Ethnocultural Minorities Research Articles

Acceptability of Violence Against Women Among the Roma Population in Spain.

Acceptability of violence against women (VAW) is a key dimension in addressing this social problem, given its influence on both the violent conduct of aggressors and the decisions of affected women. This study analyzes, for the first time, the magnitude of acceptability of VAW and associated factors in the Roma population in Spain. The Roma population is the largest ethnocultural minority in Europe. Data were analyzed from the Spanish National Health Survey of the Roma Population of 2014, a survey of 1,167 people identified as members of the Roma community. The results indicate that 70.9% of those surveyed completely reject VAW, with lower probability of acceptability among women than men (odds ratio [OR]: 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: [0.51, 0.86]). There is also a decrease in probability as income increases, in people who identify themselves as evangelical (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: [0.36, 0.71]) and among those who report being acquainted with a battered woman (OR: 0.68; 95% CI: [0.48, 0.97]), similarly in women and men. It has to be highlighted that the observed associations between socioeconomic conditions and acceptability of VAW should be considered when designing strategies for raising awareness about the consequences of VAW for the Roma population.

An apple a day: Protective associations between nutrition and the mental health of immigrants in Canada.

Mental illness represents a major public health burden among Canada's large immigrant population. A burgeoning cross-sectional, longitudinal, and experimental evidence base implicates nutrition in mental health. Healthier diets (e.g.,those rich in certain micro-nutrients) may benefit cognitive, social, and emotional functioning through attenuated inflammation and other bio-psychological pathways. The present study examined associations between nutrition and three markers of mental health among immigrants to Canada. Employing cross-sectional data from immigrant respondents (n = 37,071) to a nationally representative population-based survey (the Canadian Community Health Survey: CCHS 2011-2014), we modelled associations of daily fruit and vegetable consumption with three mental health outcomes: anxiety and/or mood disorder diagnosis, being distressed (assessed via the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale), and having good self-rated overall mental health.Multivariable logistic regression analyses were employed, adjusting for various socio-demographic and lifestyle-relatedvariables. Higher consumption of fruit and vegetables demonstrated significant, protective associations with odds of having a mood and/or anxiety disorder, being distressed, and self-rated good mental health. Such patterns of association were similar regardless of ethno-cultural minority status and recency of immigration. Moreover, the protective associations of nutrition and mental health were independent of socio-demographic, health, and lifestyle factors. Results suggested evidence of protective associations between healthy nutritional intake and mental illness among a large-scale sample of immigrants in Canada. Importantly, the protective associations of healthier diets with immigrants' mental health were independent of various markers of healthy lifestyles (e.g., general health status, physical activity, alcohol use). Healthy dietary intake may, therefore, be worth consideration in efforts to prevent mental illness among immigrants.

Enhancing the Engagement of Immigrant and Ethnocultural Minority Clients in Canadian Early Intervention Services for Psychosis.

Enhancing the Engagement of Immigrant and Ethnocultural Minority Clients in Canadian Early Intervention Services for Psychosis.

Directive principles and the expressive accommodation of ideological dissenters

This article argues, using India as a case study, that constitutional directives can be a useful tool for the expressive accommodation of ideological dissenters who would otherwise lose out in constitutional negotiations in deeply divided societies. Under certain conditions, these directives can be useful in getting populist illiberal groups to sign up to a (broadly) liberal constitution. Framers of the Indian Constitution successfully accommodated some such groups using constitutional directives, and tempered this accommodation through strategies of containment and constitutional incrementalism. Such calibrated accommodation can give dissenting groups enough (and genuine) hope of future political victories without going so far that their opponents in turn leave the constitutional negotiation table. By focusing on the accommodational needs of ideological dissenters, this article adds to existing literature on constitutional consensus-building techniques, which has largely focused on political insurance for ethnocultural minorities. It also highlights a key function of constitutional directives, which have hitherto been considered at best to be interpretive aids in constitutional adjudication, and at worst as constitutional dead weight.

