Importance Of Minorities Research Articles

Influence of Turkey-Israel relations on Turkish Jews businesspeople

ABSTRACT Multidimensional relations have protected Turkey and Israel from the effects of political crises. The main question of this article is how Turkey-Israel relations impact Turkish Jews business representatives. Interviews with Turkish Jewish businesspeople, who are primarily influenced by the developments in foreign policy due to their international business volumes, answered the question of how Turkish Jews were influenced by foreign policy, and emphasised the importance of minorities in foreign policy issues. The article explores the role of minorities in foreign policy and sheds light on how ethnic minorities, who are viewed as secondary agents in foreign policy, are influenced by the Turkey-Israel relations.

Social classes and political Islam: a comparative ecological approach of post-Arab Spring elections in Northern Africa (2011- 2014)

ABSTRACT Starting from the debate on the sociology of political Islam, opposing interpretations centred on identity and on specific class alliances, the paper proposes a comparative analysis of the socio-geographies of mainstream Islamist parties in the post-Arab spring period in Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt. The paper shows that socio-geographies of political Islam are very pronounced, making unlikely an interpretation of Islamist parties as having a purely non class-based identity. These results challenge the conception of political Islam as a hegemonic ideology among Arab populations, as such an ideology would be built on their cultural heritage, repressed both by colonialism and by post-colonial elites. This conception denies the complexity of modern Arab societies, the importance of minorities, the diversity of social trajectories and the capacity of other movements to penetrate into some deprived rural or urban areas. This analysis neither validates conclusions that political Islam is an alliance between the deprived urban classes and the traditional bourgeoisie politically excluded from the ruling post-colonial classes. Rather, one finding is that the social grounds of Islamists are very dependent on the national contexts.

중국정부의 소수민족정책

China is a multi-ethnic country made up of the Han Chinese and 55 ethnic minorities. Minority ethnic groups account for 8.89% of the total population, but they occupy 64% of the country due to their extensive residential area. In addition, minority ethnic groups take the form of living together with the Han Chinese rather than living alone with their own ethnic groups in isolation. China's ethnic minority policy implemented a policy of reconciliation in the early days of its founding, and a policy of coercion from the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution before the Cultural Revolution. During the Cultural Revolution, the assimilation policy was promoted, and in the early stage of reform and opening up, the policy of reconciliation and recovery of ethnic minority policies was implemented, and since 1992, Han Chinese-centered integration policy has been implemented. The regional importance of ethnic minorities is that they occupy a large territory even though their population is small. Most of their residences are located at the border, and they have abundant underground resources. It is a strategic point essential for integration and maintaining external status. Among the minority ethnic groups, the Tibetan and Xinjiang Uyghurs are the most threatened ethnic groups in China, and the conflict continues. have. The fundamental solution to minority disputes is to grant autonomy to ethnic minority areas, guarantee religious freedom and cultural identity, examine problems caused by excessive Han Chinese migration, and guarantee improvement of living standards for local residents.

Towards a Catholic North America? Projections of Religion in Canada and the US Beyond the Mid-21st Century

Religion and religiosity are important identity markers, and changes in a country’s religious composition may affect its culture, value orientations and policies. In recent decades the Protestants in both the US and Canada have lost their absolute population majority. In the present study we investigate the future of the religious composition in both the US and Canada jointly until the 2060s taking into consideration changes due to demographic forces, the level and composition of migration, fertility differentials and intergenerational religious transmissions. The joint focus on both the US and Canada allows one to better understand the commonalities and differences between these two nations which are tightly knit in terms of geography, politics, economics and culture. The projections reveal that North America should not become Catholic by mid-century but close to, with an increasing importance of minorities in the religious landscape.

Parlament Europejski jako rzecznik mniejszości narodowych i etnicznych w Unii Europejskiej

Mniejszości narodowe oraz etniczne są nieodłącznym elementem zjednoczonej Europy i świadczą o jej bogactwie kulturowym, a także niezwykłej różnorodności. Unia Europejska podkreśla potrzebę ich ochrony i przeciwdziała dyskryminacji ze względu na pochodzenie etniczne.Z różnych powodów działania unijnych instytucji na rzecz tych mniejszości, w tym przede wszystkim takie o charakterze legislacyjnym, są jednak mocno ograniczone. Na tym tle zdecydowanie wyróżnia się Parlament Europejski, który w ciągu lat przyjął wiele rezolucji adresowanych do Unii Europejskiej i państw członkowskich, w których podkreśla znaczenie mniejszości narodowych dla Europy oraz potrzebę efektywniejszej i pełniejszej ich ochrony w ramach wspólnoty. W swoich aktach wyznacza pożądane standardy ochrony, wskazuje niezbędne dla przedstawicieli mniejszości prawa i apeluje o konkretne działania. Instytucja ta wyrasta zatem na swoistego rzecznika mniejszości narodowych i etnicznych na unijnym forum.

