Ethnic Resources Research Articles

Национальная и Региональная Идентичность в Дискурсе Официальной Прессы Санкт-Петербурга

SUMMARY: This article analyses the semantic space of national and regional identities as represented in the two major state-owned dailies of the city of St. Petersburg, the Sankt-Peterburgskie Vedomosti (run 233,000) and Nevskoe Vremia (run 85,000). The authors show how the national idea in the pro-government newspapers is transmitted through the language of regionalism, and how regional historical memory (like the Blockade of Leningrad) substitutes for the all-national one. National belonging is defined there on the basis of an inclusive and tolerant ideology; not by ethnicity, but by cultural and common historical experience and memory (which is true for regional identity as well). The absence of a clear definition of “nation” together with the rejection of the ethnic resource of regional mobilization explain the fluidity of borders between national and regional identities in the case of St. Petersburg. Sometimes national and regional discourses fully coincide and reinforce each other. The authors see this as a healthy development under the condition that the region is not opposed to the “center.”

South Asians in East Africa (1880-1920) with a Particular Focus on Zanzibar: Toward a Historical Explanation of Economic Success of a Middlemen Minority

Abstract The main object of this article is to falsify the common historical portrait of South Asians in Zanzibar and East Africa. Most studies, a-priori, assume the outstanding business success of the Asian minority in East Africa. In explaining this success, they emphasize common explanations and theories for their economic success, like hard work, having a superior business mind, using their ethnic resources for capital accumulation and knowledge of (international) markets. In this article I attempt to explain the success of South Asians in Zanzibar, East Africa, from a historical point of view. My main argument is that South Asians started with a far more favorable socio-economic position as compared to their African counterparts. They were more than Swahilis, accustomed with a money economy and the concept of interest. In addition, they knew how to read, write and produce account books. Finally, they had access to the rulers, and were able to negotiate profitable terms of trade. Nevertheless, many were not successful at all and went bankrupt. Therefore, the success of South Asians in East Africa may be explained as the outcome of a 'trial and error' process. The successful remained in East Africa, whereas others left. India remained a safety net for those who did not make out as well as a source for new recruitment of traders, shopkeepers and clerks.

Panethnicity and Ethnic Resources in Residential Integration: A Comparative Study of Two Host Societies

The racial and ethnic structure of a host society as well as its institutional and ideological context of integration shape the ethnic integration process. To examine these forces for residential integration, this study compares three panethnic groups in Canada and the United States using tabular data from the 2001 Canadian and the 2000 US censuses. Two ways in which the social context is important are identified. First, the social context affects how groups are distributed across urban neighbourhoods. As expected, being a Black ethnic group meant being less segregated in Canada than in the US but Asian groups were more segregated, controlling for group characteristics and the urban and regional context. White ethnic groups in both countries were similarly segregated. Second, the social context influences the process of incorporation itself. The effect of ethnic resources, in terms of acculturation and socioeconomic status, was dependent on the group and host society. The results demonstrate that the national context plays a significant role in the way panethnic group membership influences the spatial processes of ethnic groups in the urban neighbourhoods of the two host societies.

Unpacking Regional Ethnicity and the Strength of Ties in Shaping Ethnic Entrepreneurship

This study is based on an interpretive content analysis of oral history data and documentary data on ethnic Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs in Singapore and their enterprises. This data is complemented by personal interviews with family members, informants and business community leaders, as well as historical analysis. The data reveals that most ethnic Indian entrepreneurs maintained their trade specializations and family management, whereas most ethnic Chinese entrepreneurs pursued unrelated diversification and incorporated outsiders into their operational management over time. What is particularly intriguing is the existence of an intra-ethnic division in business structure among the ethnic Indian enterprises. I argue that the opportunity structure in the country of residence and ethnic resources play only a limited role in shaping the differential management and business structures of the two ethnic groups. Rather, I attribute such differences primarily to the differential strength of ties of the entrepreneurs to their region/dialect-based networks. The strength of the ties reflects the degree of intra-community homogeneity and inter-community heterogeneity. These arguments are presented in the form of hypothesized relationships for future validation. The paper concludes with a critique of the structuralist, culturalist and interactionist perspectives on ethnic entrepreneurship, and suggests directions for future research into intra-ethnic entrepreneurship, comparative business systems and the paradox of embeddedness.

The Future of Multicultural Social Work

Multicultural social work has been evolving over the last forty years despite challenges in limited knowledge, insufficient resources, and inadequate infusion into the curriculum. Discussions continue about appropriate conceptual frameworks, culturally sensitive terms, traditional and indigenous practice approaches and treatments, and relevant outcome measures and evaluation methods. Future directions foster the inclusion of cultural values as strengths. Intersectionality guides practice approaches and systems of care. Service learning requirements, national ethnic resource centers, and ethnic resource centers, and ethnic studies dual degree programs are innovative initiatives yet to be fully integrated into social work curriculum.