Pour une education imerculturelle au Quebec

In this paper, the author notes that the society of Quebec is more and more multiracial, multiethnic and multicultural. This reality, of course, is mirrored in the school system's population, particularly in the large cities. Respect for the rights of the ethnocultural minorities is often problematical. It is asserted that a deep change in attitudes is necessary to promote respect for others' rights. That is the very finality of intercultural education of which a functional definition is suggested and from which are drawn some pedagogical inferences.

Chapter 10 – Migrants and cities: Stepping beyond world migration report 2015

Chapter 10 – Migrants and cities: Stepping beyond world migration report 2015

Representation of minorities: perspectives and challenges

Recent years have brought a remarkable shift in the theory of political representation. Our understanding of representation has moved beyond the traditional static and unidirectional approach, which envisions representatives as simply responding (more or less successfully) to their constituents' needs and demands. We now know that representation is a dynamic and multidirectional process in which the representatives' claims at least partially construct the constituents' interests (Saward 2010). Thus, constructivist scholars have convinced us that representation is not merely about responding to the preexisting and static interests of constituents; rather, it is a dynamic process in which representatives also construct their constituencies' interests, views, and perceptions through the claims-making process. This theoretical shift is most often advanced in discussions of women's representation (Campbell, Childs, and Lovenduski 2010; Celis et al. 2014), but it is bound to have a strong impact also on the study of ethnic minority representation in contemporary democracies. Indeed, if representation is a two-way process through which politically relevant constituencies are constructed, this should apply to ethnocultural minorities, whose “groupness” (Brubaker 2004) cannot be taken as fixed and prepolitical.

Диаспоростроительство на Урале: от «переселенческих обществ» до трансграничных мигрантов

In the formation of the ethno-cultural landscape of the Urals, the processes of integration of representatives of migrant, religious and ethnocultural minorities played an important role. In parallel, both individual and group integration mechanisms were applied. It is advisable to consider group adaptation strategies as a process of diaspora construction. The experience of the formation and development of diaspora groups clearly demonstrates the possibility of various cultural grounds for this process, both socially-confessional and actually ethnic. The presented article summarizes the dynamics of diaspora-building in the Urals, formulated the main problem fields for further research. Collective strategies for the integration of minorities have demonstrated that the diaspora is not a given. First and foremost, this is a specific way of life, the organization of human relations and ties. Diasporality demonstrates not only a huge variety of identification and institutional options, but also an amazing dynamics of internal transformation. In the middle of the XIX — beginning of the XXI centuries. migrant have become an integral part of the ethno-cultural mosaic of the Urals. The diaspora strategy and adaptation practice was based on social institutions and life practices. They were based on the idea of the unity of fate and the place of exodus, the value of memory about the «country of exodus' or historical homeland'.

Biculturalism and segregated schooling in Hong Kong

ABSTRACTThe literature on acculturation illustrates that a bulk of non-dominant ethnocultural minorities consider themselves bicultural, involving both dominant and ethnic cultures. Yet, little is known about how bicultural individuals perceive and construct dual cultures, and how their two cultural identities are played out in daily interactions. While these issues are under-researched, they are vital to policy and practice initiation towards ethnocultural minorities’ integration and upward mobility as well as for the receiving society’s social cohesion and economic competitiveness. To this end, this study used the concept of bicultural identity integration and tapped into the processes of biculturalism among 16 secondary school students coming from South and Southeast-Asian groups in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to unearth the internal construct of bicultural identity and the trajectories of adapting to dual cultural influences across space. The participants’ accounts displayed a high level of cultural harmony yet low blendedness in choosing to separate affiliations into cultural domains. This internal complexity reflects the contradictory juxtaposing of ‘cultural diversity’ in the host society and its segregated schooling for minority student population.