Basal Testosterone Renders Individuals More Receptive to Minority Positions

Social influence is an inevitable part of human social interaction. Although past research has demonstrated that testosterone has a key role in social interaction, no study has examined its role in social influence so far. Building on previous research showing that minority positions are perceived as risky options and that testosterone is positively associated with status seeking and risk-taking, we hypothesized that basal testosterone renders individuals more receptive to minority positions. In two studies, participants (total N = 250) read messages that were supported by either a numerical majority or minority. As hypothesized, individuals’ levels of basal testosterone were positively related to susceptibility to minority influence. In contrast, susceptibility to majority influence was unaffected by basal testosterone. Given the importance of minorities for innovation and change within societies, our results suggest that individuals with high levels of testosterone may play an important role as catalysts of social change.

La Línea Negra como reconocimiento de territorios ancestrales de las comunidades indígenas de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

El respeto por los territorios ancestrales de las comunidades étnicas en Colombia ha representado un punto histórico de fricción social y violencia constante entre los distintos protagonistas de la violencia de nuestro país. El presente documento se próxima y aborda el plexo normativo y jurisprudencial relacionados con la protección de los espacios sagrados de los pueblos arhuaco, kogui, wiwa y kankuamo de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, consignados o delimitados en lo que dichas comunidades étnicas han denominado como la “Línea Negra” (Séshizha, en la lengua kággaba del pueblo kogui; Shetana Zhiwa, en la lengua damana del pueblo wiwa; o Seykutukunumaku, en la lengua iku del pueblo kankuamo), concepto espiritual, cultural y físico de la Ley de Origen.
 El reconocimiento del Estado colombiano a las comunidades indígenas de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, de sus sitios sagrados y ancestrales a través de varias manifestaciones de las ramas de poder público —actos administrativos y sentencias—, constituye un gran paso para entender la importancia de las minorías étnicas que propende por el respeto y conservación de los recursos naturales y la relevancia tanto en sus vidas materiales como espirituales, por tal razón es apropiado estudiar si el andamiaje normativo es suficiente y adecuado para que se conserve y mantenga los sitios sagrados que delimitan la “Línea Negra” y que se encuentra en la memoria ancestral de las autoridades espirituales de nuestros hermanos mayores.

Local Minorities in Counterinsurgency: U.S. Approaches to Baghdad and Saigon Regarding Marginalized Populations

In counterinsurgencies, minority groups such as the Sunnis in Iraq are important elements of the “population,” the social–political terrain where population-centric counterinsurgency is battled. Yet there has been little systematic analysis of minority groups in unconventional warfare and no investigation of the ways intervening forces, like the United States, have approached in-country allies in an effort to get host nations to address the strategic importance of minorities. Examining new data on alliance politics between the United States and local partners in Vietnam and Iraq, I find that while existing scholarship would suggest that in-country allies will resist U.S. pressure to engage with minority groups, local allies are surprisingly likely to comply, at least in part, in order to avoid U.S. unilateral engagement with local minorities and to influence the policies adopted. This process slowly undermines U.S. counterinsurgency efforts, speaking to the complexities of population-centric approaches and working through local proxies.

Between a Rock and a Hard Place: Border Minorities in China’s Foreign Relations with South Asia

ABSTRACTThis article takes a closer look at how China’s government deals with border minorities in the foreign relations with its neighboring South Asian states. To secure its periphery, China has been known to push its neighbors to support border security, including repressive measures against refugee populations which could potentially threaten China’s domestic peace by inciting or supporting secessionist movements. This study highlights the roles of the Tibetan and Uighur minorities in the relations of China with adjacent states in South Asia. For the Tibetan minority, the article will analyze Sino-Nepalese as well as Sino-Indian relations; concerning the Uighur minority, Sino-Pakistani relations will be highlighted. These case studies promise to be interesting also because of the range of relationships between China and these countries, Pakistan being a relatively close ally, Nepal a buffer state in which China and India compete for power, and India being at least a competitor state, if not arch-enemy—given still existing border disputes. India and Nepal house the first and second largest Tibetan refugee populations worldwide, respectively, while only a small Uighur population lives in Pakistan. Expected results should show the relative importance of border minorities and therefore, Chinese domestic politics in foreign relations with the selected cases.

