Participation in ethnic associations: the case of immigrants in West Germany

This paper gives the results of a 1981-1982 study of Greek, Italian, and Turkish immigrants in West Germany. Ethnic organizations such as those that presently exist in large numbers in West Germany are often viewed as indicating a lack of social integration and participation by immigrants in the host society. Whether these organizations segregate the immigrants and make their assimilation more difficult, as research on minority groups often claims, or whether they serve as mediating institutions to help integrate and assimilate the newcomers, as other theories would lead one to expect, will depend on the basic orientation of the ethnic organization itself toward the host country. Results indicate the distinctive characteristics of the organizations serving each of these 3 different groups, the extent to which persons of each nationality participate in these associations, the reasons they give for their participation, and the ways in which participation in organizations with different organizations affects the social integration and assimilation of the individual immigrants. Efforts to increase and support the political activities of minority groups at the local level will have positive consequences; this would be 1 modest but decisive step toward eliminating the mutual prejudices of minority and majority group members. As long as immigrants have a clear right to remain in their host country, a secure means of existence, and recognition and acceptance as members of an ethnic minority, their heritage and pride should not be seen as an indication of any lack of identification with the dominant society.     

Quota Schemes and the Assessment of Employment Handicap in Britain and West Germany

Government legislation, in the form of the Quota Scheme, has proved ineffective in improving the employment opportunities of disabled people in Great Britain and strenuous efforts have been made by the organisation responsible for its implementation–the Manpower Services Commission–to abolish it. In West Germany, however, most organisations employ their quota of disabled people, although this is set at 6%–double the level required of British employers. Is German legislation in this area really more effective? If so, why should this be? And what are the implications for policy in Great Britain?     

The communication industry in economic integration: The case of West Germany

National economies can be viewed as networks of interdependent relations among the firms, industries and sectors that make up the total economic system. Within this economic system. The communication industry plays a central role by providing message and media products and services, i.e. the linking and coordinating infrastructure.Some limited research has been conducted on the nature and importance of the communication industry in the total economic network of a nation. The study reported here, however, represents the first application of currently existing network analysis techniques to this problem on a large-scale basis. The data used for this study represent the interorganizational relationships among 365 West German firms, with a 1970-based stock value of $333,000 or more. Interorganizational linkages are a function of (1) direction of ownership, and (2) magnitude of ownership (percentage of stock owned weighted by the value of the owned firm).The data analysis reveals that there are a number of dominating industrial groups, including a communication industry. The inter-firm relationships of the communication industry have been mapped and measured. The analysis demonstrates that there is relatively little dominance in and widespread integration with other major economic clusters of the economy. These findings are considered as being preliminary since only publically reported data were available, i.e. privately controlled firms are not included in the analysis. A number of measures for connectedness and integrativeness are presented that suggest themselves in addition to the technique of network analysis per se as potential alternative measures. Media scholars as well as economists may want to utilize network analysis as a method to study various forms of economic concentration and ownership in national industries.     

The Delay of Grandparenthood: A Cohort Comparison in East and West Germany

This research explored the delay of grandparenthood in East and West Germany, investigating how the timing and life‐course context of this transition have changed across cohorts. The authors estimated the timing of passages into the grandparent role as well as demographic overlap with worker, parent, and filial roles. Data from the German Aging Survey (N = 3,628) revealed a rise of 3 months per birth cohort (1929–1958) in the median age at grandparenthood. As a result, the grandparent role decoupled almost entirely from active parenthood. Overlap with worker and filial roles was frequent and remained stable across cohorts. The findings direct attention to a neglected demographic trend that is striking in scope and precipitates change not only in the grandparent role but also in kinship structure.     

Candidates on Television: The 1972 Electoral Debates in West Germany

This article explores the nature and effects of the campaigndebates held in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1972. Thefindings indicate that the debates were bruising personal battlesthat emphasized issues and ethics. While they did not have anydirect effects on either candidate perceptions or issue salience,there is evidence that the debates may have had some importantindirect effects on the electorate's ultimate voting choices.     

The Effects of Parenthood on Workforce Participation and Income for Men and Women

This paper examined the effects of parenthood on workforce participation for men and women in the Christchurch Health and Development Study, a 30-year longitudinal study of a birth cohort of 1,265 individuals born in New Zealand in 1977. The findings suggested that the effects of parenthood on workforce participation were different for men and women. For women, parenthood was associated with decreasing participation in paid employment and fewer hours worked. For men, however, parenthood was not associated with decreased workforce participation and in some cases was associated with increased working hours. These findings had consequences for personal income, with 83–90 % of the total gender income gap in this cohort being attributed to gender differences in the effects of parenthood. These findings suggest that parenthood has markedly different effects on workforce participation and income for men and women.     

