Ethnic Mix Research Articles

(Mis)Perceptions of Ethnic Group Size and Consequences for Community Expectations and Cooperation With Law Enforcement

The changing composition of race and ethnic group size has been noted for Western nations over the last 15 years. Analysis of this change has linked fear of crime and attitudes toward immigrants and prejudice. Changes in ethnic composition are associated with movement of White residents out of traditionally White communities, rising ethnic tension as the ethnic mix shifts, and a heightened sense of injustice regarding the justice system. (Mis)perceptions of ethnic groups size shape attitudes toward minority groups, as well as policy, practice, and individual behavior in the context of the community. This study seeks to understand the extent of such misperceptions in the Australian context and whether misperceptions of race and ethnic composition are associated with beliefs and attitudes toward formal and informal social control. Utilizing Blalock’s racial threat hypothesis, this study analyzes whether perceived relative ethnic group size is associated with self-reported willingness to cooperate with police as a way to minimize perceived threat. Findings suggest that respondents overestimate the size of minority populations while underestimating the majority White composition and that these misperceived distortions in ethnic group size have consequences for informal and formal social control.

Vitamin D deficiency in Europe: pandemic?

Background: Vitamin D deficiency has been described as being pandemic, but serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] distribution data for the European Union are of very variable quality. The NIH-led international Vitamin D Standardization Program (VDSP) has developed protocols for standardizing existing 25(OH)D values from national health/nutrition surveys.Objective: This study applied VDSP protocols to serum 25(OH)D data from representative childhood/teenage and adult/older adult European populations, representing a sizable geographical footprint, to better quantify the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency in Europe.Design: The VDSP protocols were applied in 14 population studies [reanalysis of subsets of serum 25(OH)D in 11 studies and complete analysis of all samples from 3 studies that had not previously measured it] by using certified liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry on biobanked sera. These data were combined with standardized serum 25(OH)D data from 4 previously standardized studies (for a total n = 55,844). Prevalence estimates of vitamin D deficiency [using various serum 25(OH)D thresholds] were generated on the basis of standardized 25(OH)D data.Results: An overall pooled estimate, irrespective of age group, ethnic mix, and latitude of study populations, showed that 13.0% of the 55,844 European individuals had serum 25(OH)D concentrations <30 nmol/L on average in the year, with 17.7% and 8.3% in those sampled during the extended winter (October–March) and summer (April–November) periods, respectively. According to an alternate suggested definition of vitamin D deficiency (<50 nmol/L), the prevalence was 40.4%. Dark-skinned ethnic subgroups had much higher (3- to 71-fold) prevalence of serum 25(OH)D <30 nmol/L than did white populations.Conclusions: Vitamin D deficiency is evident throughout the European population at prevalence rates that are concerning and that require action from a public health perspective. What direction these strategies take will depend on European policy but should aim to ensure vitamin D intakes that are protective against vitamin D deficiency in the majority of the European population.

Inside the National Diabetes Audit – and beyond

Inside the National Diabetes Audit – and beyond

The Future of Singapore: Population, Society and the Nature of the State

Singapore, like many other advanced economies, has a relatively low, and declining, birth-rate. One consequence of this, and a consequence also of the successful economy, is that migrants are being drawn in, and are becoming an increasing proportion of the overall population. This book examines this crucial development, and assesses its likely impact on Singapore society, politics and the state. It shows that, although Singapore is a multi-ethnic society, migration and the changing ethnic mix are causing increasing strains, putting new demands on housing, education and social welfare, and changing the make-up of the workforce, where the government is responding with policies designed to attract the right sort of talent. The book discusses the growing opposition to migration, and explores how the factors which have underpinned Singapore’s success over recent decades, including a cohesive elite, with a clearly focused ideology, a tightly controlled political system and strong continuity of government, are at risk of being undermined by the population changes and their effects. The book also compares the position in Singapore with other East Asian countries, including Japan, South Korea and the Philippines, which are also experiencing population changes with potentially far-reaching consequences.