Plugging the Diversity Leak and Strengthening the Legal Profession: Examining the Importance of Targeting Underrepresented Minorities on the Educational Pipeline to Law

At first glance, the legal profession appears to be thriving with diversity. Three women, including one Hispanic woman, and one African American man currently serve on the United States Supreme Court. The country’s first African American president recently left office, taking with him the country’s first African American woman to hold the office of attorney general. This appearance of diversity is not particularly new — Presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton,and George W. Bush all had progressively more racially and ethnically diverse cabinet picks compared to their predecessors. The illusion of diversity persists even outside of politics and government, in the entertainment world, going back over 30 years with the likes of attorney Claire Huxtable in The Cosby Show and later Judge Phillip Banks, more commonly known as Uncle Phil on The Fresh Prince of Bel Air. Today, Emmy, Tony, and Oscar winner Viola Davis personifies a highly revered attorney and academic on How to Get Away with Murder and millions tune in weekly to watch attorney Olivia Pope balance a successful law firm and political career in Scandal. LGBT individuals, gay men in particular, also see greater representation as attorneys on television. Yet law is one of the least diverse professions in the United States. The vast majority of attorneys — 88% to be exact — are white and white males hold a majority of all high-ranking, prestigious positions. This persistent lack of diversity among legal professionals and individuals in leadership positions is more accurately portrayed by the optics of our current presidential administration. In its stark contrast to predecessors past, the administration of President Donald J. Trump exemplifies the state of diversity in the legal profession. Once all of President Trump’s cabinet picks are confirmed, women and non-whites will hold only six positions. There will be only three visible minorities in the cabinet — an African American, Asian American, and Hispanic American — and all three possess the highest level of academic achievement among cabinet members yet hold some of the lowest ranking cabinet or cabinet level positions. This Article does not attempt to blame the decrease in diversity on President Trump, or any other administration or official. Rather, the aim of this Article is to identify the importance of education in its role as the integral equalizer in achieving success in high-level leadership positions. In doing so, it becomes evident that diversifying the legal profession greatly depends on pipeline programs that target racial and ethnic minorities, or other narrowly focused minorities, and cultivate academic achievement. In an effort to quantify the value and potential reach of diversity pipeline programs, Part II of this Article begins by delineating and quantifying diversity in the United States population, in American law schools, and the legal profession. Part III discusses various goals of diversity and identifies the aim adopted by this Article and a majority of pipeline initiatives. Then, Part IV defines the education pipeline to the legal profession before describing the potential of pipeline programs, as exemplified by those already operating. In Part V, this Article takes the position that pipeline programs are essential to the future of the legal profession — not only for the programs’ ability to diversify the legal workforce, but for the potential such initiatives carry in ensuring public confidence in, and accessibility to, the legal and judicial system. Lastly, this Article concludes by reminding the reader that society looks to the legal profession to draw its leaders but the profession cannot be expected to fill this need with attorneys of color that do not exist. The legal profession, as action-oriented problem solvers, must place itself at the forefront of ensuring membership is as inclusive as the communities we seek to serve.

Unreasonable Histories: Nativism, Multiracial Lives, and the Genealogical Imagination in British Africa by Christopher J. Lee

