Options: Racial/Ethnic Identification of Children of Intermarried Couples*

Objective. Whites of various European ethnic backgrounds usually have weak ethnic attachment and have options to identify their ethnic identity ( Waters, 1990 ). What about children born to interracially married couples? Methods. I use 1990 Census data—the last census in which only one race could be chosen—to examine how African American‐white, Latino‐white, Asian American‐white, and American Indian‐white couples identify their children's race/ethnicity. Results. Children of African American‐white couples are least likely to be identified as white, while children of Asian American‐white couples are most likely to be identified as white. Intermarried couples in which the minority spouse is male, native born, or has no white ancestry are more likely to identify their children as minorities than are those in which the minority spouse is female, foreign born, or has part white ancestry. In addition, neighborhood minority concentration increases the likelihood that biracial children are identified as minorities. Conclusion. This study shows that choices of racial and ethnic identification of multiracial children are not as optional as for whites of various European ethnic backgrounds. They are influenced by race/ethnicity of the minority parent, intermarried couples' characteristics, and neighborhood compositions.     

A land of the ‘fair go’? Intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia

This paper contributes to the existing literature on income mobility by developing and applying a two‐stage panel regression model and assessing the effects of using different levels of occupational (dis)aggregation and different earnings measures on the magnitude of father–son earnings elasticities in Australia. We find that the overall intergenerational earnings elasticity in Australia between 2001 and 2013 ranges from 0.11 to 0.30. Our preferred estimates lie between 0.24 and 0.28. Elasticity estimates vary depending on the level of occupational (dis)aggregation and earnings measure used: they are highest when two‐digit level occupations and hourly earnings are used, and lowest when four‐digit level occupations and annual earnings are used. We read these findings as indicating that elasticity estimates are sensitive to the use of different data and methods, and researchers should be careful when undertaking cross‐study, cross‐temporal or cross‐national comparisons.     

How portable is social security for migrant workers? A review of the literature

This article reviews the recent literature on existing mechanisms that allow for the portability of social security entitlements for migrant workers and finds that North–North migrants have the best access to portability. There is limited coordination between origin and destination countries regarding the portability of social entitlements of South–North migrants. These migrants are dealing with discourses and policies that treat them as second class citizens, even as they are providing much‐needed labour to their host countries. South–South migrants are seeing new regional mechanisms addressing portability. However, many of the impacts of these mechanisms are not yet known. Other knowledge gaps on portability relate to internal and South–South migration, the role of gender and other social identities, migrants’ occupations as well as their legal immigration status.     

Asian‐Pacific‐American Partisanship: Dynamics of Partisan and Nonpartisan Identities*

Objectives. This article seeks to understand the development of partisanship among Asian Americans since a significant portion do not choose either major party affiliation, but select an independent or a truly nonpartisan status. With a rapidly growing Asian‐American population, examining its pattern for both partisan and nonpartisan identification has been ignored. This research took a developmental process in which acquisition of any partisan affiliation/identification is a critical juncture for Asian‐American political incorporation. Therefore, considering contributing factors that affect the acquisition of any partisan affiliation as a precursor to specific Asian‐American partisan affiliation/behaviors is our direction. Methods. Using a logistical regression model and data from the Pilot National Asian American Political Survey, a category of variables, including sociodemographic, Asian‐American subgroup status, U.S. political orientations and attitudes, and experiences with U.S. society, are used to understand a partisan and nonpartisan affiliation. Results. This study reveals that aspects of socioeconomic status, political attitudes, and immigrant experiences are important, in varying degrees (especially Asian subgroup status) to understand partisan acquisition for Asian Americans. More so, Asian‐American subgroups, persons with lower educational and income levels, and participants in the labor force are less likely to assume a partisan affiliation. Levels of interest in U.S. politics and length of time in the United States do contribute to a partisan affiliation. Conclusions. Viewing partisan affiliation as a developmental process is an important research avenue to approach the Asian‐American community. The inclusion of not only sociodemographic variables, but experiences and evaluation of the U.S. political system, as well as recognizing the political “culture” of Asian‐American subgroups, provides a more complete understanding of the partisan acquisition process.     

