The microfoundations of diaspora politics: unpacking the state and disaggregating the diaspora

ABSTRACT

Recognising the need to unpack ?the ‘state’ and? ?problematise? the term? ‘diaspora’, in this special issue we examine the various actors within (and beyond) the state that participate in the design and implementation of diaspora policies, as well as the mechanisms through which ???diasporas?? are constructed by governments, political parties, diaspora entrepreneurs, or international organisations?. Ex??tant theories are often hard-pressed to capture the empirical variation and often end up identifying ‘exceptions’. We?? theorise these ‘exceptions’ through three interrelated? conceptual moves: First, ??we focus on? ??underst?udie?d? aspects of the relationships between states as well as organised non-state actors and their citizens or co-ethnics? abroad (??or at home – in cases of return migration).? Second, ??we? ??examine dyads of ?origin states and specific diasporic communities differentiated by time of emigration, place of residence, socio-economic status, migratory status, generation, or skills. T?hird??,? ?we ?consider? migration in its multiple spatial and temporal phases (emigration, immigration, transit, return??)? and ?how the???y?? inter?sect to?? constitute diasporic identities?? and policies. ??These? conceptual moves contribute to comparative research in the field and allow us to identify the mechanisms? connect?ing structural variable??s with ? specific policies by states ?(and other actors?) as well as responses? by the relevant ?diasporic ?communi?ties??.     

Adoptive and Nonadoptive Mother–Child Behavioral Interaction: A Comparative Study at 4 Years of Age

Comparable samples of low-risk adopted and non-adopted children and mothers were observed during three tasks at age 4 years. Quality of mother–child interactions, child level of functioning in four domains, and maternal parenting satisfaction and social support were assessed. Adopted children were as competent as non-adopted children on measures of developmental functioning. Both groups of mothers expressed high satisfaction and support as parents. However, ratings of child, maternal, and dyadic behavior when interacting were all lower for adoptive dyads than for non-adoptive dyads, and adoptive dyads with boys accounted for the maternal and dyadic group differences.     

Prosocial Tendencies among Chinese American Children in Immigrant Families: Links to Cultural and Socio‐demographic Factors and Psychological Adjustment

The present study examined relations between prosocial tendencies (dispositional sympathy and prosocial behavior) and psychological adjustment using a multi‐method and multi‐informant approach in a socioeconomically diverse sample of first‐ and second‐generation Chinese American children from immigrant families (N = 238, M age = 9.2 years). We tested the concurrent associations between: (a) children's dispositional sympathy (rated by parents, teachers, and children, and observed prosocial behavior), (b) psychological adjustment (parent‐ and teacher‐reported externalizing problems and social competence); and (c) cultural and socio‐demographic factors (children's Chinese and American orientations, family Socioeconomic Status (SES), only child status, and children's age, sex, and social desirability). Results from correlations and structural equation modeling suggested that different measures of prosocial tendencies related differently to children's psychological adjustment. Parent‐ and teacher‐rated sympathy were associated with higher child social competence and lower externalizing problems within, but not across, reporter. By contrast, child‐rated sympathy was associated with higher teacher‐rated social competence, and observed prize donation was associated with lower teacher‐rated externalizing problems. Different measures of prosocial tendencies also showed different relations to cultural and socio‐demographic factors. These findings suggest that prosocial tendencies are not a unitary construct in Chinese American immigrant children: the manifestations of prosocial tendencies and their adjustment implications might depend on the context and/or targets of these tendencies.     

‘A frog in a well’: the exclusion of disabled people from work in Cambodia

Based on ethnographic research conducted in north‐west Cambodia in 2000–2001, this paper examines why disabled people experience systematic marginalisation in the labour market. Although there are no official data on the relationship between disability and employment status in Cambodia, this research suggests that disabled people are more likely than their able‐bodied counterparts to be unemployed, in low status occupations, earn less or be out of the labour market altogether. Consequently, disabled people are more likely to live in poverty, experience social isolation and poor mental health. I argue that disabled people’s social status effectively shapes their work patterns through (mis)conceptions that associate ‘disability’ with ‘inability’ to work and to be employable. This paper illustrates how geographical processes fix disabled people in their socio‐spatial place, which together with ideological and structural inequalities distinguish and entrench their poverty from that of other social groups.     

Mothering and Peer Associations Mediate Cumulative Risk Effects for Latino Youth

The present study examined whether positive parenting and deviant peer associations mediated the relations between a cumulative risk composite comprising financial strain, neighborhood problems, and maternal psychological distress and subsequent youth adjustment problems. Drawn from the Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three City Study, the sample consisted of 449 economically disadvantaged Latino families. Structural equation modeling showed that after controlling for baseline levels of youth adjustment problems, cumulative risk, assessed when adolescents were 10 to 14 years old, was directly and indirectly predictive of youths’ deviant peer associations 16 months later, through mother’s positive parenting. Deviant peer associations, in turn, were proximally associated with youth externalizing and internalizing problems. Findings underscore the role of mothers and peers in Latino youth adjustment problems.     

The voices people read: Orthography and the representation of non-standard speech

Combining features of matched guise tests with sociolinguistic interviewing and oral performance, this study investigates the social meanings carried by non-standard orthographies. Participant evaluations of the personas represented by non-standard orthographies showed that people connected orthography to social identities. Specifically, we found that people uncritically and spontaneously read non-standard orthographies as indices of low socioeconomic status. When we asked participants to read texts out loud, we found marked shifts in their reading performances of texts in standard versus non-standard orthographies. Through a case study analysis of participants' readings and attitudes, we identify two kinds of stances taken by participants towards stigmatized identities indexed by non-standard orthographies. Finally, we use these case studies to argue for the necessity of contextually rich qualitative research methods for the study of language attitudes.     

Eignen Sich Stadtteile Für Den Nachweis Von Kontexteffekten?

Contextual influences of the neighborhood on individual attitudes and behaviors are often tested by means of characteristics of officially defined areas, e.g. boroughs or census tracts. Using such measures can cause problems if the chosen areas are too big to allow for analyzing contextual effects. The study finds that mean neighborhood disorder increases fear of crime only if this effect is tested for small neighborhoods (Stadtteile) of less than six to eight square kilometers, using data on three German cities (Hamburg, Kiel and Munich). Analyzing bigger neighborhoods can lead to serious underestimation of the contextual effect.