Earnings and transfers: income sources in Atlantic Canada and their relationship to work settings*

Cette communication examine la question des sources de revenus des foyers et comment elles sont combinées. Son but est de montrer que le lieu de l'emploi du chef du foyer dans le monde de travail marginal influence la présence de revenus de transfert dans le montant total des revenus de la famille. Nous partons de l'hypothèse que, même si un emploi est à salaire bas, c'est sa situation dans le monde de travail marginal, plutôt que dans le monde de travail central, qui se montre le prédiseur le plus important du besoin du foyer de s'appuyer sur des revenus de transfert. Nous montrons que les foyers du monde de travail marginal ont plus tendance à recevoir des bénéfices de l' Assurance-Chômage et de l'Aide Sociale que des foyers qui s'identifient avec le monde de travail central. En plus, tandis que les transferts sont des sources importantes de revenus, ils ne sont jamais plus importants que les revenus provenant de salaires, sans regarder au lieu de travail. Cette étude est basée sur des données secondaires provenant d'un échantillon des foyers dans les provinces Atlantiques établi par Statistique Canada. This is a paper about household income sources and how they are combined. Its purpose is to show that the “location” of the job of the head of household in the marginal work world influences the presence of transfer income in the household's “income package.” Our hypothesis is that even though a job may be low wage, it is its location in the marginal work world as opposed to the central work world that is a more important predictor of the household's reliance on transfer income. We show that households in the marginal work world are more likely to derive income from Unemployment Insurance Benefits and Social Assistance than households identified with the central work world. While transfers are important income sources they are never more important than income from earnings, regardless of work setting. This study is based on secondary data drawn by Statistics Canada from a sample of households in the Atlantic provinces.     

Political powerlessness and sociodemographic status in Canada*

Fondé sur une analyse secondaire de l'enquête sur l'election nationale (1974), cet article démontre l'association limitée entre l'expérience de l'impuissance et la position socio-démographique. Il offre une explication qui ne désavoue pas l'importance de la situation sociale, mais qui souligne comment le système social fonctionne de façon à produire des aliénations différentes en conformité avec l'expérience sociale de l'individu. Enfin, il discute l'importance, pour le système politique canadien, de la grande proportion des citoyens aliénés, et particulièrement la direction idéologique qu'un tel groupe prendrait s'il était mobilisé. Based on a secondary analysis of the national election survey (1974), this paper shows the limited association between the experience of powerlessness and sociodemographic position. An explanation is offered which does not deny the importance of social position, but stresses how the social system functions to produce different kinds of alienation according to the individual's social experience. Finally, the significance for the Canadian political system of its large proportion of alienated citizens is discussed with particular concern for the ideological direction of such a group if it were mobilized     

A historical approach to ethnic stratification: the case of the Chinese in Canada, 1858–1930*

Bien que les modèles d'acquisition de situation aient apporté des contributions importantes en mettant en question l'approche culturelle par rapport à la stratification ethnique, une large partie des inégalités ethniques reste inexpliquée. Une part de cette lacune peut être comblée par l'examen du processus historique produisant des conditions de marché restreignant la participation d'un groupe ethnique sur le marché du travail. Ce travail retrace l'expérience des Chinois au Canada entre 1858 et 1930, et entend montrer que les choix de professions de la part des Chinois étaient en grande partie limités par les conditions du marché tels que la demande de main-d'oeuvre à bon marché, et le développement d'un racisme institutionnel. L'apparition d'un marché du travail séparé ainsi que d'une force de travail chinoise occasionnelle peuvent être envisagées comme une conséquence du racisme institutionnel, alors que l'expansion des affaires ethniques constitue une réponse à un environnement hostile. Le cas des Chinois illustre l'efficacité des approches historiques dans le cadre de la stratification ethnique. While status attainment models have made important contributions in challenging the cultural approach to ethnic stratification, a substantial portion of ethnic inequality remains unexplained. Part of this gap may be filled by examining the historical process that produces those market conditions which restrict the participation of an ethnic group in the labour market. This paper traces the experience of the Chinese in Canada between 1858 and 1930, and argues that the occupational choices of Chinese were largely constrained by market conditions, such as the demand for cheap labour and the development of institutional racism. The emergence of a split labour market and a casual Chinese labour force may be viewed as consequences of institutional racism, while the rise of ethnic business, a response to a hostile environment. The case of the Chinese illustrates the efficacy of historical approaches in ethnic stratification.     