The Roles of Parenting Styles and Social Capital in the School Performance of Immigrant Asian and Hispanic Adolescents*

Objective. This study investigates the role of parenting styles and social capital (parental involvement, intergenerational closure, expectation, and trust) in accounting for school performance among ethnic groups and across immigrant generations. Methods. Using data from the Adolescent Health Survey, we estimate fixed‐effects models to analyze students' grade‐point averages. We compare three generations of Asian students and three generations of Hispanic students to the third‐generation (native born with native parents) white students. Results. We find significant differences by both race/ethnicity and generational status in parenting styles and forms of social capital. However, while family socioeconomic status (SES) accounts for the achievement gap between foreign‐born Hispanic and the third‐generation white students, parenting styles and forms of social capital do not moderate any ethnic‐generational differences. Conclusions. Family influences, apart from SES, cannot explain ethnicity‐generation differences in school grades among Hispanic and Asian adolescents. This study provides conceptual clarification and empirical evidence for the significant but independent association between students' school grades and parenting styles on the one hand, and social capital on the other.     

Multiculturalism and social cohesion: A Japanese community’s perceptions of “being Australian”

Based on a large‐scale survey conducted with parents from Japanese language schools in Sydney in 2015, this paper aims to review multiple dimensions of social cohesion in the Japanese ethnic community in Australia. Looking at several indices such as economic, political, and cultural integration, the paper describes the social profile of the Japanese ethnic community, questioning the generic perception of the community as a coherent body of middle‐class migrants in Australia. This was achieved through a comparative analysis with outcomes of a national survey of the Australian population on social cohesion and draws attention to the ways in which a particular sense of social cohesion with Australian society is constructed by Japanese migrants. The study found a differentiated sense of belonging to the local community, country of residence (Australia), and nation of origin (Japan). It found communal diversity in the Japanese community resulting from there being a majority of women migrants who were part of cross‐border marriages and their children living in multicultural family circumstances. It was concluded that this configuration within the community leads to advocacy related to a re‐identification as a possible ethnic group of migrants that should be recognized in an inclusive migration settlement policy in Australia.     

Constructing Racism in Australia

There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the extent of racist attitudes, broadly defined, in Australia. A telephone survey of 5056 residents in Queensland and NSW examined attitudes to cultural difference, perceptions of the extent of racism, tolerance of specific groups, ideology of nation, perceptions of Anglo‐Celtic cultural privilege, and belief in racialism, racial separatism and racial hierarchy. The research was conducted within a social constructivist understanding of racisms. Racist attitudes are positively associated with age, non‐tertiary education, and to a slightly lesser extent with those who do not speak a language other than English, the Australia‐born, and with males. Anti‐Muslim sentiment is very strong, but there is also a persistence of some intolerance against Asian, Indigenous and Jewish Australians. Those who believe in racial hierarchy and separatism (old racisms) are a minority and are largely the same people who self‐identify as being prejudiced. The ‘new racisms’ of cultural intolerance, denial of Anglo‐privilege and narrow constructions of nation have a much stronger hold. Nonetheless, sociobiologically related understandings of race and nation remain linked to these new racisms. Narrow understandings of what constitutes a nation (and a community) are in tension with equally widely held liberal dispositions towards cultural diversity and dynamism. Encouragingly, most respondents recognise racism as a problem in Australian society and this is a solid basis for anti‐racism initiatives.     

Do Immigrant Minority Parents Have More Consistent College Aspirations for Their Children?*

Objective. Educational aspirations are an important predictor of eventual attainment. We examine if immigrant parents have higher aspirations for their children compared to native‐born parents and whether they are more likely to maintain high aspirations over time. Methods. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study‐Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS‐K), we document differences in the formation and maintenance of white, black, Hispanic, and Asian parents' college aspirations for their children between kindergarten, third, and fifth grades. We also examine the role of acculturation in the stability of immigrant parents' aspirations. Results. We find that immigrant parents are more optimistic about their children's educational trajectories than are native‐born parents and that over time they are more likely to maintain consistently high aspirations for their children. Conclusion. Immigrant parents do not see their children's future as downwardly mobile, and instead remain optimistic, consistently reinforcing messages about college plans throughout childhood.     