Individual characteristics vs. city structural characteristics: explaining self-employment differences among Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos in the United States

Using data from the 1990 Census Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS), this paper tests several theories explaining differing rates of self-employment for Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino. The primary purpose is to separate out the effects of individual characteristics versus structural effects by city. The primary conclusions reached are: (1) differences in individual characteristics explain much of the differences in city self-employment rates for Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos and (2) theories explaining high rates of ethnic self-employment based on ethnic resources, disadvantage/discrimination, differences in self-employment earnings and wage earnings are tested but none universally explain much of the differences in city self-employment rates for any of the three groups.

The Commodification of Ethnicity in an Asian Indian Economy in Chicago

Sociological literature posits the. ethnic economy as a labor market that enables immigrants to procure employment through ethnic group membership. Recent scholarship documents employment practices that question this model of kinbased employment and ethnic loyalty and underscores the need to contextualize economic behavior within specific urban environments. The present paper contributes to this discussion by elucidating the role of ethnicity in an Asian Indian ethnic economy in Chicago. Data indicate that traditional forms of ethnic capital are less salient for employment than ethnic resources vital to maintaining an identity tied to commodity sectors distinctive to the Indian ethnic economy. [Asian Indian immigrants; Chicago labor market; ethnic capital; ethnic economy; immigrants]

The Politics of Violence on an Indonesian Periphery

Of the many cases of regional strife in post-Suharto Indonesia, few match the complexity of West Kalimantan, an outlying province rich in ethnic heterogeneity and natural resources. Forms of violence in West Kalimantan fit neither the category of massive regional violence: non-separatist strife that first exploded in the post-Suharto state (Maluku Islands, Poso and Central Kalimantan) nor separatist-related violence suffered over the course of the New Order (Aceh, Papua and Timor), which, not incidentally, then intensified following Suharto's fall. Only West Kalimantan experienced sustained, non-separatist violence that traversed the entirety of the New Order. In this way, this case complicates claims that Indonesia's current regional violence is merely an outcome of the instability of the incipient post-Suharto state, or that regional bloodshed under the New Order was but a by-product of separatism. In particular, this article examines the rise of ethno-political movements in West Kalimantan that grew out of two recent incidents of widespread civilian violence: the 1997 Madurese–Dayak riots and the Malay (and later Dayak)–Madurese episode of 1999. In this analysis, three interlocking mechanisms come to the fore. The first two are the specificity of local historical trajectories and the politicization of ethnicity. The third mechanism is the complex interplay between élites, with the routinization of violence among belligerents in the sparking of upheaval. Although these ethno-political revitalizations purport ‘local’ orientations, broader, national processes have also provided the opportunities and space essential for their dynamism to flourish.

Self-employment policies and migrants' entrepreneurship in Germany

This paper presents results from a European project on policy and migrants' entrepreneurship in Germany. It develops a concept of biographical policy evaluation by analysing the extent to which the biographical processes that have led to self-employment among migrants in individual cases correspond to those anticipated by policy. The study identifies a biographical structure composed of two phases that shape the status passage to self-employment. During these phases, personal resources are mobilized and/or attempts are made to access policy support. Self-employment policies are fragmented in that they are designed to address specific stages of the process. Migrants are often excluded from policy participation, either as a result of policy failures or through a manner of implementation that is frequently influenced by prejudices and stereotypes. Deprived of class resources and sometimes unable to utilize ethnic resources, migrant would-be entrepreneurs require public support. The ‘bridging allowance’ scheme to encourage self-employment among the unemployed currently in place in Germany (Überbrückungsgeld) could serve as a model for a more adequate support policy for non-privileged business starters that would better allow for the participation of migrants.

OVERCOMING LIMITATIONS OF COOPERATIVE LEARNING AMONG COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENTS

Two limitations are commonly associated with cooperative learning. First, community college faculty often express uncertainty about how to evaluate the teamwork skills that their students demonstrate during group work. Faculty would like to be effective judges of what happens during a group project but they are seldom close enough to witness the interaction process and, even when present, cannot tell how the initiatives of some team members affect others. The Interpersonal Intelligence Inventory (III) can be used to assess the interpersonal skills among community college students. The III provides information to faculty about what occurs during team interaction from the students point of view and gives anonymous feedback to students from peers detailing their personal strengths and limitations. A second limitation of cooperative learning involves the provision of tasks that enable students to practice the teamwork skills they are expected to learn. A new model of learning and instruction, Collaboration-Integration Theory (CIT) broadens the base for curriculum by incorporating the cultural, ethnic, and generational resources students rely on outside of school. The method of instruction for implementing CIT is known as Cooperative Learning Exercises and Roles (CLEAR). This approach ensures that students move from a passive to an active role, makes the collaborative process a focus for group work, allows everyone a chance to offer a unique contribution to the thinking of peers, reduces student boredom by differentiating roles, and allows sufficient observation of individual behavior to support fair peer evaluation.

