Immigrant Assimilation Research Articles

Emotional experience of Afghan migrants in Iran

Migration, settlement in a new country and assimilation of immigrants are often accompanied by sorrow, melancholy and despair. This research investigates the emotional understanding and experience of Afghan migrants in Iran. Using the constructivist grounded theory approach, data were collected through fieldwork among 45 participants. The data were analyzed using grounded theory by employing initial, focused and theoretical coding. Seven main categories were constructed from the data analysis, which include "Sense of Hopelessness", "Fear of Deportation", "Feeling of Restriction", "Survival and Dailiness", "Losing Self-confidence", "Regret and Frustration" and "Comparative Satisfaction". Finally, the core category of "Emotional Disparity" was constructed. The emotional experiences of Afghan immigrants from the living conditions in Iran show that they experience more negative emotions than positive ones. In sum, migrants' emotional responses indicate emotional disintegration.

Marital preferences and stable matching in cultural evolution

Building on previous literature that examines the influence of intergenerational transmission in cultural evolution, we highlight the importance of the marriage market in the determination of cultural homogeneity (“melting pot”) versus heterogeneity (“diversity”). To do so, we characterize cultural evolutionary processes under different distributions of marital preferences and stable matching schemes. In our setting, cultural substitutability (Bisin and Verdier, 2001) is neither sufficient nor necessary for cultural heterogeneity. We introduce a new concept, elasticity of cultural substitution, to capture the degree of increase in vertical socialization efforts in response to minority population decline. With perfect or inelastic vertical transmission in homogamous families, cultural heterogeneity is sustained only if all proposers are homophilic or all members of a cultural group are homophilic. With imperfect vertical transmission in homogamous families, the presence of heterophilic agents may destabilize cultural heterogeneity, and the proportion of heterophilic agents and elasticity of cultural substitution determine whether cultural heterogeneity can be sustained. We discuss the model's implications for the long-lasting impact of temporary gender imbalance on cultural evolution as well as the cultural assimilation and preservation of minorities and immigrants under distinct governmental and religious attitudes toward intermarriage.

Hollanda'da Göçmenler ve Vatandaşlık Eğitimi

The Netherlands is a significant example of citizenship education for other countries because of its distinctive citizenship politics based on immigration, and sexuality politics. This critical review focuses citizenship education curriculum in the Netherlands and highlights an understanding of how politically constructed educational objectives might endanger or support social cohesion and the integration of immigrants. This review, which is based on relevant literature, concentrates on secondary-level citizenship education because that level places the most emphasis on teaching civic principles based on citizenship policies, which have an emphasis on sexuality politics, Dutch nationality, and the assimilation of non-Western immigrants into Dutch society. The critical review of the current practices shows that there are two reasons for the failure to teach civic values to immigrant children and to create a harmonious relationship between locals and immigrants: 1) There is an inadequate explanation of how sexuality politics is connected to Dutch nationality in the school curriculum. 2) The political structure does not acknowledge that immigrant youth have a positive perception of understanding that sexuality politics is a component of Dutch nationality because of their political interests. Given the arguments, this discussion suggests that citizenship education curricula should give enough coverage to terms and concepts that are used to teach civic values and should have boundaries between politics and civic values to support the inclusion of immigrant communities.

TOTEs and trauma 2: a rat maternal care and stress epigenetic schematic

PurposeThis conceptual article presents a schematic of rat maternal behavior and niche stress epigenetic effects as a case study that is then aligned with current evolutionary concepts, which raises new questions regarding immigrant assimilation and niche dynamics.Design/methodology/approachThe necessary background material for rat maternal and niche(s) stress factors are incorporated into a recursive, test-operate-test (rTOT), information-only-transfer, schematic (Patterson, 2023), which is an extension and refinement of the test-operate-test-exit (TOTE) schematic of Miller et al. (1960).FindingsThe generated epigenetic rTOT demonstrates the fundamental evolutionary unit of the flexible organism within its niche(s). The rTOT also confirms that epigenetic processes, epigenetic inheritance and phenotype plasticity are significant conceptual tools for understanding evolution. The teleology of rat adaptations for niche fitness via maternal behavior has been demonstrated. Sterling's (2011) allostasis, or predictive homeostasis, is extended to include species-niche(s) interaction(s) that are governed by recursive information feedback loops that function via self-organized criticality (SOC) for species and niche(s). Use of a rat model for biosocial issues in humans is strengthened.Research limitations/implicationsEpigenetic rTOT only covers the species side of the evolutionary unit. Niche(s) require(s) a separate rTOT schematic. The information modeled does not include the entire system producing epigenetic effects but models a substantial portion of it.Practical implicationsEpigenetic rTOT demonstrates the utility of phenotypic plasticity, epigenetics and epigenetic inheritance as explanations for inheritable behavior patterns. rTOT is a useful computational model for evolutionary issues. The issues involved in niche modeling using an rTOT schematic are briefly reviewed.Social implicationsWhen the demonstrated epigenetic model of rat genetics and inherited behavior are applied to the issues of immigrant enclaves, epigenetic complications for the difficulties of assimilation into the culture within which the enclaves are embedded become apparent. However, the questions raised must be addressed with extreme care to avoid cultural imperialism. Such cultural issues must be modeled with an rTOT application that covers the materials involved. The limitations of human Learning III restrictions when attempting to model Learning IV issues are addressed. Research into the means by which abuse and trauma are maintained by epigenetic means is urgently needed.Originality/valueThe rTOT schematic visualizes rat maternal behavior and stress epigenetic effects that produce inheritable behavior patterns, which answers Jablonka's (2017) request for new computational modeling representations. The concept of allostasis, or predictive homeostasis, (Sterling, 2011) is extended to the niche(s) of the organism under study so that allostasis becomes a fully cybernetic concept governed by SOC for both the organism and its niche(s). This new case study confirmed evolutionary effects of epigenetics, epigenetic inheritance and phenotypic plasticity. Niche control of organism evolution is presented. Epigenetic applications for immigrant assimilation issues have been suggested and niche dynamic questions have been raised.