Association between Self-Rated Health and the Ethnic Composition of the Residential Environment of Six Ethnic Groups in Amsterdam.

Background: Studies on the association between health and neighborhood ethnic composition yielded inconsistent results, possibly due to methodological limitations. We assessed these associations at different spatial scales and for different measures of ethnic composition. Methods: We obtained health survey data of 4673 respondents of Dutch, Surinamese, Moroccan, Turkish other non-Western and other Western origin. Neighborhood ethnic composition was measured for buffers varying from 50–1000 m. Associations with self-rated health were measured using logistic multilevel regression analysis, with control for socioeconomic position at the individual and area level. Results: Overall ethnic heterogeneity was not related to health for any ethnic group. The presence of other Surinamese was associated with poor self-rated health among Surinamese respondents. The presence of Moroccans or Turks was associated with poor health among some groups. The presence of Dutch was associated with better self-rated health among Surinamese and Turks. In most cases, these associations were stronger at lower spatial scales. We found no other associations. Conclusions: In Amsterdam, self-rated health was not associated with ethnic heterogeneity in general, but may be related to the presence of specific ethnic groups. Policies regarding social and ethnic mixing should pay special attention to the co-residence of groups with problematic interrelations.

Response and participation of underserved populations after a three-step invitation strategy for a cardiometabolic health check.

BackgroundEthnic minority and native Dutch groups with a low socioeconomic status (SES) are underrepresented in cardiometabolic health checks, despite being at higher risk. We investigated response and participation rates using three consecutive inexpensive-to-costly culturally adapted invitation steps for a health risk assessment (HRA) and further testing of high-risk individuals during prevention consultations (PC).MethodsA total of 1690 non-Western immigrants and native Dutch with a low SES (35–70 years) from six GP practices were eligible for participation. We used a ‘funnelled’ invitation design comprising three increasingly cost-intensive steps: (1) all patients received a postal invitation; (2) postal non-responders were approached by telephone; (3) final non-responders were approached face-to-face by their GP. The effect of ethnicity, ethnic mix of GP practice, and patient characteristics (gender, age, SES) on response and participation were assessed by means of logistic regression analyses.ResultsOverall response was 70 % (n = 1152), of whom 62 % (n = 712) participated in the HRA. This was primarily accomplished through the postal and telephone invitations. Participants from GP practices in the most deprived neighbourhoods had the lowest response and HRA participation rates. Of the HRA participants, 29 % (n = 207) were considered high-risk, of whom 59 % (n = 123) participated in the PC. PC participation was lowest among native Dutch with a low SES.ConclusionsUnderserved populations can be reached by a low-cost culturally adapted postal approach with a reminder and follow-up telephone calls. The added value of the more expensive face-to-face invitation was negligible. PC participation rates were acceptable. Efforts should be particularly targeted at practices in the most deprived areas.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2139-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Geographies of Latinidad in Ana Castillo’s Sapogonia