Silicon Valley’s New Immigrant High-Growth Entrepreneurs

This article examines the economic contributions of skilled Asian immigrants in Silicon Valley—both directly, as entrepreneurs, and indirectly, as facilitators of trade with and investment in their countries of origin. Skilled immigrants account for one third of the region’s engineering workforce and are increasingly visible as entrepreneurs and investors. Two thirds of the region’s foreign-born engineers were from Asia. Chinese and Indian immigrants in turn accounted for 74% of the total Asian-born engineering workforce. In 1998, Chinese and Indian engineers were senior executives at one quarter of Silicon Valley’s technology businesses. These immigrant-run companies collectively accounted for more than $26.8 billion in sales and 58,282 jobs. The region’s most successful immigrant entrepreneurs rely heavily on ethnic resources while integrating into the mainstream technology economy. The challenge for policy makers will be to recognize these mutually beneficial connections between immigration, investment, trade, and economic development.

Enacting their Business Environments: Asian Entrepreneurs in East Africa

ABSTRACT The main objective of this paper is to contribute to explaining the outstanding business success among the Asian diaspora in East Africa as compared to the native African population. Taking an actor's point of view, the business context is analysed against a theoretical background of alien entrepreneurship and a presentation of the history of Asians in the region. A main argument is that the alien entrepreneurs are in a better position to enact their business context in a manner favourable for success, based on ethnic resources such as kinship, education and pride, mobility and communication and social networking. The main policy recommendations include mechanisms to improve information flows and networking capabilities of indigenous business people.

Helping out: Children's Labor in Ethnic Businesses

The growing body of literature on ethnic businesses has emphasized the importance of small family-based businesses as a key form of immigrant adaptation. Although there have been numerous references to the importance of 'family labor' as a key ethnic resource, few studies have examined the work roles and family dynamics entailed in various kinds of ethnic businesses. Helping Out addresses the centrality of children's labor participation in such family enterprises. Discussing the case of Chinese families running take-out food shops in Britain, Miri Song examines the ways in which children contribute their labor and the context in which children come to understand and believe in 'helping out' as part of a 'family work contract'. Song explores the implications of these children's labor participation for family relationships, cultural identity, and the future of the Chinese community in Britain. While doing so, she argues that the practical importance and the broader meanings of children's work must be understood in the context of immigrant families' experiences of migration and ethnic minority status in Western, white-majority societies. Miri Song is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of Kent at Canterbury.

Chinese Canadians in Business

Conventionally, restricted opportunities in the open market, in combination with the presence of suitable ethnic resources, provide the explanation as to why some immigrant groups are more inclined towards business undertakings than others. More recently, the immigrant enclave thesis developed in the US suggests that some immigrant entrepreneurs are attracted to ethnic business because of its lucrative returns. Using the case of Chinese Canadians from the microdata of the 1996 Census of Canada, this paper finds that the net returns of self-employment vary among Chinese Canadians. Self-employment brings a net earning disadvantage for foreign-born Chinese-Canadian men, as well as for women irrespective of nativity. Only native-born Chinese-Canadian men in self-employment maintain a net advantage over their counterpart wage workers. These findings suggest that the Chinese Canadians engage in self-employment for different reasons, depending on gender and nativity. Thus, both the argument of business engagement as a “last choice” as implied in the blocked mobility thesis, and that of a “first option” as suggested in the immigrant enclave thesis can be valid even for the same ethnic group.

