Business and Social Profiles of Immigrant‐Owned Small Firms: The Case of Pakistani Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Greece

This study examines Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs in Greece in order to identify patterns of ethnic entrepreneurship and socio‐economic challenges faced by ethnic entrepreneurs. The research aims to enhance understanding of the characteristics and business profiles of Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs in Greece's capital, Athens, and make recommendations for the development of a follow‐up three‐year longitudinal study of Pakistani immigrant businesses in Athens. A survey administered to 13 Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs recorded a wide range of data from which frequency distributions were processed as well as cross‐tabulations and Chi‐square tests, to reveal strong associations. Findings of note reveal that Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs set up enterprises with their own capital rather than turning to the private financial sector, are mostly well‐educated despite earlier research noting the opposite, Greece is the terminal migration destination of choice for Pakistani immigrant entrepreneurs, their market‐share of work permits is proportionately larger than their residence permit share, they differ from other ethnic groups by substantial preference for operation of call centers, and they are very much bound to their ethnic enclaves. This body of research offers a unique contribution to an area which has until now been largely ignored.     

Romantic relationships,college student alcohol use,and negative consequences of drinking

This study examined whether being in a romantic relationship is associated with undergraduates’ alcohol use and negative consequences of drinking. Alcohol use was operationalized to include amount and frequency of drinking, binge drinking, and drunkenness. Negative consequences included: having a hangover, missing a class, getting behind in school work, doing something that was later regretted, forgetting where the student was or what they did, having unplanned sex, and getting hurt or injured. Data came from an online survey distributed to Midwestern undergraduate students (N = 572), with analyses conducted separately for men and women. Results indicated that being in a committed relationship generally served as a protective factor against drunkenness, but did not reduce frequency of drinking or binge drinking. Whereas romantically committed men were only less likely to report doing something that was later regretted, women in romantic relationships were less likely to experience all negative consequences of drinking considered here.     

THE IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL FORM OF ORGANIZATION ON SMALL CORPORATION EXTERNAL FINANCING

This article quantitatively evaluates the impact of legal form of organization (LFO) choices, C versus S corporation, on small business external financing. A treatment effect model is formulated and estimated to examine the relationship between corporate types and chances of obtaining external financing. The estimation takes into account self‐selection bias associated with LFO choices. This article finds that LFO choices mainly affect small corporations' access to external equity capital, but have no significant impact on loan financing. Specifically, when a small corporation selects the C corporate legal form, the probability of obtaining new external equity is eight times higher compared to when it selects the S corporate legal form. Furthermore, the results suggest that better access to external equity investments, loosening business capital constraints, leads to better growth prospects for small C corporations. These empirical results have important macro‐economic implications on corporate financial and fiscal policies. (JEL G32, G38)     

Regarding the Protests of Others

While much social movement research focuses on how activists actively cultivate affect and how social movements benefit from shared emotions, these ideas rarely intersect with research examining how race constructs emotional responses in a white settler society. I bridge this theoretical divide by examining the 2009 Tamil diaspora protests in Canada to study dimensions of suffering and apathy through the construction of the racialized protest(er). Drawing upon illustrations from a critical discourse analysis of 153 mainstream news articles and interviews with activists and journalists, this paper explores how racial logic frames media and public discourse through (1) the expression of protesters’ suffering and (2) the construction of racial apathy by the Canadian public. The paper theorizes why and how race frames the production of suffering and apathy, and offers considerations for social movement theory.     

The Co-production of a Community: Engaging Citizens in Derelict Neighbourhoods

In order to deal with “wicked problems” like inequality and social exclusion, one needs the support of committed citizens (Brandsen et al. in Manufactured civil society: practices, principles and effects, Palgrave, London, 2014). A promising setting to examine to what extent this is the case is that of community development projects in derelict neighbourhoods where the largest representation of ‘marginalised’ citizens can often be found (Head in Community development: theory and method of planned change, Vikas Publishing House, New Delhi, 1979; Needham in Personal co-production, 2009). In this article, we examine to what extent citizens are actually involved in local co-productive community development projects (in the city of Ghent, Belgium), and how professional field workers influence this engagement. We focus on three different potential effects of co-productive community development (inclusion and empowerment of citizen co-producers and the equity in the benefits they receive), and whether professional support can influence these effects. We find that co-production in community development projects may lead to more inclusion, empowerment and equity. Moreover, it is posited that the presence of professionals in their different roles does have a positive impact on co-productive community development.     

Patronizing Speech to Older Adults

We measured the use of patronizing speech among young adults who were instructed to provide directions (via an internet connection) to a newcomer to campus described as 21 or 65?years old. As predicted, the acoustic properties used with older adults were moderated by the speakers?? history with older unrelated adults (no comparable effects were found for speakers?? history with grandparents). Participants with relatively low contact with unrelated older adults were more likely than those with high contact to be judged as sounding ??patronizing?? and to display acoustical properties associated with patronization (high vocal intensity, high pitch) with older newcomers. However, participants showed a shared tendency to speak more slowly to older than young adults. Findings inform our understanding of the circumstances under which ageist speech is amplified or attenuated.     

Partner Violence in Transgender Communities: What Helping Professionals Need to Know

ABSTRACT

In recent decades, there has been an increase in scholarly attention devoted to the study of intimate partner violence (IPV) within rainbow communities. While a growing body of scholarship now informs our understanding of the experiences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual men and women with IPV, comparatively less is known about IPV within transgender communities. Drawing on the published literature on transgender intimate relationships, this article seeks to provide practitioners with a foundational understanding of IPV in the lives of transgender people. Specifically, we will examine (a) methodological, political, and social barriers to the creation of knowledge about transgender IPV; (b) the familial and relationship contexts of IPV within transgender communities; (c) the prevalence of IPV experienced by transgender survivors; (d) the dynamics of IPV perpetrated against and/or by transgender persons; (e) the problematic use of the “trans panic” defense by perpetrators of IPV in legal contexts; and (f) recommendations for supporting transgender survivors of IPV in ways that are trans-inclusive and trans-positive.     

Ageism: A Review of Research and Policy Implications

The current literature on aging and ageism is summarized in support of a theoretical perspective that includes both the biological and the psychosocial components of these processes. Conceptual and methodological problems are identified in models that rely on a deficit approach to aging. We suggest that the biased responses of others foster older adults' stress-related emotional and hormonal responses—responses that may effectively reduce their social and cognitive competence. This negative feedback process ultimately acts in a stereotype-maintaining fashion. Implications are drawn for possible changes in social policy and institutional practices that may reduce or prevent the harmful effects of ageism. Examples are given of existing policies and practices that limit the lives of older adults (in the guise of protection), along with newly instituted policies and practices (including those at an international level) that place the welfare of older adults in the context of life course issues shared by all.