Geographies of Latinidad in Ana Castillo’s Sapogonia Olga L. Herrera In recent scholarly conversations on re-thinking national literary boundaries in favor of a hemispheric approach to American literature, the specificity of place in literature is often overlooked in favor of making broad connections among histories and traditions. In her 1990 novel Sapogonia, however, Ana Castillo creates a narrative of transnational existence that pays particular attention to the ways in which the specific material influence of place gives rise to a hemispheric Latino identity for its protagonist, Máximo Madrigal. In this novel, the imaginary country Sapogonia functions both as Máximo’s geographic birthplace and as a metaphor for mestizaje, while Chicago becomes his home as an adult. Chicago’s history of immigrant communities, as well as of racial violence and segregation, provides the landscape for novel’s formulation of a Latino identity that depends upon the city’s racial and ethnic mixing, as well as to the transnational migrations of its characters. The symbolic value of Sapogonia as the place of mestizaje thus is grounded in its physical counterpart of Chicago. Marissa K. López argues that “time, history, nations, people, and all manner of cultural production are entwined in Sapogonia in the service of staking ambitious claims for Chicana/o literature and Latina/o identity in the Americas. Sapogonia argues that nations, like history, cannot function as discrete units. Just as past, present and future are continually intertwined, nations, national histories, and citizens are constantly crossing borders and shifting shape” (163). Here, López is attention to the novel’s work on connecting U.S. and Latin American histories and cultures leaves room for an analysis on how the particularities of geography and place inform the articulation of a hemispheric Latino/a identity in Sapogonia. Characters are not, after all, in a perpetual state of crossing and shifting, but cross from one distinct place to another. In this essay, I argue that for this novel, a consideration of Chicago as a historic place of Latino immigration is necessary to understanding Castillo’s insistence on the place of Sapogonia as a metaphor for mestizaje. In the first section, I will explore how Castillo’s play with form reflects the character’s migrations, connecting the experience of transnational movement to Castillo’s experiment with the genre of the picaresque novel. In the next section, I will argue that Castillo’s emphasis on the “distinct place” of the imaginary country Sapogonia is grounded in the real-world geography of Chicago, the setting for much of the novel. Finally, I will show [End Page 159] how Castillo’s reconfigurations of Latino/a identity as they are shaped by Chicago space work to break down preconceived static notions of Latinidad. Sapogonia tells the story of Máximo Madrigal, a young man from a fictional Latin American country who has left home to follow vague dreams of success. The first third of the novel recounts Máximo’s picaresque travels, which take him across Latin America, the U.S., France, and Spain. He first discovers his drive to possess women as a teenager, and subsequently beds women in every locale he visits. While it may seem that this is enough story for two novels, Max’s adventures to this point are only a prelude to his life in Chicago, where he succeeds in becoming a visual artist and meets his sexual match: Pastora Velásquez Aké, the only woman Max cannot truly possess or dominate. Pastora, a Latina protest singer and songwriter, initially holds Max at some distance, but ultimately becomes involved with him in a relationship that is equal parts mutual attraction and repulsion. While Max’s obsession with Pastora compels him to seek her out periodically over the span of years, he also fears her power over him and his own vulnerability with her. The novel ends with an ambiguous dream sequence (which parallels one the novel began with) in which it appears that Máximo murders Pastora. The ending is further complicated with an epilogue in which Pastora, in her garden with her husband Eduardo and their son, muses on the inevitable attempts that Máximo will make to...

Terror and Reconciliation: Sri Lankan Anglophone Literature, 1983–2009 by Maryse Jayasuriya (review)

