Gaia Di Castro

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Category: International Intern 2010

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About

I am Gaia Di Castro. I completed a 2-month internship at CACR—Centre for Applied Cross-cultural Research at Victoria University of Wellington from April to June 2010. I was motivated to do this internship because part of my PhD research project focuses on adaptation, acculturation and intercultural relations and I was interested to work with Professor Colleen Ward and familiarize with the activities and research conducted by the Centre.

Also, I thought being part of a research group and engaging in applied cross-cultural psychology project could offer me the possibility to improve my competences. Nonetheless, the chance to meet other professionals and students in the field and exchange interests and projects was very appealing to me. Last, I believed New Zealand represented the possibility of getting in contact with an active research team with different backgrounds and explore how research in cross-cultural psychology in conducted outside the European Union.

I was supervised by Colleen Ward on mainly two projects: a research project accounting for natives’ perceptions of Muslim immigrants residing in New Zealand and the “Diversity Workshop” at the Wellington East Girls College. I wrote literature review, analysed quantitative data, wrote reports, attended meetings, lectures and labs with the other members of staff and assisted in organizing the activities of the Centre.

I really liked the diverse research environment and the prolific members of the Centre.

I enjoyed being at CACR and I found it very interesting. I felt everything was a chance to discover something new and it was an exciting valuable opportunity which I would recommend to other students. I think this experience was great for me, not only in terms of intellectual stimulation, but also as a life and applied cross-cultural opportunity to learn about cultures, traditions and costumes.

Interests

Multiculturalism, Acculturation, Mutual Cross-cultural Relations, Integration.

Selected publications

Conference

Di Castro, G. (2010, July). Multiculturalism, Acculturation and Mutual Cross-Cultural Relations in Plural Societies: A Case Study of Chinese Immigrants in London and Rome. Talk presented at the XX International Congress of the International Association for Cross-Cultural Psychology, Melbourne, Australia.

Di Castro, G. (2010, July). Acculturation Of Chinese Immigrants In London And Rome: Personal Relationships Among Majority And Minority Group Members. Talk presented at the 2010 Biannual Conference of the International Association for Relationship Research (IARR), Herzliya, Israel.