Assimilation, Acculturation, and Social Integration the Psychological Effect on Mixed Marriage in Sweden: Qualitative Study of Immigrants and Native Swedes

Assimilation, acculturation, and social Integration can have adverse psychological effects on marriage between immigrants and native Swedes. The study was conducted in Sweden. Immigrants in Sweden migrated from different countries and ethnic streams, many of which have different cultural norms and beliefs that may not fit well with the mainstream culture in Sweden. The method used in the study was the qualitative method with a semi-structured interview. Purposive and snowball sampling was used to locate the participants. Thus, this study aims to explore how assimilation, acculturation, and social Integration can psychologically affect mixed marriages between immigrants and native Swedes. Previously study focused on the positive assimilation of immigrants in the labor markets but not assimilation in marriage. Immigrants in Sweden have different families and social, cultural, and religious backgrounds with beliefs and norms that can be hard during the process of Integration, assimilation, and acculturation. The result indicated all the participants expressed positive and negative emotions that contributed to the conflict in their marriage during the assimilation, acculturation, and Social Integration process. These negative emotions of scary, worst pain, divorce sucks, gamophobia, bad, and subjection of children to the tragic scene, shameful thing influence mental health and is not a good thing. The results also indicate motivation, cultural beliefs, attitudes, and behavior after divorce. The finding will give awareness during the assimilation, acculturation, and social Integration; most immigrants may gradually lose all the markers, such as language, food, and customs.

Immigrant’s language identity in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

The article analyzes theoretical works which discuss the features of language identity in the era of global mobility. The current intensive movement of the human masses has led to a departure from the conceptualization of language as rooted in a specific locus, to its deterritorialization, to a shift from the language itself to its usage by an individual. The practical part of the article focuses on Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s novel “Americana” (2013). The scientific reflection refers to the analysis of the personality of the immigrants, who are the main characters of the novel, and the changes they experience when moving to a new country. The aim of the article is to study the ways of self-formation of foreigners in the context of their language self-identification. The language regime is present in the work on several important levels: preservation of the Igbo and resistance to the total dominance of the English language, linguistic assimilation of immigrants, assertion of the foreigner’s linguistic identity, language as a component of structural racism.Linguistic assimilation of immigrants causes them to abandon their native language, especially when it comes to migrants who speak the language of the country of settlement and, accordingly, speak to their children only in the language of a receiving country. At the same time, the novel “Americana” conveys the protagonist’s return to her own way of speaking, that is, Nigerian English. This shift signals her resistance to the complete negation of her identity in favor of the expectations and norms of the dominant group. In general, language is important for the formation of immigrant identity. The sensitivity of residents to pronunciation as well as to the level of command of the community’s language often causes alienation of the foreigner and a prejudiced attitude towards him/her. Therefore, immigrants try to get rid of labeling through language. They imitate the accents and pronunciation of the specific locus of their settlement. However, the main character of the novel “Americana” declares a new understanding of linguistic identity, which is closely related to the modern positioning of immigrants as those who are not ashamed of their difference, but on the contrary, respect their difference and insist on it.