Maryse Jayasuriya. Terror and Reconciliation: Sri Lankan Anglophone Literature, 1983-2009. Plymouth: Lexington, 2012. Pp. x, 183. $82.04 CDN. Maryse Jayasuriya's Terror and Reconciliation: Sri Lankan Anglophone Literature, 1983-2009, published relatively soon after Sri Lanka's separatist war ended in 2009, presents a deeply engaging account of twenty-seven-year conflict through literature of local and diasporic Sri Lankan writers. Stating that her study illustrates and examines capacity of literature respond what might seem be unimaginable circumstances, and imagine alternatives and a future beyond them (26), Jayasuriya synthesizes literary analysis, historical narrative, and political commentary with intent of exploring possibilities for reconciliation. In her introduction, Jayasuriya addresses production, reception, and possible impact of English creative writing in Sri Lanka, expressing her desire bring this literature to attention of Western academy but also attention of a Sri Lankan audience (17). implied international reader, she provides context, such as country's ethnic mix--which comprises seventy-four percent Sinhalese, eighteen percent Tamil, and eight percent Muslim--and its 1972 name change from Ceylon Sri Lanka, when Sinhalese was declared official language and Buddhism religion of state, predicating ethnic unrest mainly due language barrier for Tamils. (1) Moreover, Jayasuriya contextualizes literature through significant markers in history of ethnic conflict, such as riots of 1953, eruptions of violence in 1983 and 1988, intervention of Indian Peacekeeping Force (IPKF) in 1987 and their subsequent departure, intensified attacks and suicide bombings by Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Norway ceasefire (2002-08), and final overthrow of LTTE in 2009. Jayasuriya states that sufferings of Sri Lankans have gone unnoticed by world due Sri Lanka being a small country and conflict not being on a major scale. Nevertheless, she mentions that the LTTE was proscribed as a terrorist organization by United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada, and most recently, European Union (15). (2) Since her book's publication, however, several events have drawn widespread attention Sri Lanka's politics. These include arrival of 449 Tamil migrants Canada in August 2010; Canadian Liberal Minister of Parliament Bob Rae flying Sri Lanka on a fact-finding mission in June 2009 and being turned back at Katunayake airport by Sri Lankan authorities; Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper boycotting 2013 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo, Sri Lanka, followed by deliberations by other leaders; and a United Nations resolution in 2013 calling for an investigation into human rights violations by Sri Lankan government during last stages of conflict--conducted by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. For healing and reconciliation be possible, Jayasuriya writes, the wounds of all sides in conflict must be acknowledged (40). In chapter Mourning Terror: Memorials Conflict in Poetry and Film, she holds out hope that [t]he capacity of Sri Lankan Anglophone writing cut across ethnic lines has provided an important opportunity for Sri Lanka's ethnic communities mourn together (66). To that end, she reveals suffering and grief through poetry of local writers Jean Arasanayagam, Kamala Wijeratne, Anne Ranasinghe, Sivamohan Sumathy, Vivimarie Vanderpoorten, and Richard de Zoysa as well as short fiction of Neil Fernandopulle, Nihal de Silva, and Arasanayagam. Jayasuriya asks, Is there any healing possible for a people so inured--and perhaps so immune violence? (54). In her exploration of numerous works that communicate effects of trauma, she calls attention those that convey guilt, not only of perpetrators of violence, but also of silent and passive bystanders who look on, paralyzed by an internalized helplessness or fear of reprisal if they intervene. …

La imagen de la ciudad de Estambul, entre realidad, metáfora y sueño

This article aims to show how it is possible to transform a real urban space into a metaphor, an oneiric space, or a simple literary image. Spanish and Latin American contemporary writers and poets, linked to a major literary tradition, set their works in Istanbul because of its history, its charming natural landscapes, its complicated urban layout, and its ethnic, cultural, and religious mixing. Their strategies oscillate between the descriptions of the city's rivers, palaces, sunsets, local people, and neighborhoods in realistic terms and the capacity to create an imaginary and metaphoric city that has no relationship with the historical place most tourists visit every year. The Turkish city has achieved a special renown in recent decades in Spanish and Latin American literature due to the novels, short stories, and poems written by authors whose purpose is to involve their readers in an irrational atmosphere made of dreams, parallel realities, and imagined spaces.

G321(P) Fix freddie!

Background Facing higher than average unscheduled care use in a busy inner city paediatric unit, with a significant proportion of low acuity conditions, a need to become proactive in tackling the pressure was recognised. Collaborated as part of new innovative integrated paediatric care model with puppet company to produce Fix Freddie! Pilot tour Spring 2014. Objectives Better understanding of how local community accesses children’s unscheduled care bringing together communities and professionals across the whole system, to support families in feeling confident to navigate system and care for their children’s health needs reduce pressures on the local emergency and urgent care system Methods Explored different settings and workshop styles (Table 1). Parents/carers asked to complete a pre show questionnaire. After the show, explored issues with: small parent focus groups classroom-based discussion and picture drawing fete style event with informal conversations with professionals Feedback obtained with Post-It comments on “Freddie Feedback” poster. Information leaflet distributed with advice about where to seek advice, self management, and information about local services. Filmed to capture impact of events on children, parents and professionals. Results Pre show questionnaire Completed by 46 parents of 85 children. 53% white british; 47% diverse ethnic mix. Chart A how seek child health advice – 85% GP, 21% ED, 42% family and friends, 37% internet. Chart B services use when worried – 89% GP, 52% ED Parents most consistently worried by fever, 52% would seek GP review 41% would go to A&E. Other concerns included cough, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain. Attended ED and the GP with similar illnesses. 26% reported issues in accessing care, primarily lack of same day GP appointments. Key themes surfaced from Fix Freddie! Feedback (Table 2) Better understanding of local services available, notably about 111 Improved knowledge and confidence about self managing minor illnesses and injuries Additional awareness raised about safety at home General positive feedback for puppet show and events Conclusion Fix Freddie! has provided a fun and engaging way to make new connexions across the whole system, facilitating co-design of local solutions to problems of healthcare accessibility and confidence in self management. Local CCG commissioners are now funding a wider local tour and we are working on next steps to broaden reach of the events.

