Divided Loyalties? Understanding Variation in Latino Attitudes Toward Immigration*

Objective. In this article, we develop and test a model of competing theoretical explanations of Latino attitudes toward immigration; specifically examining their policy preferences on legal immigration, illegal immigration, and a proposed policy for dealing with illegal immigrants. We also consider whether Latino attitudes toward legal and illegal immigration are related and comprise a single coherent structure. Method. Using data from a 2004 national survey of Latinos, we perform regression, logit, and ordered logit analyses to examine the determinants of Latino attitudes toward immigration. Results. We highlight three important findings. First, our results demonstrate “within‐group” differences in immigration attitudes among Latinos, based on both national origin and generational status; we find that Mexicans are more pro‐immigration than Latinos from other countries and that foreign‐born Latinos have much more positive attitudes about immigration than second‐generation and third‐generation Latinos. Second, we find that Latino support for various aspects of immigration is primarily a function of ethnic and linguistic identity and attachment to American culture, with self‐interest, contextual variables, and political and demographic attributes playing a smaller, more specialized role. Finally, we demonstrate that Latino attitudes toward legal and illegal immigration are highly interrelated. Conclusion. There is a coherent structure underlying Latino attitudes toward legal immigration, illegal immigration, and a policy option for dealing with illegal immigrants. Our tests of competing theoretical approaches reveal the importance of national origin and ethnic attachment and acculturation in explaining differences among Latinos on their attitudes toward immigration.     

Is Immigration Responsible for the Crime Drop? An Assessment of the Influence of Immigration on Changes in Violent Crime Between 1990 and 2000*

Objectives. The idea that immigration increases crime rates has historically occupied an important role in criminological theory and has been central to the public and political discourses and debates on immigration policy. In contrast to the common sentiment, some scholars have recently questioned whether the increase in immigration between 1990 and 2000 may have actually been responsible for part of the national decrease in crime during the 1990s. The current work evaluates the influence of immigration on crime in urban areas across the United States between 1990 and 2000. Methods. Drawing on U.S. Census and Uniform Crime Report data, I first use ordinary least squares regression models to assess the cross‐sectional relationship between immigration patterns and rates of homicide and robbery among U.S. cities with populations of at least 50,000. Second, I employ pooled cross‐sectional time‐series models to determine how changes in immigration influenced changes in homicide and robbery rates between 1990 and 2000. Results. In the ordinary least squares models, immigration is associated with higher levels of homicide and robbery. However, the pooled cross‐sectional time‐series models suggest that cities with the largest increases in immigration between 1990 and 2000 experienced the largest decreases in homicide and robbery during the same time period. Conclusion. The findings offer insights into the complex relationship between immigration and crime and suggest that growth in immigration may have been responsible for part of the precipitous crime drop of the 1990s.     

Immigration: an election issue that has yet to be addressed?

ABSTRACT

Amongst other things, election year 2017 will be remembered for record levels of permanent and long-term migration. Immigration featured regularly in the media, both as a topic in its own right, as well as a factor associated with a deepening housing crisis in Auckland, increasing congestion on the roads in Auckland and in major tourist towns, and much faster population growth than had been anticipated. Yet immigration was not a prominent issue in either the election or during the first six months of the Labour-led Coalition Government. In this paper we assess the impact of policy changes introduced by the National Government in October 2016 and July 2017. Our analysis draws on several data sets, some of which have been withdrawn from public access regrettably. Declining net migration gains and concerns over exploitation of people on study and short-term work visas has delayed major changes in immigration policy through to June 2018.     

Marxism Is a Developing Theory

Marxisttheoryisintheprocessofcontinualdevelopment.ThiswaspointedoutbyEngelsalongtimeago.In1887hesaidinalettertoanAmericanlady:"ourtheoryisatheoryofevolution,notadogmatobelearnedbyheartandtoberepeatedmechanically."1Andfromthispointofview,Engelsoncewarnedthat,"...onemightexpectfixed,cut-to-measure,onceandforallapplicabledefinitions,"butthisisa"falseassumption."2WhatmakesMarxismscientificisthatfactsaretakenasthefinalcriterion,anditsteadfastlyupholdstheintegrationoftheoryandpractice.Thischaracte…     

Once a NEET always a NEET? Experiences of employment and unemployment among youth in a job training programme in Taiwan

Chen Y‐W. Once a NEET always a NEET? Experiences of employment and unemployment among youth in a job training programme in Taiwan Int J Soc Welfare 2011: 20: 33–42 © 2009 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and the International Journal of Social Welfare. Ten previous participants in a job training programme, ages between 15 and 20, were interviewed face‐to‐face to determine why they were not employed, in education or in vocational training (represented by the acronym NEET) at the time, as well as their related experiences. They were also asked about their experiences and opinions regarding the training programme and their ideas about work in general. Results of the study indicate that most of the respondents did not become NEETs by choice; they did so for economic reasons. Most thought the programme was of little practical help to them and did not increase their chances of employment, but that it did give them social and emotional support and helped them feel better about themselves. Many agreed that the monetary allowance offered by the programme was a good incentive for participation. Implications of the findings for social policy and programme development, especially to the socio‐cultural context of Taiwan, are discussed.     

What's in a service?

The measurement of ‘service’ in children's services is highly varied. We do not know in a meaningful sense what services children and families get. This paper sets out why it is important to measure services well. It outlines the dimensions of ‘service’, how they have been measured in research, policy and practice contexts, and the strengths and weaknesses of these approaches. It then explores implications for the field and identifies potential applications of a more nuanced and consistent approach to measuring services.     

Religiosity as a mediator of caregiver well-being: does ethnicity make a difference?