Self-Determination, Human Rights, and the Nation-State

Abstract In this article I examine selective dimensions of the nexus among the right to self-determination, human rights, and the ‘nation-state’ as they relate to claims made by certain ethno-cultural minority groups. I first discuss some conceptual extensions of ‘national’ claims and their underlying relation to international law and state sovereignty. Then, I critique elements of ‘national’ self-determination that are supposedly constitutive of the law of self-determination, including arguments about sub-national groups as ‘peoples’, and discuss some alternative approaches to the role of international law vis-à-vis this sort of claims. Finally, I argue that international human rights law can offer a synthesis of the above nexus insofar as it works, not so much as a platform for accepting or rejecting seemingly ‘absolute’ rights or solely enabling legal-institutional ad hocism, but rather as a general process-based framework for assessing group- related pathologies that are (directly or indirectly) of international law’s own making.

Ethno-cultural diversity education in Canada, the USA and India: the experience of the Tibetan diaspora

This paper contrasts approaches to supporting ethno-cultural diversity in education in Canada, the USA and India through the lens of the experiences of the Tibetan diaspora. All three countries self-identify as linguistic and ethnically diverse states that value multiculturalism. These shared values make them insightful comparative cases to consider the role of public education vis-a-vis its impact on ethno-cultural diversity within pluralistic societies. The case used to conduct the comparison is that of the Tibetan diaspora, an ethno-cultural migrant minority found in each country. Three prevailing ethno-cultural diversity orientations are identified – integration, achievement and sustainability – to describe prevalent approaches in Canada, the USA and India, respectively. The paper concludes with implications of the skewed orientations in each context, proposing a more balanced use of all three orientations for more robust and comprehensive supports for ethno-cultural diversity in education.

Cardiac Rehabilitation Outcomes by Ethnocultural Background: RESULTS FROM THE CANADIAN CARDIAC REHAB REGISTRY.

Patients of diverse ethnocultural backgrounds are underrepresented among participants and, hence, little is known about their outcomes. The objectives of this study were to compare cardiac rehabilitation (CR) utilization, cardiovascular risk factor reduction (blood pressure, lipids, anthropometrics), and functional capacity between white and ethnocultural minority patients participating in CR across Canada. The study was a retrospective, observational cohort study using the Canadian Cardiac Rehab Registry (CCRR). Participants from an ethnocultural minority (n ≥ 25) were propensity-matched to white participants based on sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. CR outcomes were compared. In the CCRR, 3848 (53.8%) participants had an ethnocultural background reported. Of those, whites (n = 3630) and South Asians (n = 26), Southeast Asians (n = 45), and Arab/West Asians (n = 37) minorities had sufficient representation in the registry to be analyzed. In the matched sample, 364 (97.1%) participants completed a discharge assessment. Southeast Asian participants adhered to (96.5%, P = .02) and completed (88.2%, P = .02) CR more often than white participants (90.2% and 55.6%, respectively). Southeast Asian participants had significantly lower diastolic blood pressure (P = .002) at CR discharge than matched white participants. No other differences in outcomes or functional capacity were observed. Ethnocultural minorities make up a small proportion of CR participants in Canada. However, when they do participate, they achieve similar CR outcomes compared with white participants. CR programs should seek to ensure ethnoculturally diverse patients are referred to their programs and ensure their programs are culturally sensitive to the needs of the preponderant ethnocultural groups in their catchment areas.

Effects of comorbid substance use disorders on outcomes in a Housing First intervention for homeless people with mental illness.