The role of local government in migrant and refugee settlement in regional and rural Australia

Government responsibility for the settlement of newly arrived refugees and migrants in Australia is shared between the federal, state and local levels. While Australia's settlement policies are predominantly top‐down and Commonwealth driven with some state involvement, local government has the potential to play a greater role in facilitating the settlement of newly arrived migrants and refugees. A growing body of literature in Australia and overseas highlights the role of local‐level policies in supporting integration and social cohesion, which is arguably even more crucial in the context of migrant and refugee settlement in regional and rural areas. This paper draws on focus groups with 90 local stakeholders in eight local government areas in Victoria to propose a typology of local government involvement that shows the variable but potentially significant role of local government in the regional and rural settlement of recent arrivals. We argue that Australia's over 560 local governments provide crucial but underutilised governance resources for improving the settlement process. This finding has implications for settlement policies and funding, intergovernmental coordination, and the retention of migrants and refugees in regional and rural communities in Australia.     

On Being Unemployed and Being a Victim of Crime

The results of the first Australian National Crime Victims Survey concerning the socio-economic status of victims of crime in Australia are discussed. While the findings on occupational status and household income are somewhat equivocal, the data show a strikingly higher rate of criminal victimization among the unemployed for a number of types of crime. The unemployed, spending a large proportion of their lives in public rather than private space, may paradoxically be more likely to be both victimized by criminals and victimized by the police.     

Anglo‐Australian and non‐Anglophone middle classes: ‘foreign accent’ and social inclusion

Building on the concept of ‘multicultural middle class’, this paper explores social inclusion of professionally educated and employed non‐Anglophone immigrants in Australia. We focus specifically on the perceptions and implications of ‘foreign accent’ in the interaction between two groups of middle‐class Australians: non‐Anglophone immigrants and Anglo‐Australians. ‘Non‐Anglophone immigrants’ are defined as those who arrived in Australia as adults, grew up speaking a language other than English, and therefore usually speak English with a ‘foreign accent’. ‘Anglo‐Australians’ are defined as people born in Australia who grew up in families/households where only English was spoken, therefore speaking with a ‘native Australian’ accent. Through a survey of a targeted sample of respondents, the two groups were asked about their intergroup communication, wider interaction (e.g., intermarriage, friendships and working together) and mutual perceptions. Our findings indicate high levels of agreement between the two groups that Anglophone/non‐Anglophone communication is minimally hindered by comprehension problems due to foreign‐accented speech and cultural differences. Although the positive picture that emerges may reflect specific experiences and attitudes of middle‐class professionals and may not be generalisable, increased contact of the 'multicultural middle class' with its Anglo‐Australian counterpart is likely to be a factor in dissociating foreign accent and negative stereotyping.     

Reinforcing substantive religious inequality: a critical analysis of submissions to the Review of Freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia Inquiry

The parties contributing to the Freedom of Religion and Belief in Australia Inquiry had a strong interest in the role of religion in society. Those making submissions were parochial about the status and importance of their own faith, less positive about religious diversity, more likely to be culturally supremacist, and more likely to independently express anti‐Islamic sentiment than the general population. A large proportion of submissions (40 per cent) included the religio‐centric assertion that Australia is a Christian nation. Alternative voices – that Australia is a multi‐faith country or those that saw Australia as secular – were much less ‘present’ in the submissions. Most submissions argued for the retention of religious exemptions from anti‐discrimination laws and against anti‐religious‐vilification legislation that would protect religious minorities. Christian‐centric voices purposefully undermined movement towards more inclusive social policy and protection of rights. The Christian majority insisted that their position of dominance be affirmed in Australia. The failure of the inquiry to advocate for policy and legislative change to expand religious freedoms (especially to minorities) was a performance of professed ‘state neutrality’ that reproduced substantive inequality. The public submission process was an effective mechanism for reinforcing a privileged relation between the state and Christian organisations, and fails the tests of both fairness and more substantively equality.     