Language Used at Home and Educational–Occupational Mismatch of Migrants by Gender

The ability of migrants to use the host country's language is crucial to their integration. Nonetheless, the association between migrant literacy and their labor market outcome is less explored compared to the association between their educational attainment and their economic integration. Moreover, this ability has another vital role in immigrant assimilation, serving as an indicator of cultural capital. The current study, therefore, examines the extent to which language as cultural capital shapes gender differences in migrant economic integration, as measured by educational–occupational mismatch (EOM). Using the PIAAC 2018 dataset, we employ a series of nested fixed-effect linear models in which our dependent variable is years of over-education and study the effect of language use at home, controlling for linguistic competence in the host country language. We find that once controlling for educational level, migrant men who use a different language than the host country's language at home are not more prone to EOM. However, migrant women, who are at higher risk of EOM, suffer even more when using a foreign language at home. We suggest that using a foreign language at home for women might indicate low host-country-specific cultural capital, which could directly affect migrant women’s integration into the labor market.

P. F. Unterberger's Policy and Views on Korean Migrants in the Far East of the Russian Empire

The object of the study is the migration policy of the Russian Empire in the Far East. The subject is the views and approach of the military Governor of the Primorsky Region (1888-1897) and the Governor-General of the Amur Region (1905-1910) P. F. Unterberger to the resettlement from Korea and the economic activities of Koreans in the Amur Region. The purpose of the study is to analyze P. F. Unterberger's policy on the settlement of the Korean issue in the Russian Far East. The author examines in detail the assessments of the regional administrator regarding the degree of assimilation of Korean immigrants with the Russian population, reveals his approach to the acceptance of Koreans into Russian citizenship. Special attention is paid to the negative aspects of the economic detail of Koreans in the Russian Far East and the political risks associated with their stay in Russia, which P. F. Unterberger highlighted in his essays. The scientific novelty of the study consists in the conclusion about the key role of the official in the development of measures of the Far Eastern administration to formalize the legal status of Koreans in Russia. The main reasons for the administrator's negative attitude towards immigrants from Korea are identified. The main principles that guided the official in carrying out the policy on the settlement of the Korean problem are formulated. The author stressed that the views expressed by P. F. Unterberger in his works contradict the basic principles of the national policy of the Russian Federation. Individual formulations of an official by modern standards are politically incorrect and cannot be used either in official documents or in scientific or journalistic materials.

Introduction: Assimilation, integration or transnationalism? An overview of theories of migrant incorporation

Introduction: Assimilation, integration or transnationalism? An overview of theories of migrant incorporation

Digital Ethnic Enclaves: Mate Preferences and Platform Choices Among Chinese Immigrant Online Daters in Vancouver

In light of the growing racialized immigrant population in Canada and advances in dating technologies, this study examines Chinese immigrants' partner preferences and mate selection processes through the lens of online dating. We draw on in-depth interviews with 31 Chinese immigrants who have used online dating services in Metro Vancouver to search for different-sex partners. Chinese immigrant online daters show strong preferences for dating Chinese. They emphasize permanent residency status and similarity in age at arrival when evaluating potential partners. Given their preferences, Chinese immigrants strategically choose the dating platforms they primarily use. Men exhibit higher selectivity in their preferences and choices of platforms. Notably, platforms catering to Chinese users create "digital ethnic enclaves" where Chinese immigrant daters congregate. The findings illuminate the intersection of race, gender, immigrant status, and age at arrival in shaping divergent experiences of mate selection and immigrant assimilation in the digital era.

The Role of Firms and Job Mobility in the Assimilation of Immigrants: Former Soviet Union Jews in Israel 1990-2019

The Role of Firms and Job Mobility in the Assimilation of Immigrants: Former Soviet Union Jews in Israel 1990-2019

The Melting Pot Comes to End: The Effects of Immigration Restrictions on Immigrant Assimilation

The Melting Pot Comes to End: The Effects of Immigration Restrictions on Immigrant Assimilation

The Latin American Diaspora in Canada today

The author examines the parameters of the Latin American diaspora in modern Canada. Various aspects are investigated: quantitative and qualitative components, as well as the history of its formation. Difficulties are noted with the unification of terminology used when counting immigrants from Latin America and the Caribbean. Difficulties with the self-identification are also pointed out. Particular attention is paid to the assimilation of Hispanic immigrants from Latin America in the francophone province of Quebec and immigration from Mexico.

A New Paradigm of Integration of the Arab and Muslim Stratum of the U.S. Population

The article comprehends the modern approach to the problem of immigrant assimilation in the United States. The focus of attention is the Arab-American diaspora, which is growing rapidly in numbers and is actively going through the difficulties of fitting the ethno-group into the domestic political context of the United States due to the specifics of the "legacy" of 9/11. It is this segment of the American population that most clearly demonstrates a departure from the classical "straightforward" assimilation, thus changing the strategy of the process, as well as the essence of the metaphor of the American "melting pot”.

