What contributes to ethnic minorities’ identification with Hong Kong? The cases of South Asian and Filipino youth

ABSTRACT

The context of Hong Kong has not always been favourable for the integration of ethnic minorities, who face various difficulties in education, employment, and daily life. Research, however, has shown that many minorities, particularly the youth, have developed a fair sense of belonging to the city. To explore this puzzle, this study conducted semi-structured interviews with 20 South Asian and Filipino youth and identified four main factors that may be associated with their local identification. They are (1) experiencing less discrimination, (2) achieving a higher level of sociocultural adaptation, (3) having an inclusive conception of Hong Kong identity, and (4) claiming to have received more social benefits. The findings suggest that the context of Hong Kong is not entirely detrimental for ethnic minorities to develop a local identification. Ethnic minorities themselves are also active agents in the construction of identity. Theoretical and policy implications of the findings are discussed.     

U.K. Foot and Mouth Disease: A Systemic Risk Assessment of Existing Controls

This article details a systemic analysis of the controls in place and possible interventions available to further reduce the risk of a foot and mouth disease (FMD) outbreak in the United Kingdom. Using a research‐based network analysis tool, we identify vulnerabilities within the multibarrier control system and their corresponding critical control points (CCPs). CCPs represent opportunities for active intervention that produce the greatest improvement to United Kingdom's resilience to future FMD outbreaks. Using an adapted ‘features, events, and processes’ (FEPs) methodology and network analysis, our results suggest that movements of animals and goods associated with legal activities significantly influence the system's behavior due to their higher frequency and ability to combine and create scenarios of exposure similar in origin to the U.K. FMD outbreaks of 1967/8 and 2001. The systemic risk assessment highlights areas outside of disease control that are relevant to disease spread. Further, it proves to be a powerful tool for demonstrating the need for implementing disease controls that have not previously been part of the system.     

Adolescent‐to‐parent violence and abuse: Parents' management of tension and ambiguity—an interpretative phenomenological analysis

Adolescent violence and abuse towards parents is under researched, especially in the UK where reports of the phenomenon are increasing with little clear guidance as to how practitioners might respond. In this qualitative study, 6 parents were recruited through youth offending teams and were interviewed about their lived experiences of violence and/or abuse from their adolescent child. Using interpretative phenomenological analysis, 3 superordinate themes emerged (a) the tensions and (b) the ambiguities produced by living with the violence and abuse and (c) the ways that parents manage the harms caused by these tensions and ambiguities. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed, including consideration of how practitioners might support parents who are living with adolescent‐to‐parent violence and abuse to establish healthy and sustainable coping strategies while repairing family relationships.     

Indigenous persons with disability in remote Australia: research methodology and Indigenous community control

Abstract

Decolonisation aims to deconstruct the hegemonic traditional Western academic practices and values that oppress Indigenous peoples. Decolonising research methodologies is a relatively new practice in disability research in colonised nations. This paper details the Indigenous community-controlled research methodology that underpinned a disability research project with the Anangu and Yarnangu of Central Australia, ‘Walykumunu Nyinaratjaku: To Live a Good Life’. The project aimed to identify and explore how to support Indigenous people with a disability in the Ngaanyatjarra Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (NPY) Lands to live a good life. The research was structured on a decolonising methodology to situate the control and governance of the research with the Indigenous peoples. Our experience could assist other disability researchers working with Indigenous peoples in remote communities.     

How do health shocks influence retirement decisions?

The financial viability of the nation’s Medicare and Social Security programs has come into question as older adult workers, in particular members of the baby-boomer generation, begin to voluntarily retire. Obviously, any deterioration in the health of older adults will inevitably increase pressure on the Medicare system. However, if older adults respond to changes in their health by reducing their labor supply, than this will also increase demand for the Social Security system. Using data on married and employed couples from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), this paper determines how the labor supply of each member of a married couple is influenced by changes in the health, assets and medical expenditures of the other member of the couple. Therefore, adding to the extant literature as we determine how the labor supply of an individual responds to health shocks visited on their spouse. We find that the labor supply of both males and females is influenced by their own health shocks and health shocks suffered by their spouses.

Family Structure History: Links to Relationship Formation Behaviors in Young Adulthood

Using data from three waves of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (N=4,538), we examine the intergenerational link between parental family structure history and relationship formation in young adulthood. We investigate: (a) first, whether parental family structure history is associated with young adults' own relationship formation behaviors; (b) second, which dimensions of family structure history are most predictive of children's later relationship formation behaviors; and (c) third, if the association between family structure history and young adulthood relationship formation differs by gender. Our findings provide evidence of an intergenerational link between parent relationship histories and their offspring's own relationship formation behaviors in young adulthood, over and above confounding factors.     

An extended theory of planned behavior intervention for older adults with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease

A randomized controlled trial evaluated the effectiveness of a 4-wk extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) intervention to promote regular physical activity and healthy eating among older adults diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease (N = 183). Participants completed TPB measures of attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and intention, as well as planning and behavior, at preintervention and 1 wk and 6 wk postintervention for each behavior. No significant time-by-condition effects emerged for healthy eating. For physical activity, significant time-by-condition effects were found for behavior, intention, planning, perceived behavioral control, and subjective norm. In particular, compared with control participants, the intervention group showed short-term improvements in physical activity and planning, with further analyses indicating that the effect of the intervention on behavior was mediated by planning. The results indicate that TPB-based interventions including planning strategies may encourage physical activity among older people with diabetes and cardiovascular disease.     

The Future Lives of Sociology Graduates

After earning a bachelor's degree, the fate of sociology undergraduates is mysterious. We know little about how many Canadians have sociology degrees and even less about what they do after graduation. Using a variety of data sources from Statistics Canada, we paint a historical portrait of the discipline by charting how many people, and who, become sociologists. We also examine where they are employed, how much they earn, and how satisfied they are with their degrees. Our findings show that sociology graduates are competitive with other fields of study on both wages and employment, but are less satisfied with their degrees. We stress how the discipline would be wise to pay more attention to our graduates and their opportunities. Nous en savons peu sur l'avenir et le nombre de Canadiens ayant des diplômes de sociologie et encore moins ce qu'ils font après la graduation. Grâce à des données de Statistiques Canada, nous dressons un portrait historique de la discipline en montrant combien de personnes, et quel genre de personnes, deviennent sociologues. Nous examinons aussi où ils travaillent, combien ils gagnent et leur niveau de satisfaction par rapport à leurs diplômes. Nos résultats démontrent que les gradués en sociologie sont compétitifs par rapport aux autres champs d’étude en termes de salaire et de taux d'emploi, mais qu'ils sont moins satisfaits de leurs diplômes. Nous notons que la discipline aurait intérêt à porter plus d'attention sur les gradués et leurs opportunités.