Socio‐Cultural Incorporation of Skilled Migrants at Work: Employer and Migrant Perspectives

Migration studies have predominantly investigated the socio‐cultural incorporation of low‐skilled migrants and refugees, fuelled by concerns that these migrants may pose a burden on the state and a threat to social cohesion. Few studies have investigated the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants, perhaps assuming that they will fare well in a country of destination. Using the petroleum industry in Norway as a case study, this article examines the workplace as a key site of transmission of norms and values of the host society. We investigate firm initiatives for the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants and analyse the challenges that these workers experience in the workplace. We then discuss the roles of non‐state actors in the incorporation process and offer suggestions that may enhance the socio‐cultural incorporation of skilled migrants into the host society.     

Parenting is genetically influenced: What does that mean for research into child and adolescent social development?

Individual differences in child and adolescent social development are due to a combination of variation in genetic propensity and environmental conditions. That is, variation in social domains like bullying-victimization, loneliness and pro- and antisocial behaviour is genetically influenced to a substantial extent. That is not to say that social contexts also do not play an important role in shaping social development. Indeed, parenting and parent–child relationship quality have been associated with various aspects of social development. What complicates matters is that environmental conditions – including parenting – are under genetic influence as well. Genetic influence on parenting has not received sufficient attention in the literature on social development although it likely biases estimates of parental effects on offspring social development. To change this situation, I review recent twin and molecular research on genetic influence on parenting and discuss why genetically-informed studies improve and enrich contemporary research into social development. The aim of this topic review is to provide an accessible introduction to genetics of parenting and encourage genetically-informed research into social development.