Acculturation and Psychological Functioning in Asian Indian Adolescents

The objective of this exploratory study was to understand how Asian Indian immigrant families adjust to U.S. culture by examining factors that influence acculturation preferences or styles and how these styles may be associated with their children's psychological functioning, as measured by self‐esteem and academic performance. 85 U.S.‐born Asian Indian adolescents (45 girls; 40 boys) and one of their immigrant parents completed questionnaires about family demography, self‐identification, acculturation, and religiosity. Adolescents also completed a self‐perception profile. Results showed parents and adolescents had similar styles of acculturation. However, adolescents were more likely to self‐identify as ‘Indian‐American’ than were their parents. For both adolescents and their parents, integrated and assimilated acculturation styles were related to family SES, years of U.S. residence, and religiosity scores. Adolescents who had an integrated acculturation style had higher GPAs and higher scores on the self‐perception profile than did adolescents who were separated or marginalized. The findings lend tentative support for an integrated style of acculturation in promoting positive outcomes for first generation Asian Indian adolescents.     

Occupation and Suicide

Objective . Research on occupation and suicide has neglected multivariate models. It is not clear, for example, if persons in alleged "high-risk" occupations have high suicide risk because of occupational stress associated with the occupation or because of the demographic composition of the people in the occupation. The present study explores the relationship between occupation and suicide for 32 occupational groups. Methods . Data are from the national mortality file tapes, which cover 21 states. They refer to 9,499 suicides and 134,386 deaths from all other causes in 1990. Results . Bivariate logistic regression models find a total of 15 occupations with either significantly higher (e.g., dentists, artists, machinists, auto mechanics, and carpenters) or lower (e.g., clerks, elementary school teachers, cooks) risk than the rest of the working-age population. Multivariate models that remove the demographic covariates of occupation find only eight occupations with greater or lower than expected risk of death by suicide. Conclusion . The results underscore the need for demographic controls in the assessment of occupational risk of suicide. They are consistent with a previous study based on data from England. The findings provide the first systematic evidence on the problem for the United States.     

ARE THERE MIGRANT ENCLAVES IN AUSTRALIA? - A SEARCH FOR THE EVIDENCE

Studies have shown that although migrants in general fare worse in the labour market, some migrant groups perform better than others (McAllister 1986; Evans and Kelley 1986; Kelly and McAllister 1984). Studies from the US have also shown that migrant workers working in the ethnic enclaves attain higher socioeconomic rewards compared to the immigrants employed in the secondary sector (Wilson and Portes 1980; Portes and Jensen 1989). Using data collected from the Survey of Issues in Multicultural Australia (1988), this paper reports that ethnic enclaves as a separate economy do not exist in the Australian labour market where migrants can obtain higher status or higher earnings. The paper concludes that the formation of ethnic enclaves as a separate economy needs much more than the establishment of ethnic owned enterprises.     

Emigration from Zimbabwe: Migrant Perspectives

This article explores migration from Zimbabwe to the UK and South Africa and the experiences of the receiving countries from the perspective of the migrants. It provides a critical examination of the impact of structural barriers in both the UK and South Africa on the economic experiences of migrants. The effects of immigration status, due to the exclusion of asylum‐seekers in the UK and the presence of undocumented migrants in the UK and South Africa, is explored in relation to employment and remittance activities. The clear evidence of the deskilling taking place among the majority of Zimbabwean migrants – and its impact on remittances and other forms of transnational support – is also examined. The article concludes that any real commitment to alleviating global poverty on the part of the world's migrant receiving countries must include a re‐examination of barriers to employment, education and the use of skills, since these barriers not only have a short‐term impact on remittances to the sending country and fiscal capacity to contribute in the receiving country, but will also impact on longer‐term development should the migrants return to their country of origin.     

市场转型与职业性别垂直隔离

在社会学研究中,把男女劳动者进入不同职业称之为职业性别的水平隔离,而男女劳动者在同一类职业中从事地位不同的工作,则是职业性别的垂直隔离。本文关注中国市场转型过程中职业性别垂直隔离的趋势。笔者从2009年八大城市调查数据发现：即使在没有性别水平隔离的中性职业中,也同样存在着性别垂直隔离,且市场转型加剧了职业性别垂直隔离程度。