ELECTORAL CONSEQUENCES OF "WINNING" TELEVISED CAMPAIGN DEBATES

This study explores the long-neglected impact of a candidatebeing perceived as the "winner" of political debates on individualvoting behaviour in West Germany. While there has been muchresearch on the effects of debates on perceptions of candidatepolicy stands and personality atttributes, there has been littlework that attempts to guage how much "winning" the debate helpsa candidate at the polls. I investigate this process with straightforwardprobit models of the vote choice, including party identificationand candiate evaluation as well as whether the individual judgeda particular candidate as the "winner", or "fared best" in thedebate. These models are run for the 1972, 1976, 1980, and 1983elections in West Germany. The results show that there is aconsistent impact of "winning" the debate on individual votingchoices in West Germany; controlling for party and other factors,there is a significantly higher probability of voting for theparty of the politician the respondent feels won the contest.Debates, then, do ultimately make a substabtial electoral difference.     

Changing Patterns in American Voting Behavior, 1914-1980

This paper analyzes voting behavior for President, Senate, andHouse at the state level for the period 1914–80. The majorfinding of this study is that since World War II, there hasbeen a pronounced trend toward "particularization" in votingfor federal offices. This trend consists of more than the erosionof party attachments among the electorate; it also includesthe dissolution of other traditional electoral ties such aspresidential coattails, the midterm congressional swing, andincumbency. As a result of this trend, the vote in federal electionsis largely determined by factors which are unique to the specificsetting in which each election occurs and by the ability ofcandidates to convert these factors to their political advantagethrough mass media campaigns.     

Leveraging symbolic capital: the use of blat networks across transnational spaces

In this article, we contribute to debates on how social networks sustain migrants' entrepreneurial activities. By reporting on 31 interviews with Eastern European migrants in the UK, we provide a critical lens on the tendency to assume that migrants have ready‐made social networks in the host country embedded in co‐ethnic communities. We extend this limited perspective by demonstrating how Eastern European migrants working in the UK transform blat social networks, formulated in the cultural and political contours of Soviet society, in their everyday lived experiences. Our findings highlight not only the monetarization of such networks but also the continuing embedded nature of trust existing within these networks, which cut across transnational spaces. We show how forms of social capital based on Russian language use and legacies of a shared Soviet past, are just as important as the role of ‘co‐ethnics’ and ‘co‐migrants’ in facilitating business development. In doing so, we present a more nuanced understanding of the role that symbolic capital plays in migrant entrepreneurial journeys and its multifaceted nature.     

What Do We Do Wednesday? On Beginning the Class as University‐Specific Work: A Preliminary Study*

Je pose la question: «Qu'en est‐il au juste des activités des universités qui en font précisément des universités?» Et je l'aborde ethnométhodologiquement d'une manière préliminaire, en examinant la réalisation interactionnelle de ce qu'est, pour les parties présentes, d'une manière observable et rapportable, le début d'un cours à l'université. Rechercher une réponse à la question, étant donné les renseignements sur cassette audio disponibles, provoque l'utilisation réfléchie par les membres des ressources contextuelles catégorielles, séquentielles et autres rendues disponibles par l'encadrement. Les questions de la signification analytique de la méthode documentaire d'interprétation et de l'abstraction des catégories d'adhésion sont brièvement reprises. I pose the question—just what is university‐specific about the activities of universities?—and address it ethnomethodologically in a preliminary way by examining the interactional accomplishment of what is, for the parties present, observably and reportably the beginning of a class at a university. Pursuing an answer to the question, given the audiotaped data to hand, turns on members' reflexive use of the categorical, sequential, and otherwise contextual resources made available by the setting. The questions of the analytic significance of the documentary method of interpretation and of the abstractness of membership categories are briefly taken up.     

Transnational migrant entrepreneurship,gender and family business

Despite increased academic attention paid to migration flows in Europe, the gendered nature of transnational migrant entrepreneurial journeys within the context of a family business remains under‐researched. We address this gap by investigating how transnational spaces allow women to challenge dominant ideas about their roles, and to claim legitimacy by opening branches of their family business abroad. With extensive longitudinal evidence collected over a seven‐year period, we showcase four biographical narratives of women operating transnational family businesses in the UK that had originated in Eastern Europe. Adopting this novel longitudinal approach, we provide insights into how these transnational migrant women entrepreneurs exercise individual agency to overcome structural constraints by developing strategies that prioritize their own business aspirations without fully sacrificing their family ties.