Interrogating the Myths of Education: Dorothy Bryant'sElla Price's JournalandMiss Giardino

Interrogating the Myths of Education: Dorothy Bryant's<i>Ella Price's Journal</i>and<i>Miss Giardino</i>

The immigrant wage gap and assimilation in Korea

Abstract This study investigates the size of the initial wage disadvantage and the patterns of subsequent labor-market assimilation for immigrant workers in South Korea. We find that immigrants to Korea earn 17–29 percent less upon arrival than natives with similar characteristics, and the wage gap diminishes by 1.55 percent per year spent in the country. The patterns of assimilation differ by both gender and country of origin. Males and Asian immigrants generally follow the patterns of all foreign workers. However, females experience a smaller initial wage difference and no convergence, while immigrants from non-Asian countries and Japan initially earn higher wages than natives, but they then experience a relative decline in wages over time. The results of our out-migration analysis suggest that the negative assimilation of non-Asian and Japanese immigrants may be due to positively selected out-migration.

Race, nation and empire; the forgotten sociology of Herbert Adolphus Miller

Herbert Adolphus Miller (1875–1951) is a neglected figure within North American sociology, yet he made a distinctive contribution to the sociology and politics of race relations. He was one of the first sociological critics of eugenics and developed a distinctive approach to race relations and the position of subject minorities derived from a critical analysis of European empires. His approach was complementary to that of Du Bois with whom he had a close relationship. In this article, we trace Miller’s critique of eugenics and the idea of ‘Americanisation’ as a policy of immigrant assimilation, showing the distinctiveness of his approach within North American sociology, including the milieu of Chicago sociology with which he was associated. We also examine the connection between his sociology of race and Park’s position on race relations as being a process of gradual assimilation. We conclude with discussion of the Chicago school influence over Gunnar Myrdal’s The American Dilemma and the alternative approach to race relations that both Du Bois and Miller had already outlined in the 1920s.

Discrimination unveiled: a field experiment on the barriers faced by Muslim women in Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain

Abstract We examine the penalties faced by veiled and unveiled Muslim women when applying for jobs in three European labour markets: Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. We rely on recent literature comparing public opposition towards Muslims in general and opposition to Muslims’ religious practices, such as the wearing of the hijab. Based on a cross-nationally harmonized field experiment on hiring discrimination, we use two different signals of Muslimness (volunteering activities in a Muslim community centre or wearing the Muslim headscarf) to identify whether employers discriminate against Muslims as a group or against Muslims adhering to specific Muslim practices—in this case, wearing the headscarf. We present robust evidence that veiled Muslim women are discriminated against in Germany and the Netherlands, but only when applying for jobs that require a high level of customer contact. In Spain, however, the level of discrimination against veiled Muslim women is much smaller than in the other two countries. The high level of discrimination we found in the Netherlands, where the institutional context has traditionally been open to the accommodation of religious minority rights, is particularly surprising and points to the possibly stigmatizing effect of recent policies geared towards the cultural assimilation of immigrants.

Reinterpretation of Spiritual Autobiography Genre in Richard Rodriguez’s Darling

The article is focused on the reinterpretation of the genre of spiritual autobiography in Richard Rodriguez’s novel Darling. Rodriguez’s autobiographical prose depicts his extremely embittered attitude to heritage and the pitfalls lurking at the crossroads of cultural practices. For a long time, this author had been placed outside the canon of Chicano literature and was considered an ‘outsider’ because of his statement that he was not a representative of a minority but a supporter of the assimilation of immigrants into the broader mainstream American society. Rodriguez emphasized the privilege of the individual over the collective identity. The study focuses on the formation of ethnic identity by autobiographical narrator Rodriguez and the evolution of his views on the nature of the concept of ‘self-identification’. In addition, as Mexican-Americans are gradually becoming the largest ethno-cultural group in the United States of America, the issues of identity, assimilation, heterogeneity and cultural hybridity raised by the author stay relevant and important.

(Inter)racialization: the regulation of domestic and urban space in housing North African migrants in post-colonial France

Literature on immigrant housing and assimilation has shown how housing policies perpetuate, create and contest racial boundaries. This paper argues for the necessity to look at the regulation of domestic space together with the regulation of the urban space. By reading “along” and “against” the archival grain, this paper looks at housing policies that targeted the North-African migrant population in the 1960s and 1970s in France as colonial continuities. French authorities ostensibly encouraged gendered assimilation through spatial politics and interventions in the domestic space. Literature on the French context has shown how this perpetuated racialisation in the housing process. Building upon feminist scholarship on gender, intimacy, and colonialism, this paper shows how these policies did not acknowledge interracialised households and prevented interracialised intimacies. This helps understand how housing policies can reinforce racialised exclusion by regulating racial boundaries in the urban space and the domestic space together.