts”

– businesses, churches– intercepts/incentives

• 733 respondents self-reported: – Diet and exercise routines– Height and weight (used to calculate Body

Mass Index [BMI])– Diabetes awareness– Language preference and media use– Sources of health information

Focus Groups• Four focus groups comprised of Hispanic participants from

West Texas.• Two adult participant focus groups

– One discussion in English, other in Spanish– 20 women, 3 men ages ranging from mid 20s to late 50s

• Two youth focus groups - children of the above adults– Both groups conducted in English– 13 girls, 13 boys 11-15 years old

• Focus groups allowed for open-ended dialogue and in-depth insights on:– Typical eating habits– Exercise– Challenges to healthy eating– Outside influences (such as the media and extended familial

and social networks)– Perceptions/knowledge of diabetes and participants’

perceptions of their likelihood of developing diabetes

Themes from Focus Groups• 1. Vulnerability to

Diabetes– Heredity– Diet

• 2. Food Consumption– Hispanic diet– Acculturation factors

impact choices

• 3. Importance of Parental Modeling– Motivations for kids to

be healthy– Show them how to eat

healthy and exercise– Inconsistencies in

parents’ behaviors

• 4. Challenges to Healthy Eating Habits– Media influence– No support from other

parent– Important others do not

cooperate– Wanting to please children– Limited funds– Children cannot motivate

themselves

• 5. Parents Need Support– Parents feel powerless– Contradicting messages– Parents need

reinforcement from others– Messages from someone

they believe

Psychophysiological Testing• The branch of physiology dealing with the

relationships among physiological processes and thoughts, emotions, and behavior.

• Why Psychophysiology? – Sidestepping self-report– Automatic versus controlled resources

• Psychophysiological Responses– Attention– Arousal– Emotion– Memory

Basic Findings• Diabetes and obesity are significant threats to the health of rural Hispanics in West Texas

– Health messages need to be tailored according to age and preferred language/media of audiences

– Positive, family-oriented messages are more effective than fear appeals

Parents often feel powerless to resist the influence of fast food corporations—including its low price--and many behavioral influences on children outside the home.

Media-based appeals must dovetail with messages coming from knowledgeable sources within the household and/or an at-risk individual’s personal sphere of influence outside the home.

Thank you for your kind hospitality over the past

three days!