Evidence supports the effectiveness of Housing First (HF) programmes for people who are experiencing homelessness and mental illness; however, questions remain about its use in people with comorbid substance use disorders (SUD). The aim of this project was to test whether SUD modifies the effectiveness of an HF intervention. Secondary analysis of data from a randomized controlled trial of HF versus treatment-as-usual (TAU) with 24-month follow-up, comparing those with and without SUD at trial entry. Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Moncton and Montreal, Canada. A total of 2154 participants recruited from 2009 to 2013 and randomized to HF versus TAU (67% male, mean age 40.8±11.2, 25% ethno-cultural minority). All were homeless and had a mental disorder at baseline; 35% reported symptoms consistent with SUD. Housing paired with Intensive Case Management or Assertive Community Treatment. Primary outcomes were days housed and community functioning. Secondary outcomes were general and health-related quality of life and mental health symptoms. Predictors were SUD status crossed with intervention group (HF versus TAU). People with SUD in both the HF and TAU groups spent less time in stable housing, but the effect of HF did not vary by SUD status [odds ratio (OR)=1.17, 95% confidence interval (CI)=-0.77, 1.76]. Similarly, there was no difference between those with and without SUD in the effect of HF (over TAU) on community functioning (b=0.75, 95% CI=-0.36, 1.87), quality of life (b=-1.27, 95% CI=-4.17, 1.63), health-related quality of life (b=-0.01, 95% CI=-0.03, 0.02) or mental health symptoms (b=0.43, 95% CI=-0.99, 1.86). Housing First programs in Canada are equally effective in people with and without comorbid substance use disorder (SUD). Overall, the intervention appears to be able to engage people with SUD and is reasonably successful at housing them, without housing being contingent upon abstinence or treatment.

Muslims as Victims of Security Dilemma in the West

Islam is the second largest religion after Christianity in the world, and Muslims are the fastest-growing ethnocultural minority communities in the Western world. However, Muslims, especially living in Western countries, have increasingly become the victim of a contemporary form of racism and xenophobia—that is Islamophobia. Survey reports conducted across Western nations have underlined the fact that a significant number of respondents are critical of the Muslim minority community and that this negative trend poses a challenge for these Muslim minorities’ ethnocultural freedom and equality. Today, mainstream Muslims in the West are victims of both Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-like terrorism and Islamophobics. Within this context, this study analyses the causal relationship between the West’s sense of insecurity and Islamophobia through the lens of the realist concept of security dilemma using a qualitative approach.

Service Use and Unmet Needs for Substance Use and Mental Disorders in Canada.

To investigate patterns and predictors of help seeking and met/unmet needs for mental health care in a national population health survey. Participants were respondents to the 2012 Canadian Community Health Survey on Mental Health (CCHS-MH; n = 25,133). We used regression to identify the diagnostic and sociodemographic predictors of the use of informal supports, primary care, and specialist care, as well as perceived unmet needs. Eleven percent of Canadians reported using professionally led services for mental health or substance use in 2012, while another 9% received informal supports. Two-thirds of people with substance use disorders did not receive any care, and among those who did, informal supports were most common. Seventy-four percent of people with mood/anxiety disorders and 88% of those with co-occurring disorders did access services, most commonly specialist mental health care. Men, older people, members of ethnocultural minorities, those not born in Canada, those with lower education, and those with higher incomes were less likely to receive care. Unmet needs were higher among people with substance use disorders. Gaps in services continue to exist for some potentially vulnerable population subgroups. Policy and practice solutions are needed to address these unmet needs. In particular, the convergence of research pointing to gaps in the availability and accessibility of high-quality services for substance use in Canada demands attention.

Applied diversity: A normative approach to improving news representations of ethno-cultural minorities based on the Canadian experience

Abstract Western news organizations have long been accused of either ignoring or misrepresenting ethnic minorities in the media discourse. Proposals for reform have often been tied to hiring ethnically diverse journalists and to broad cultural awareness initiatives. Despite several decades of such efforts, study after study shows ethnic minorities are all too often under- and misrepresented in the news discourse. In Canada, where high rates of immigration and a burgeoning indigenous population are creating unprecedented demographic diversity, news media still struggle to produce consistently inclusive and equitable coverage. This article draws on research from Canada, as well as the United States and other western nations, identifying the major impediments to more accurate representations of ethnic minorities. It challenges reform initiatives of the past and details their failure to address the dominant bias inherent in mainstream news production routines. The author proposes explicit, new approaches to newsgathering practices targeting that dominant bias.