Utilization of Social Networks for Immigrant Entrepreneurship: A Case Study of Korean Immigrants in the Atlanta Area

This study investigates what foundations of resource mobilization exist for immigrants to establish an entrepreneurial environment, in the case of Korean immigrants in Atlanta. Data was collected from face-to-face interviews conducted in 1994 with 159 Korean entrepreneurs who owned businesses in the Atlanta Metropolitan area. The study indicated that class resources based on educational background were decisive and indispensablein establishing social networks, which profoundly helped the immigrants in pursuit of entrepreneurship. Contrary to conventional perception that family networks provide resources for immigrant businesses, family-connected migrants in Atlanta did not show an advantage over non-family connected migrants in starting businesses more quickly. It is recommended that the concept of ethnic resources (unpaid family labor, frugal attitudes, hard work, rotating credit associations) be seen as separate from social networks and family networks because these resources operate differently. (CBS)

The Ethnic and Gender Division of Labor Compared Among Immigrants to Los Angeles∗

This study compares the occupational profiles of six immigrant groups in the Los Angeles economy to expose details of the relationship between gender, nativity, time of arrival and labor market segmentation. We investigate the occupational division of labor among the foreign-born from Mexico, El Salvador, the Philippines, Guatemala, Korea and China and find that gender plays a dominant role relative to ethnicity in the process of labor market segmentation. We also discover that newly arrived immigrant men are more likely to enter male-dominated occupations than newly arrived women are likely to concentrate in female-dominated occupations. This tendency, however, varies in strength by nativity. Nativity and time of arrival also affect the anatomy of occupational specialization, but, again, this effect is not consistent across groups. Our observation of variability in the relative strength of gender and ethnicity in the determination of occupational profiles across a broad sample of immigrant groups directs future researchers to consider how ethnic resources are gendered in different ways by nativity. Copyright Joint Editors and Blackwell Publishers Ltd 2000.

Immigrant Entrepreneurship and Business Patterns: A Comparison of Koreans and Iranians in Los Angeles

There are currently two theoretically controversial issues concerning immigrant and ethnic entrepreneurship in the literature, one on its causes and the other on its consequences. The first is the debate about whether ethnic or class resources are more central to the establishment of immigrant/ethnic businesses. The second issue is whether there is a causal connection between ethnic business and ethnic solidarity. Based on a comparison of the two most entrepreneurial immigrant groups in Los Angeles (Koreans and Iranians), this article addresses both issues. Korean immigrants rely more on ethnic resources, whereas Iranians depend more on class resources. Relative utilization of class vs. ethnic resources determines the patterns of immigrant/ethnic businesses rather than their development in the first place. Korean businesses on average are smaller, more concentrated, and serve more co-ethnic and low-income minority customers, while Iranian immigrants are larger, more dispersed, and largely serve white customers. As a result, Koreans have encountered severe intergroup conflict, whereas Iranians have sidestepped it. Our comparison of these two groups suggests that only middleman businesses strengthen ethnic solidarity, although all types of immigrant/ethnic businesses may contribute to ethnic attachment. Paying special attention to business patterns (e.g., size, type, and location) — much neglected variables in research on immigrant/ethnic entrepreneurship — helps in resolving both theoretical issues.

Unternehmertum und Ethnizität – ein seltsames Paar

Ethnic economy and ethnic entrepreneurship are terms widely used in the anglo-american discussion in relation with questions of migration and integration of minorities. The results of this research are confronted with those coming out of the deconstructivist and post-colonial debate on ethnicity. Historical and present experiences show indeed that ethnic communities cannot be seen as invariable and homogeneous. Specific cultures, may they be grounded on religion or on nationality, display internal breaks and blurred outlines. Nevertheless, for certain periods and in certain circumstances, they may form the basis for ethnic resources, e.g. networks which can be used economically. A central finding is that such resources do not only exist for minorities economies but inside majorities economies as well.

Contemporary war: Ethnic conflict, resource conflict or something else?

Contemporary war has been described as conflict between ethnic groups or concerned with control over resources and personal wealth. Although useful, the labels of ethnic war and resource conflict tend to bypass some important features of today's conflicts. This article will argue that war as an instrument of politics, as originally formulated by Clausewitz, is still applicable to conflicts today. With the aid of empirical material from the conflicts in Liberia (1989–97) and Somalia (1988–95), it will be argued that, even when formal state structures have broken down, war can be a political instrument in the hands of warring factions.

Ethnic Solidarity and Black Business

Abstract This paper examines the development of a separate economic niche for black entrepreneurs in Chicago's ethnic beauty aids industry. It argues that this economic niche developed in response to advantages black entrepreneurs had in mobilizing ethnic resources in the black community. The paper's findings lend support to general theoretical arguments stating that ethnicity, race, and other symbols for identity function as low‐cost screening devices for evaluating the likelihood that trading partners will honor economic contracts, particularly in a market setting where formal market mechanisms are not fully developed. The findings are based on a series of in‐person interviews with Korean, Jewish and black distributors of ethnic beauty aids in Chicago. Although this paper focuses on a single market niche, its conclusions indicate that greater attention needs to be paid to the effects of social, political, economic and structural factors on minority business development.