Multiculturalism in social agencies for the aged

Abstract

This study uses content analysis and visual representation methods to explore how multiculturalism is displayed on the websites of agencies providing social care for the aged. These agencies use strategically planned texts to portray multicultural categories of inclusion, diversity and individuality; and emphasize the text referents through ethno-related pictures as universal equivalence symbols for ethno-cultural diversity. With the few cases of non-text referents, which are open to cultural and sociological relativities, the study posited that the patterns and modes of portraying multiculturalism are similar. It concluded with the need for further studies to establish whether state policies or agencies' market strategies are behind the liberal multicultural references. © 2014 Akintayo et al.; licensee Springer.