Acculturation Identity and Higher Education: Is There a Trade‐off Between Ethnic Identity and Education?1

This paper examines the role of identification to home and host cultures on the pursuit of higher educations for individuals with immigrant backgrounds. Identity is defined according to a two‐dimensional acculturation framework based on strength of identification to both ethnic background cultures and the majority culture. Results indicate that integrated men that identify with both the majority and the background culture are associated with higher probabilities of completed tertiary educations than men that identify only with the majority culture as well as men with weak affiliations to both background and majority cultures. These results hold despite controls for early education outcomes and socioeconomic status. No systematic differences in higher educational attainment by identity are found for women once differences in early education are accounted for. These results put into question the premise of oppositional identities, i.e., a trade‐off between ethnic identity and higher educational achievement.     

Cultural Identity and Acculturation Preferences Among South Asian Adolescents in Britain: An Exploratory Study

The study reported in this article is part of a wider research project on the adaptation of South Asians in Britain. It examines and compares the acculturation attitudes and cultural identity of Indian and Pakistani second‐generation adolescents Indian (Punjabi Sikh and Gujarati Hindu) and Pakistani (Muslim) in Britain. The research project integrates a social psychological approach to ethnic identity, Berry’s (Cross‐cultural Perspectives. Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1990) acculturation strategy and stress models, and Phinney’s (Journal of Early Adolescence, 9 , 1989:34) model of ethnic identification. There were 240 adolescents, aged 13–18 years, with an even split between the genders. Results from this study suggested that the majority of Indian youth adopted integration strategies as opposed to Pakistani Muslims who adopted a separation strategy. Cultural identity is a term used to include both ethnic and national identities. Ethnic identity scores were high for Indian and Pakistani adolescents. National identity was more important for Indian adolescents but ethnic identity was more important than national identity for all groups. Perceived discrimination was related to acculturation strategies.     

Jokes and routines make everyday life a good life—on ‘doing family’ for young people in foster care in Sweden

The aim of this article is to identify inclusion practices in foster families by studying the everyday life of young people entering various types of foster family. Structure and warmth in the family stand out as important dimensions of everyday life. What is not so evident in previous research is the way emotional ‘warmth’ is created. In particular, joking, gentle teasing and laughing, which in this paper stand out as important inclusion practices, seem to be rather unknown aspects in foster care, as is the importance of doing things together in everyday life. The young people's contributions in creating a good family atmosphere are visible in the study, as is their capacity to adapt to a new family. Daily routines normalise the adolescents' everyday life. Negotiations make them part of important decisions, and may strengthen them as social agents. Foster parents' positive attitude towards birth family facilitates birth parents' support to their children. In this case study, mixed qualitative methods are used: interviews, network maps, ‘beepers’ and video recordings in the foster home.     

Democratic centre,autocratic isolates: the changing field of international visa policies

In the international field of visa policies, states observe how other states act in terms of global mobility control or the facilitation of wanted cross-border mobility. But towards whom do they orient themselves? And what drives nation states to cooperate with others and grant their citizens visa-free travel or not? To tackle these questions, we conceptualise visa waiver agreements as positive relations between two states. A new data collection ‘Visa Network Data’ (1969/2010) provides information on all visa waiver agreements worldwide. By means of social network analysis (blockmodelling), we analyse the global structure of the network of nations in this policy field as well as its change over time. In the centre of the network we find evidence for the existence of a global model at which many others orient themselves. However, a second distinct position in the network shows a high degree of stability: Autocratic states that do not want to be involved in the exchange of these bilateral relations.     

Son Preference and the Persistence of Culture: Evidence from South and East Asian Immigrants to Canada

Preference for sons over daughters, evident in China's and South Asia's male sex ratios, is commonly rationalized by poverty and the need for old‐age support. In this article we study South and East Asian immigrants to Canada, a group for whom the economic imperative to select sons is largely absent. Analyzing the 2001 and 2006 censuses, 20 percent samples, we find clear evidence of extensive sex selection in favor of boys at higher parities among South and East Asian immigrants unless they are Christian or Muslim. The latter finding accords with the explicit prohibition against (female) infanticide—traditionally the main sex‐selection method—in these religions. Our findings point to a strong cultural component to both the preference for sons and the willingness to resort to induced abortion based on sex.     

Medical Handmaidens' Changing Self-image

To examine whether recent social changes were associated with changes in women's self perceptions, the ambitions and self-concepts of incoming female students in three health professions were surveyed in 1976 and 1986. In 1986 students were more ambitious to achieve professional recognition and leadership, more committed to their careers (even when their children were young), wanted fewer children, attached more importance to enjoying life and less to doing good in society, and had more egalitarian attitudes toward women's roles in society. In 1986, students described their self-concepts in more masculine, androgynous and socially desirable terms. Greater career commitment was associated with higher levels of egalitarianism, masculinity and androgyny.     

From Means-Test Schemes to Basic Income in Brazil: Exceptionality and Paradox

This article reflects upon probabilities for the progressive implementation of a basic income in Brazil and presents a proposal to that end. It considers short‐ to medium‐term prospects within a context that lacks a tradition of universal policies. Although a Law approving the right to a basic income became effective in 2005, Brazilian social policies are increasingly focused on increasing the number of means‐tested income programmes while making them conditional on a proven lack of resources and targeting only the very poorest segments of society for a limited period. Such is the case with the Bolsa‐Família programme, which is at the forefront of the Brazilian government's agenda. Our proposal is to progressively move from means‐tested programmes to a basic income through the adoption of a universal child benefit scheme.     

Die Evaluation von betrieblichen Weiterbildungsma?nahmen

Although there is a sharp increase of job training measures in firms we have scarce knowledge if and how the management check the quality of those programs by assigning evaluation instruments. This is especially crucial for training measures which are provided by firm-external trainers. In this paper we focus on the assignment of evaluation procedures which can be analyzed as a result of rational decision making as well as a process driven by institutional determinants. Based on the Swiss Organization Survey on Job Training we test some hypotheses derived from both theoretical frameworks. The results show that the assignment of evaluation instruments varies in respect to the type of job training or the characteristics of the department??s managers. We conclude that the decisions on evaluation measures are driven by cost-benefit analysis as well as imitation of other firms.     

Reduced-hours careers in medicine: A strategy for the professional community and the family

This paper discusses the part-time professional career option, a career alternative thought to promote work-family integration, and asks whether this alternative would increase responsiveness to fluctuations in the demand for professionals. For illustrative purposes, we focus on the current oversupply of physicians in the United States, and discuss: (a) existing strategies to reduce this supply; (b) how current full-time schedules restrict professionals' ability to successfully combine work and family; and (c) the potential consequences of promoting part-time careers for the professional community and for families. Este papel describe la opcion de la carrera profesional tiempo medio, una carrera alternativa que se supone provee la integracion de trabajo y familia y hace la pregunta si esta alternativa aumentaria respuestas a altas y bajas en la demanda de profesionales. Para ilustrar, enfocamos en la actual sobre fuente de medicos en los Estados Unidos y discutimos: (a) estrategias existentes para reducir esta fuente; (b) como horarios de tiempo completo existentes resrictan a profesionales que equivale a la abilidad de positivamente combinar el trabajo y la familia; y (c) las consecuencias potenciales de promover carreras a tiempo medio para la comunidad profesional y sus familiares.