PROSES FONOLOGIS DALAM PENGADOPSIAN KATA BAHASA INDONESIA KE DALAM BAHASA CIA CIA DI KABUPATEN BUTON, SULAWESI TENGGARA

This paper discusses the adoption of several phonological processes in Indonesian words into Ciacia in Buton, Southeast Sulawesi province. Ciacia language which is one of the languages with the most speakers in mainland Buton Kingdom in its development are adopting some Indonesian words. Adoption of words in Indonesian as compared to most other areas of the language word. This is due to ethnic mixing Ciacia just used both languages in daily life. In adopting Indonesian words into Ciacia many who have phonological processes. Phonological processes are most commonly found is the addition and removal of noise at the end of the word. The word has been adopted into the language Ciacia always be words with open syllables. This is caused by the language Ciacia unknown words with closed syllables.

Head circumference in Iranian infants

Introduction: Head circumference (HC) measurement is one of the important parameter for diagnosis of neurological, developmental disorders and dysmorphic syndromes. Recognition of different disorders requires an understanding of normal variation for HC size, in particular, in infancy period with most rapid growth of the brain. Because of international and interracial standard chart differences about anthropometric indices, some differences from local to local, generation to generation and changes in ethnic mix of population and socioeconomic factors, periodic revolution of HC size is suggested. The aims of our study were presenting local HC standard for an Iranian infant population and comparison with the American national center of health statistics (NCHS) charts accepted by WHO. Methods: 1003 subjects aged from birth to 24 months apparently healthy normal children enrolled randomly in this cross sectional study. HC size were measured and recorded. Tables and graphs were depicted by Excel Microsoft Office 2007. We use two tailed t-student test for statistical analysis. Results: The mean of HC size in boys was larger than girls. The curves were followed a similar pattern to NCHS based on a visual comparison. Overall our subjects in both sexes at birth time had smaller HC size than NCHS. In other ages our children had larger HC size than those of NCHS. Conclusion: Because of international and interracial difference of HC size. We recommend in each area of the world, local anthropometric indices are constructed and used clinically. In addition more extensive and longitudinally design comprehensive studies is suggested.

A Danish Tale of Why Social Mix Is So Difficult to Increase

One of the political expectations to area-based intervention is to reduce the number of deprived neighbourhoods by increasing social mix. This paper considers the impact of area-based intervention on social mix in deprived neighbourhoods. We apply a difference-in-difference model to estimate the effect using Danish longitudinal data on individual level for 1989–2006. We find that area-based intervention has no significant effect on social mix neither in respect to mix of educational background, employment mix, income mix nor ethnic mix. Instead, we find a strong residential selection as residents moving out of treated neighbourhoods have a Danish origin, a stronger affiliation to labour market and a higher disposable income compared to residents moving in treated neighbourhoods. This demonstrates that residents moving in are more socio-economically vulnerable than those residents moving out. We conclude that area-based intervention becomes shorthanded when it comes to increasing social mix because area-based intervention is up against a strong residential selection in moving pattern.

