Social identity in the modern United States Virgin Islands

The United States Virgin Islands (USVI) is a complex society with multiple diverse ethnic groups: Black Virgin Islanders, Eastern Caribbean islanders, Puerto Ricans, Spanish Dominicans, French Islanders, Americans (Continentals), Arabs and Asians. These ethnic differences as well as United States cultural imperialism have stymied any uniform Virgin Islands identity. Even though various ethnic groups share fundamental social characteristics, they nonetheless maintain their institutional and cultural differences. Continuous migration from the world over and out-migration of ‘native’ Virgin Islanders have led to ethnic particularism that undermines a contemporary common island identity. Nonetheless, social identity in the USVI can be conceptualized into the bi-level structural analysis of national and trans-Caribbean.     

The Individual and the Ummah: The Use of Social Media by Muslim Minority Communities in Australia and the United States

How are perceptions of self and ummah (community) reflected in social media use by members of Muslim minorities in two Western countries, Australia and the United States? This paper explores the use of social media by members of minority communities for the purposes of self-representation and community-building, and perceptions of social media use among members of Muslim minority communities, as a means for them to challenge the narrative of Islam found in mainstream media associated with homogeneity, violence and militancy. The paper is based on analysis of responses of a targeted sample of members of representative Muslim student organizations at two tertiary institutions in Australia and the United States. Asian countries of origin are strongly represented in the migrant and international student communities of these two countries. The survey respondents were asked about their use of social media in relation to how they engage in public discourse about Islam, and how it is used in the negotiation of their religious and secular identities.     

美国家庭学校课程与教学述评

近年来,美国在家上学的人数不断增加,较高的教育教学质量受到教育界和社会公众的认可与关注.个性化的课程和教学方式是家庭学校成功的重要因素.家庭学校充分发挥了隐性课程的作用,加之灵活的教学方式,适应了学生的发展需要.借鉴美国的成功经验,对于我国家庭学校的良性发展具有重要意义.     

Socioeconomic success of Asian immigrants in the United States

It was the aim of this study to explore the effects of social, cultural, and transnational factors on the socioeconomic success (SES) of Asian immigrants in the United States. The participants in this study were 1371 Chinese, Vietnamese, Filipinos, and other Asian immigrants who were interviewed with computer-assisted software in Mandarin, Cantonese, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and English. The subcategory ‘other Asians’ consisted of Koreans, Japanese, Asian Indians, and individuals of other Asian backgrounds. Results showed that Chinese had a 56% higher probability of SES than other Asians. Men had an approximately 49% higher probability of SES than women due to gender hierarchies and disparities. SES increases for every unit increase in English language proficiency, native language proficiency, social networks, and parental education. Asians who migrated to the United States between the ages of 18 and 34 have an approximately 102% higher chance of SES than a person who migrated after the age of 35.     

Uncertain aspirations: Latino students and dropout in the United States

ABSTRACT

Latinos are one of the fastest growing and most racially diverse students in American schools. Driven by immigration, they account for more than 24% of the kindergarten to high school population. Despite their numbers, the achievement gap between Latinos and their non-Latino peers remains wide since they have the highest rate of dropout. Using data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, we find that Latino students who attend more than one school during their academic career are more likely to dropout than those who do not. We also find lower rates of dropout among children of parents who stated that they did not have difficulties interacting with school administrators due to language barriers. With regards to migration, we do not find immigrant status to be significant in dropout – a noteworthy effect given the increases in raids and deportation by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement.     

Religious Education at Crossroads in the United Kingdom: Muslim Responses to Registration,Regulation and Inspection

Madrasah education is the bedrock of Muslim communities the world over. They are established, in essence, for the religious, spiritual, moral and social development of Muslim children. Recently, the Department for Education in the UK issued a call for evidence for requiring certain out-of-school settings to be registered, regulated and inspected. Responses to this proposal have been varied, some welcoming it whilst others expressed serious concerns. This paper explores the trends in the responses made to these proposals by three Muslim organisations. It begins by providing a nuanced understanding of the terms maktab and madrasah and shows that the call is not a new one at all. Thereafter, the worry of many politicians, educators and faith groups are considered. The findings reveal that Muslim organisations support and welcome measures to strengthen the safeguarding and well-being of children. However, a summative analysis of their responses reveals that they have serious concerns about many aspects of the proposal and the context within which it has been conceived.     

Racial contestation and the emergence of populist nationalism in the United States

Much of the discussion surrounding nationalism still revolves around the ethnic versus civic nation divide. For purposes of this paper it is more useful to view the United States from the tri-modal perspective offered by Anderson, in which the United States is a creole (or settler) nation. All of Anderson's types can be seen as variants of ethnic nationalism. Kaufmann argues that the US evolved from ethnic to civic nationalism by the 1960s. This argument overlooks the importance of phenotype-based racism in the evolution of creole, or white settler colonial nationalism. We want to argue that US nationalism evolved from ethnic, to white racial nationalism in the interwar years. Since the 1920s, the political establishment has opted for civic nationalism that is based upon ‘white assimilationism’. This civic nationalism has been challenged by multiculturalism since the 1960s. In the context of a democratic political culture, the content of American nationalism has become ‘populist’ in the sense that it has come under popular contestation from the assimilationist right and the multiculturalist left. This populist nationalism includes aspects of ethnic and civic nationalism. Racial formation theory will be used to show that national identity may remain under ‘relatively permanent political contestation’ with racial cleavage as a major fault line in that contest. The issues of immigration and the treatment of Muslims since 9/11 will be addressed in order to make the case.     