Canada is #IdleNoMore: exploring dynamics of Indigenous political and civic protest in the Twitterverse

ABSTRACTSocial media have been playing a growingly important role in grassroots protest over the last five years. While many scholars have explored dynamics of political cyberprotest (e.g., the ongoing transnational Occupy movement, the 2012 Quebec student strike, the student-led protest movement in Chile between 2011 and 2013), few have studied sub-dynamics relating to ethno-cultural minorities’ uses of social media to gain visibility, mobilize support, and engage in political and civil action. We fill part of this gap in the academic literature by investigating uses of Twitter for political engagement in the context of the Canada-based Idle No More movement (INM). This ongoing protest initiative, which emerged in December 2012, seeks to mobilize Indigenous Peoples in Canada and internationally as well as their non-Indigenous allies. It does so by bringing attention to their culture, struggles, and identities as well as advocating for changes in policy areas relating to the environment, governance, and socio-economic matters. Our study explores to what extent references to aspects of Indigenous identities and culture shaped INM-related tweeting and, by extension, activism during the summer of 2013. We conducted a quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 1650 #IdleNoMore tweets shared by supporters of this movement between 3 July 2013 and 2 August 2013. Our study demonstrates that unlike other social media-intensive movements where economic and political concerns were the primary drivers of political and civil engagement, aspects of Indigenous culture influenced information flows and mobilization among #IdleNoMore tweeters.

Directive Principles and the Expressive Accommodation of Ideological Dissenters

This paper argues, using India as a case study, that constitutional directives can be a useful tool for the expressive accommodation of ideological dissenters who would otherwise lose out in constitutional negotiations in deeply divided societies. The strategy of expressive accommodation was tempered in the Indian case through containment and constitutional incrementalism. A calibrated expressive accommodation of ideological dissenters can give them enough (and genuine) hope of future victories to keep them on board, without going so far that the majority rejects the accommodation or their ideological opponents in turn leave the constitutional negotiation table. By focussing on the accommodational needs of ideological dissenters, this paper adds to existing literature on constitutional consensus-building techniques, which has largely focussed on political insurance for ethnocultural minorities.

Immigrant entrepreneurship in Canada: sites for cultural preservation, inclusion, and community development

ABSTRACTIn this paper we investigate the social dimensions of immigrant entrepreneurship within the context of normative discourses produced by Canada’s official Multiculturalism Platform. Using the extended case method approach, we explored how 12 ethno-cultural minorities in the Windsor-Essex region of southwestern Ontario mobilized business activities to produce valuable interactions with local, national, and international networks that expanded their possibilities for recognition and equal rights in the social, cultural, and political spheres of Canadian society. Informed by the theoretical work of Michael Foucault, through our data analysis we identified the central significance of business formation as sites and mediums for cultural preservation, inclusion, and community development. These findings inform our discussion of the potential and limitations of entrepreneurship for ethno-cultural minorities’ civic engagement in Canadian society.

Opportunities for Immigrants’ Acculturation and Identification Varieties

This article elucidates how members of the two largest immigration groups living in Germany (i.e., immigrants with a Russian or Turkish background) deal with and integrate values and practices deriving from their ethnocultural minority group and the larger society. A special emphasis of this article is on how context conditions form opportunities for varieties of acculturation and identification. The pattern of results suggests a taxonomy of immigrants’ acculturation, consisting of Blended Integration, Alternating Integration, Separation, and Dis‐Integration. This taxonomy is based on immigrants’ integration of cultural aspects, while it proved to be analytically useful to conceptualize their national self‐allocation as an additional dimension. Immigrants’ development of these different varieties was found to be linked to their perceptions of compatibility and acceptance by the larger society. Relative to immigrants with a Turkish background, immigrants with a Russian background experience less deep incompatibilities between values and practices deriving from the cultural groups, thus having more latitude for acculturation and integration. In contrast, immigrants with a Turkish background experience more challenges to acculturation and integration as a result of being confronted more frequently with incompatibilities and experience less societal acceptance. Further conceptual and societal implications are discussed.