Gender and the labour market in Europe: Britain, Germany and France compared

This paper has two objectives: to contrast patterns of female labour market participation in three West European societies and to develop a theoretical approach which can encompass both universal features of gender divisions in the labour market and nationally specific ones. Empirically, the focus is on the different levels and forms of labour force participation over the female life cycle, particularly on any resul-tant employment casualization. Consideration is also given to patterns of horizontal and vertical segregation and to pay. The differences between the three countries are explained by positing the existence of nationally specific gender profiles with a differential impact on labour market patterning along gender lines. These profiles are constructed by gender regimes at the level of the state which, in turn, are the result of political struggles and compromises of a variety of political actors. The paper utilizes European statistical data and secondary sources.     

Policy, Preferences, and Patriarchy: The Division of Domestic Labor in East Germany, West Germany, and the United States

Individual agency observed in the gendered division of laboris shaped by structural factors, but only recently has evidenceemerged that the effect of women’s resources varies systematicallyin its sociopolitical context. Here we use the 1994 InternationalSocial Survey Program to assess whether the relative effectof a proxy for women’s and men’s preferences—hallmarkof individual choice—varies as well across three countrieswith divergent historical policy approaches regarding the privatesphere. East German socialist policies required and supportedwomen’s employment; West German policy promulgated a malebreadwinner model, and U.S. policy primarily remains silenton the private sphere. The division of domestic tasks and relativestrength of individual preferences on shifting it vary by region.In the former East Germany the division of domestic labor ismore egalitarian and the effect of preferences is small butequal for the genders. In West Germany the division is moretraditional and preference effects are greater, but gender differencesin these are insignificant. The U.S. division of domestic taskfalls between the two German regions, and the gender differencein preference effects is the greatest, with U.S. men’spreferences predicting significantly more variance than do U.S.women’s. Consequently, allowing the market to dominatedoes not yield equal strength of preferences in the individual-levelmodels used to predict the division of domestic tasks. Thissupports the dual-system feminist claims that capitalism canexacerbate nonmarket patriarchal hierarchies.     

Mass migration governance and openness toward refugees: Comparing Germany and Turkey

This study seeks answers to the question: ‘Under what conditions do communities with migration experience in refugee-receiving states become more open toward accepting more refugees and why?’. The research seeks answers to this question by examining the attitudes of individuals (N = 37) from Turkey who have been living in Germany for at least a year and who have sufficient familiarity with the characteristics of governance of mass migration in both countries. The findings suggest that the respondents are more pessimistic about the consequences of Turkey accepting more refugees in the future, while they are optimistic about the outcomes of the arrival of more refugees in Germany. This study posits that receiving communities' perceptions about the host state's regulatory and institutional capacity in managing mass migration and integration of refugees shape their attitudes toward the possibility of the influx of more refugees over time. The findings indicate that efficient mass migration governance in a receiving state is identified through four characteristics: (i) admission of educated refugees, (ii) proper refugee registration procedures, (iii) systematic integration processes, and (iv) effective monitoring and law enforcement mechanisms. The study concludes that local communities view public authorities as the key actors in managing the consequences of mass migration and establishing and sustaining good mass migration governance at the receiving state level is likely to facilitate positive attitudes towards accepting more refugees.     

Education,Work and Parenthood: Comparing the Experience of Young Men and Women in Sweden

This article analyzes the determinants of young men and women’s entry into parenthood, applying hazard regressions to a combination of longitudinal micro-data from the 1992/1993 Swedish Family Survey and aggregate time-series data. We study the impact of education, labor market attachment and macro-economic change on becoming a parent for both men and women in Sweden since the mid-1960s. Our results show clear gender differences both when it comes to individual characteristics and aggregate-level factors. Even though the effects sometimes differed according to gender, education and labor market attachment were key factors determining the transition to parenthood. Over time the pattern grew increasingly similar for men and women.     

A Longitudinal Study of the Problems and Concerns of Urban Divorced Men

This study examined thoughts, problems, and con- cerns of urban divorced men at three points in time: during the first month of divorce (Time I), at six months (Time 2), and one year later (Time 3). Finances, social relationships, and loneliness were major areas of concern; problems in practical living were least troublesome. These men thought more about financial malters at Time 1 than aboul any of the other areas which were major concerns a year later. Statistically significant decreases existed between T i e s 1 and 2 concerning loneliness, reaction of friends to the divorce, reaction of relatives to the divorce, and also between Times 1 and 3 for h e latter two concerns. Five problem areas (loneliness, former spouse contacts, interpersonal relationships, control and compe- tence, discussing the dworce) were derived through factor analysis of problem and concern items. Statistically significant decreases between Times 1 and 2 and between Times 1 and 3 were found in loneliness and also in control and competence.