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.     

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.     

Determinants of obesity: The case of Germany

Obesity now has the rank of a global epidemic, but finds its severest expression in the economically advanced parts of the world. This study offers an interdisciplinary analysis of obesity in Germany, including socio-economic factors. In comparison to related studies, it uses a continuous BMI variable as well as an improved empirical design. The coefficient of the term for sport activities is significantly negative, and the coefficient for the age terms are significantly positive. The results for the income variable are ambiguous. Cigarette consumption does not indicate negative relationships with individual BMI-levels. No evidence was found for systematic differences in BMI between the eastern and western regions in reunified Germany.     

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.     

Assimilation of Foreigners in Former West Germany

Migration movements to industrialized countries have grown in number and size, and the presence of large numbers of immigrants has raised concerns about their integration and assimilation into host societies. This article is an empirical study of assimilation of foreign nationals in Germany. Their experience may hold lessons for other relatively recent immigration destinations. As expected, language is one of the most critical factors for determining integration and assimilation at the workplace and in society. Our results indicate uneven success in these two areas, and suggest that greater language skills may be required for social assimilation, compared to economic assimilation. Among the most important findings of our study are the strong and statistically significant effects of the attitudes by Germans toward immigrants, the significant influence of the region of residence, and the ambivalence of German‐born foreign residents toward naturalization and continued stay. This signals the failure of past integration and assimilation policies. The results show that negative attitudes by ethnic Germans against others at work or in society, in general, reduce interest in integration and assimilation. This is neither new nor surprising and this research does not contribute new theoretical insights, but it demonstrates the magnitude and significance of the effects. The question of why different locations seemed to have different impacts on citizenship aspirations is beyond the scope of this article. The data do not provide information to pursue this question and we suspect that the causes are too complex for a short answer. As expected, non‐EU citizens showed greater interest in acquiring German citizenship than EU citizens. Finally, the results also indicate that the immediate post‐World War II notion of “guest workers” was not completely false. There has been significant return migration and a significant number of respondents to the survey say that they intend to return.     

Construction and economic development : The case of Singapore

During the 1960s and 1970s, construction was seen as a possible leading sector for LDCs to modernise their economies. The basis for this view was an alleged correlation between construction output and national income. By the 1980s, it was realised that increasing construction output may face severe structural and supply constraints. The purpose of this paper is to subject both the modernisation and structuralist views to close scrutiny by considering the role of construction in Singapore's colonial and post-colonial economic development. The main findings are: (a) the alleged correlation between construction and economic development may not hold because part of the construction output may represent a misallocation of resources; (b) the supply-side constraints may have been exaggerated; and (c) both views downplay the crucial role of class structure and the manner in which a country is integrated into global capitalism in accounting for the level of construction output.     

Out-of-partnership births in East and West Germany

Review of Economics of the Household - Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), we show that single women in East Germany are significantly more likely to give birth to a child than...     

Teenage boys and girls in West Germany

In 1970 the Institute for Sex Research at the University of Hamburg conducted a study of 302 males and 300 females aged 16-17. By age 16, 92% of the boys and 50% of the girls had experienced masturbation, 35% of the boys and 30% of the girls had experienced coitus. In the year before the study, 50% of the girls had an orgasm often or always during coitus. Boys achieved 80% of their orgasms through masturbation, 6% through petting, and 14% through coitus. The girls achieve 1/3 of their orgasms through each of these patterns. 18% of the boys and 6% of the girls had had at least 1 homosexual experience. About 70% of the respondents used contraception regularly. 40% to 50% used oral contraceptives and 20%-30% used condoms. The attitudes towards premarital coitus have become more permissive in the last 10 years, but the majority are still in favor of love and fidelity, and are oriented towards marriage.     

Greek immigrants in Australia: demographic developments and economic integration

"The purpose of this article is to present and analyse the migration, economic standing and economic performance of Greeks in Australia and to make a comparative assessment with the Australian population. The demographic and education characteristics of Greek immigrants, and to some extent second generation ethnic Greeks, and their bearing on immigrant employment and income are investigated. Intertemporal developments and intergenerational and interethnic changes are explored in order to identify and explain similarities and differences, or inequalities, between Greek immigrants and the total Australian population." (EXCERPT)     

Copyright regulations as political and economic leverage: the case of the online video industry of China

The recent popularity of video websites has transformed video copyright into one of the most critical issues in regulating the online video industry, especially in countries where video websites have started to thrive because of loose copyright regulations and low public consciousness of copyrights. This study explores copyright regulations in the emerging video website market in China, their objectives and measures, and their effects on the industrial outlook of China. Copyright has been used as political and economic leverage in regulating and shaping the video website market, thereby transforming this industry from an unrestrained Internet medium into a politically obedient and profit-driven business. The consequences of this transformation are analyzed and discussed.     

The employment of migrant workers in West Germany and Belgium. A comparative illustration of the life-cycle of economic migration (1960-1980)

A comparison of foreign labor migration patterns in Belgium and the Federal Republic of Germany is presented for the period from the 1960s to the 1980s. The authors note that this migration follows a structural pattern, which they classify as the life cycle of economic migration, and is strictly linked to trends in the economy. However, a cyclical pattern of migration exists in Germany but not in Belgium. The reasons for the differences observed are considered, and the authors suggest that these differences may be due to the longer tradition of economic immigration existing in Belgium. Thus, immigrants are more integrated into the Belgian economy, whereas they are more separated in Germany and therefore more susceptible to ebbs and flows caused by changing migration policies.