中国、美国与波斯湾各国互动关系透视

中国以能源为纽带,建立了与波斯湾各国相互依存、平等共赢的国际关系。海湾各国出于平衡美国霸权和确保能源销售市场的目的,积极发展与中国全方位、多层次的关系。中国的外交模式在海湾越来越具有吸引力,中美在海湾形成竞争多于合作的格局。但中国不挑战美国的霸权地位,更愿意当配角。     

移民安置与回族“教坊”的重构——以宁夏红寺堡移民开发区为例

移民搬迁是一项复杂的系统工程,它不仅仅是经济系统的重建,还是社会系统的重构。宁夏回族自治区吴忠市红寺堡移民开发区是目前国内最大的移民开发区之一,在移民安置过程中由于没有考虑到回族内部教派门宦的差异性,没有将同一教派门宦的回族群众集中安置,在移民开发区新形成的众多回族村落中出现一个回族社区多种教派门宦并存的现象,导致宗教活动场所过多,布局不尽合理,对回族社区的整合与重构带来不利影响,无形中也增加了移民成本与回族群众的经济负担。文章在实地调研的基础上,对宁夏十二五期间,回族移民安置工作提出几点建议。     

美国“肯定性行动”的历史沿革——从法律性文件的角度进行回顾与分析

本文通过对美国联邦最高法院有关"反向歧视"系列案件的判决等法律性文件的分析,将联邦政府的种族政策"肯定性行动"的历史沿革划分为"维权时期"、"优待时期"以及"平等时期",提出了"优待时期"只是临时过渡阶段,而"平等"才是最终的追求目标的观点.     

The Muslim Question in Australia: Islamophobia and Muslim Alienation

Islamophobia has become a significant problem across the Western world. Australia is no exception. The emergence of far right groups and a political environment that allows anti-Islamic discourse has created an increasingly unwelcome environment for Muslims, even though multiculturalism has long been a fundamental marker of Australian daily life. The rise of Islamophobia has been damaging to Australia. This paper explores the rise of anti-Islamic sentiments in Australia and the increasing marginalization of Muslim youth, showing that Islamophobia not only breaks the bond between Muslim youth and Australian society, it also polarizes relations within Australian Muslim communities.     

当代美国民族政策述评

美国是一个多民族的移民国家,其民族关系经历了从激烈冲突到相对稳定的变化过程.在这一过程中,政策的制定和调整起着关键性作用.美国民族政策的核心是各民族成员享有宪法规定的平等的个人权利; 任何种族、民族的群体不能要求特殊权利(印第安人除外); 各民族文化可以在统一的美利坚国家认同下得到保护,但各民族成员对其权利的要求不能违背构建美国公民国家的目标.由于美国民族问题的形成历史与人口构成所具有的特殊性,对美国的民族政策应先重于研究、分析,后慎于借鉴.     

爱尔兰移民在美国社会的崛起与融合

在创造美利坚文明的多源移民群体中 ,爱尔兰人可谓独树一帜。同最早来到北美大陆创建殖民地的英格兰清教徒一样 ,爱尔兰人也来自与美国一洋之隔的西欧。爱尔兰移民大多因经济困窘而远渡重洋 ,他们文化落后 ,身无长技 ,且信奉天主教 ,在很长时间里为以盎格鲁 -撒克逊文化占主流地位的美国社会所不齿 ,深受歧视和排斥。但是 ,爱尔兰人并没有因此而沉沦或一蹶不振 ,而是以其特有的民族凝聚力和超凡意志 ,顽强地挣扎于美国社会底层 ,不懈地投身各项经济活动 ,积极参与市政建设 ,坚守并捍卫天主教信仰 ,从而使自己既崛起于美国社会又为美国社会发…     

Seeking Help from Clergy Among Black Caribbeans in the United States

This study examined use of clergy for serious personal problems within a representative sample of US black Caribbean adults from the National Survey of American Life. Logistic regression analysis was used and confirmed the importance of problem type, church involvement, and nativity as correlates of clergy use. Findings for black Caribbeans indicate similarities, as well as important departures from prior research on the correlates of clergy assistance among African Americans. These and other findings confirm the position of black Caribbeans as a distinctive ethnic subgroup within the general black population in the United States.     

中美冲突趋向“非零和”

核武器、远程投射和精确制导技术的掌握使中美两国在未来可能的军事冲突中互无绝对的胜算,经济全球化又使中美两国的经济利益交融互补,因此,在军事和经济两方面的钳制之下,中美之间可能被激化的冲突已不可逆转地趋向“非零和”。     

美国多元文化教育观的演变特点及启示

多元文化教育观是20世纪50、60年代在美国产生,近年传入我国的较为崭新的教育思想.近年来,越来越多的国内学者开始关注多元文化教育,并热衷于多元文化教育观的研究和介绍,因为我国也是一个多民族国家,所以呼吁国内教育界应该提早地关注多元文化教育观的发展趋势.本文认为,美国是一个移民国家,只有几百年的发展历史,因我国民族构成和发展历史不同于美国和西方国家,所以不能完全照搬美国及西方多元文化教育模式.