This study used an adaptation of the stress and appraisal model to examine the mediating effects of religiosity on caregiving strain and gain with an ethnically diverse sample of 384 Alzheimer's disease caregivers. While the regression analysis indicated that religiosity did not mediate the stress of providing care for the entire sample, there were significant differences in the use of religiosity depending on the ethnicity (African American, Hispanic, and White non-Hispanic) of the caregiver, as well as significant differences between the three cohorts in the levels of caregiving strain (depression) and gain (self-acceptance). Implications for the use of religiosity as a protective factor for AD caregivers are discussed.     

Constructing a Marxist Theory of Culture

马克思主义文化理论的出发点和可能基础是马克思主义关于人的活动的统一理论。中国共产党人结合本国历史文化特点,对马克思主义文化理论作出了重大发展。毛泽东思想中关于思想政治工作和文化工作的理论,是马克思主义文化理论与东方社会相结合的典范之作。邓小平理论的形成,表明中国共产党已经形成科学的、成熟的文化和意识形态理论。     

Towards a critical realist epistemology?

When critical realists consider epistemology they typically start from “epistemological relativism.” We find this position necessary, but we also find it insufficient because it lacks a critique of the highly unequal social relations among observers themselves—relations that shape the very production of knowledge. While it is indeed the case that all knowledge is fallible, it is also the case that all knowledge is positioned, with a particular standpoint. What is more, the social power relations between standpoints organize the production of truth in ways that produce systematic distortions. In this paper, we propose a critical realist social epistemology. We introduce feminist standpoint theory and postcolonial theory as our suggested interventions into critical realism and we use two case studies of existing work to highlight i) the social production of truth and the real, and ii) what is at stake for radicalizing epistemology in critical realism. In so doing, our paper emphasizes the epistemic complexities that continuously shape ontology, a commitment to subaltern voices or experiences, and a thorough interrogation of the relations between positions of knowledge production.     

Combining professional work with family responsibilities – a burden or a blessing?

This paper investigates job-related distress and satisfaction with the work--family interface in various combinations of professional work and family responsibilities in Sweden. The study is based on the self-reports of 1,764 male and female university graduates in paid employment and with children at home. For both women and men, conditions at work seem to be most important. However, the division of responsibilities between partners was also found to have an impact, but in different ways for women and men. Only in families where both partners are gainfully employed and share the domestic work and financial responsibilities, was the psychological well-being and the work--family interface satisfactory for both women and men. In other families, negative effects for either women or men are noticed. The conclusion is that multiple roles and shared responsibilities and demands in the private sphere promote health among both women and men.     

Population Control in a Market Economy

Itisofcriticalimportancetoestablishalinkbetweenthenewsocialistmarketeconomyandcontrolofpopulationreproduction,especiallythesizeofthepopulation.Thiswilldeterminethedirectionofreformsinpopulationcontrolinthefuture.Experiencesgainedfromthecoastalregions,whichinitiatedreformandopeningtotheoutsideworld,withtheirpopulationof200million,andfromsomeinlandareaswhichtooktheleadinestablishingamarketeconomy,allowthisproblemtobeexaminedinanewlight.Micro-populationControl:IncreasingtheWeightofBenefitRegula…     

The self-strengthening mechanism in the development of a resource-based economy： with a case study

资源型经济是以矿产资源开发为动力,以能源、矿产等资源部门为主导的经济体系。在资源丰裕区域,由于制造业部门人力资本投资门槛的存在,容易导致对资源部门的投资偏好。一旦资源部门成为主导部门,便会形成资源部门对经济要素特殊的吸纳效应、资源部门的扩张与延伸使产业家族形成粘滞效应、工业化演进过程中的沉淀成本与路径依赖形成对资源功能的锁定效应,产生发展的路径依赖,陷入资源优势陷阱,从而导致资源型经济的自强机制。突破资源优势陷阱的关键在于打破原有的资源自循环机制和路径依赖,引入学习与创新活动,调整资源收益分配机制,实现产业协调和经济转型发展。     

What Makes a Good Decision? Robust Satisficing as a Normative Standard of Rational Decision Making

Most decisions in life involve ambiguity, where probabilities can not be meaningfully specified, as much as they involve probabilistic uncertainty. In such conditions, the aspiration to utility maximization may be self‐deceptive. We propose “robust satisficing” as an alternative to utility maximizing as the normative standard for rational decision making in such circumstances. Instead of seeking to maximize the expected value, or utility, of a decision outcome, robust satisficing aims to maximize the robustness to uncertainty of a satisfactory outcome. That is, robust satisficing asks, “what is a ‘good enough’ outcome,” and then seeks the option that will produce such an outcome under the widest set of circumstances. We explore the conditions under which robust satisficing is a more appropriate norm for decision making than utility maximizing.     

Death and suicidal ideation among nursing home residents in a Chinese city – a pilot study

This paper examines death and suicidal ideation among nursing home residents in a Chinese City using a questionnaire survey data. Findings from the survey show that 17.4% of the participants have death and suicidal ideation, and the prevalence of passive and active ideation are 15.4% and 6.2% respectively. The presence of death and suicidal ideation among nursing home residents correlates with depressive symptoms, life satisfaction, and satisfaction with nursing home services. As death and suicidal feelings are risk factors for suicide, the findings imply that implementing depression prevention programmes and improving service quality of nursing homes are vital in preventing suicides among nursing home residents.     

The Village Election Caught Up in a Road-building Project:Collective Action Involving a Dual Choice

This paper will follow the basic analyti-cal logic of collective action theory in itsresearch, taking as an example an electionand the building of a road in a village in HebeiProvince. The research addresses the issueof what changes take place in the logic anddynamic mechanism of a collective action