Predicting Performance of Schools by Applying Data Mining Techniques on Public Examination Results

This study work presents a systematic analysis of various features of the higher grade school public examination results data in the state of Tamil Nadu, India through different data mining classification algorithms to predict the performance of Schools. Nowadays the parents always targets to select the right city, school and factors which contributes to the success of the results in schools of their children. There could be possible effects of factors such as Ethnic mix, Medium of study, geography could make a difference in results. The proposed work would focus on two fold factors namely Machine Learning algorithms to predict School performance with satisfying accuracy and to evaluate the data mining technique which would give better accuracy of the learning algorithms. It was found that there exist some apparent and some less noticeable attributes that demonstrate a strong correlation with student performance. Data were collected through the credible source data preparation and correlation analysis. The findings revealed that the public examinations results data was a very helpful predictor of performance of school in order to improve the result with maximum level and also improved the overall accuracy with the help of Adaboost technique.

Multi-cultural Graduate Library Education

IN THE UNITED STATES, almost everyone knows that a librarian is a middle-aged, white woman. Two times out of ten she will be a man and once every 12 or 13 times she will be other than white, but chances are she is white. Few other occupations are more middle-aged, more female and/or more white. 1 The major purpose of this paper is to discover to what extent, during the past eight to ten years, the student bodies of accredited library school programs have changed from the predominately white demographic characteristics. It's principal focus is upon the activities and problems involved inDuring the summer of 1971 at an American Library Association preconference on the recruitment of minorities into the profession, much of the conversation naturally centered on library education. What was said then is still valid: Library schools should be charged with the responsibility of changing the racial and ethnic mix of their student bodies to be more representative of the population which their graduates serve.4 What this profession needs is commitment to the recruitment of minorities. Until we have this commitment, backed up by money, we only play the game of institutional racism.5The money is shrinking and what commitment there was in the early 1970's is waning. The crisis is still with us, now rather more acute than it was then.Minority Education in the U.S.As context, it is im portant for library educators to become familiar with the history of minority education in general and more specifically with postsecondary undergraduate education because of the requirement for Master of Library Science degree candidates to hold the baccalaureate degree. Further, it is useful to be conversant with the experience of other graduate programs, especially professional ones, with regard to minority participation. To that end, the following information is presented. Since its earliest beginnings, the American public school system has been deeply committed to the maintenance of racial and ethnic barriers. Higher education, both public and private, shared this outlook.6 So states Meyer Weinberg, Director of the Center for Equal Education, Northwestern University and Professor of History, City Colleges of Chicago, in his 1977 book on the history of the educational experience of black, Mexican American, Native American, and Puerto Rican children in the United States.Even the most noted defenders of public education in America, John Dewey and Horace Mann, remained silent on the subject of minority participation in public schools. The pattern of discrimination against minorities was national and is reflected clearly, not just by circumstance and neglect, but by statutory exclusion and/or statutory separateness. …

Architecture in the South Pacific, the ocean of islands

Architecture in the South Pacific: The Ocean of Islands recounts the recent developments of the South Pacific and its fascinating architecture. This volume traces the European architectural overlay onto this scattered group of islands as well as the transition of these same islands towards a regional identity that has been fashioned by the remoteness of each location, the incomparable setting, and the distinctive ethnic mix of its inhabitants. A series of themed essays present the story of architectural development in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna, Tonga, the Cook Islands, Samoa and American Samoa, and French Polynesia. Recent architecture typifies the evolution of the islands as they have been subjected to the transformative waves of alien trade, religion, colonization, war and tourism, followed by post-colonialism and revived nationalism. As with the Pacific region itself, the most prominent characteristic of the architecture is its diversity. The blending of the universal and the local sets the stage for a fresh vision of the South Pacific across a wide range of building types, from spectacular mission churches to sensational resorts in paradise. This book, in full colour, will appeal to architects, armchair-tourists, students and all those for whom the South Pacific is the idyll of their dreams.

Key Drivers and Enablers of Township Tourism: The Case of Atteridgeville, South Africa

Cultural tourists are inspired by the desire to experience local traditions and cultures when deciding to visit a particular destination. This trend has been observed in the townships in South Africa where the emphasis is on the educational and cultural aspects. However, the drivers and enables of tourism within the township setting are unascertained. The aim of this study is to identify the enablers and drivers of tourism in Atteridgeville as a township to obtain information that could assist in planning and management purposes to business concerns. This objective decided upon for the purpose of this study which was to obtain a description of the research population and to identify the tourism businesses enablers that exist in the township for tourism purposes. A quantitative research methodology was followed whereby self-completing questionnaires were used as research instrument. The results revealed that the tourism industry is playing a vital role in satisfying the needs of the tourism stakeholders within Atteridgeville. Thus, tourism contributes significantly to job creation, directly to the tourism businesses and indirectly to other businesses in the township. The direct effects include non-financial elements such as improved infrastructures benefiting the livelihoods in the local scale or earnings from non-tourism sectors which are linked to tourist activities. As a result, township tourism in South Africa has stimulated interest in fascinating mix of ethnicities therefore, government’s involvement in township tourism drivers and enablers is paramount.

Do Ethnically Mixed Classrooms Promote Inclusive Attitudes Towards Immigrants Everywhere? A Study Among Native Adolescents in 14 Countries

This article examines attitudes among 14-year-old native students in 14 Western countries to assess how out-group size, as measured by the proportion of first- and second-generation migrant children in a class, is related to inclusive views on immigrants. It develops three competing hypotheses: (i) higher proportions of immigrants contribute to inclusive views everywhere; (ii) higher proportions have a negative effect on inclusive views everywhere; (iii) the effect of out-group size depends on the ratio of first- to second-generation migrant children: the higher this ratio, the weaker the effect. It discovers that out-group size is positively related to inclusive views on immigrants in countries where second-generation outnumber first-generation migrant children (i.e., the old immigration states), and that there is no significant link with such views in countries where the reverse is the case (i.e., the new immigration states). The same regularity applies at the classroom level: in classes with more second than first generation students, out-group size enhances inclusive views while it shows no relationship to such views in classes with more first than second generation students. The results thus support the third hypothesis. The non-relation in contexts with many first generation students may well be a temporary phenomenon, however. Once immigrant communities have become more settled and integrated in the destination countries, positive effects of ethnic mixing could well emerge everywhere.

Maintaining ethnic boundaries in “non-ethnic” contexts: constructivist theory and the sexual reproduction of diversity

How can ethnic boundaries survive in contexts of legal racial equality and institutionalized ethnic mixing? Constructivist theories of ethnicity have long emphasized the fluidity, rather than the durability, of ethnic boundaries. But the fact that ethnic boundaries often endure—and even thrive—in putatively non-ethnic political contexts suggests the need for sustained attention to the problem of boundary persistence. Based on an ethnographic study of ethnic boundaries in the Turkish case, this article argues that the regulation of the domain of sexuality and marriage can play a critical role in reproducing boundaries when political institutions neither acknowledge nor aid in the survival of ethnic diversity. Ultimately, the data provide substantial evidence that the transmission and internalization of informal rules of inter-ethnic sexual conduct are central to boundary maintenance.

Revisiting ‘social tectonics’: The middle classes and social mix in gentrifying neighbourhoods

Studies of gentrification in London have shown that some groups of middle-class people have been attracted to poor and multi-ethnic areas of inner London in part because of their social and ethnic mix. However, the attraction has often not translated into everyday interaction. In an earlier account of gentrification in Brixton this de facto social segregation was typified as a process of ‘social tectonics’. In this paper we compare two ethnically and socially mixed neighbourhoods, Peckham and Brixton, that at different times have represented the ‘front line’ of gentrification in London. We examine the extent to which the gentrification of Brixton in the late 1990s is being mirrored by the gentrification that is occurring today in Peckham – a similarly mixed and counter-cultural area of South London. Whilst we identify continuities between the gentrification process in these two areas separated by a decade of boom and recession, we suggest that the Peckham example demonstrates the need for a more developed approach to the issue of social mixing than that implied by the social tectonics metaphor. Specifically, we argue that there is a need to explain how the presence of classed and ethnic ‘others’ can be central to the formation of identities within some middle-class fractions in such enclaves in the inner city, and how attitudes and neighbourhood practices can change over time.