Unreasonable Histories: Nativism, Lives, and Genealogical Imagination in British Africa, by Christopher J. Lee. Durham, Duke University Press, 2014. xvii, 346 pp. $94.95 (cloth), $26.95 (paper). Who, or what, is unreasonable in this new book by Christopher Lee? Unfortunately it took me more than a few days of reading to figure out answer since I skipped dense introduction where answer was hiding. What I discovered in later chapters is a provocative book about lives of multiracial Africans in British Eastern and Southern Africa from early to mid twentieth century. Multiracial includes communities self-described as Anglo-African, Coloured, Luso-African, Indo-African, and Cape Afrikander (just to name a few). The focus is on people who Lee says lost--politically, socially, and culturally--with end of colonialism, whose have since been marginalized by politics of African nationalism during postcolonial period (3). The chapters recount how racial thought informed issues as varied as town planning, legal status of multiracial people, colonial anti-poverty programs, and norms of sexual behavior. Lee draws upon interviews with survivors, and archival records including newspapers, government reports and documents, as well as materials from multiracial groups such as Euro-African Patriotic Society in Rhodesia, Anglo-African Association of Nyasaland, and Coloured Community Service League--just to name a few. The book is carefully researched and at its simplest chapters argue for importance of racial minorities and their layered under colonial rule (5). In a more dense formation of that goal, author describes book as being about genealogical imagination--its origins, its diverse morphologies and instrumental uses, and its historical demise (4). The book is challenging since many of main themes, such as genealogical imagination and nativism, may feel foreign and unwieldy to undergraduates or lay public. All of terms are carefully defined, but it is this elaborate theoretical framing that makes jumping into book a challenge. Few would disagree when he states that of kind observed here have been habitually marginalized, (8) although it is harder to explain why. Lee argues it is because scholars have absorbed colonial assumptions that study of Africa must focus solely or primarily on black communities. He asserts this willful neglect is due to a lack of historical imagination (12) and challenges historians to be vigilant in questioning the accepted parameters of academic inquiry and choice of legitimate subject matter (9). The book is organized into three different parts that correspond with author's argument about what makes these multiracial unreasonable. Part I: Histories Without Groups highlights methodologically unreasonable, modes of evidence and difficulty involved in restoring these subaltern histories (19). …

Wielokulturowość we współczesnych polskich badaniach geograficznych i edukacji geograficznej – zarys problematyki

Poland is a peculiar example of country which had a very rich tradition of being one of Europe’s most multicultural societies, and at the same time most tolerant and open to “others”, notwithstanding a contemporary history characterised by a notable degree of national and religious homogeneity, as well as the aversion of a large part of society (and some political parties) to immigrants, especially those from beyond European culture. This is also visible in any attempt to outline contemporary geographical research in multiculturalism, as well as its presence in geographical education. The following general conclusions could be formulated on the basis of the analysis carried out: – The vast majority of research topics taken up concern relics of the former Polish multiculturalism – small and strongly integrated national, ethnic and religious minorities, cultural heritage attesting to the rich and proud history of Poland, and the presence of Polish culture and tradition in eastern borderland regions that lives on through centres of Polish minorities. Overall, it is what might be described as “sentimental multiculturalism” (internal, historical, traditional and indigenous); – The same relationship can be seen in school-level geographical education, which shows Polish multiculturalism through the lens of centuries-old, but currently scarce national and religious diversity, as well as the migration of Poles to the United Kingdom. At the same time, societies with different skin colours and non-Christian religions are located in far-away, exotic countries. – Despite the latest censuses showing a dynamic increase in numbers of the so-called regional minorities (especially Silesian and Kashubian) that dominate the contemporary ethnic structure of Poland, as well as their intensified social, cultural and political aspirations, there has been no proportionate upsurge of interest on the part of geographers; – Geographical research marginalises the issue of “immigrant multiculturalism” (external, modern and immigrant), despite this being an important research, journalistic, economic and political issue in the European Union for decades, and especially now. This perception of, and research on multiculturalism, in Polish geography is to a large extent understandable, in line with the historical and cultural importance of the so-called traditional minorities on the one hand, and – on the other – the lack of attractiveness of our country as a destination for settlement among economic migrants and refugees from the Middle East and North Africa. Despite all of that, Poland will ultimately not differ from Western Europe, in that it will not avoid a further increase in multiculturalism, given that no minority will either fully emigrate or fully integrate. Sooner or later, the influx of immigrants from nonEuropean cultures will increase, and the waves of legal and illegal immigration will not omit Poland. The substantive and mental preparation of Polish society for this “immigrant multiculturalism” – in a manner that is free of both populism and political correctness – represents a huge challenge for geographers, but also for sociologists, political scientists and historians.

Bridging National and Ethnic Borders: The European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation as a Space for Minorities

This article investigates territorial cooperation as an instrument that may help to link the two central objectives of the Council of Europe and the European Union: strengthening integration and cohesion, while encouraging and safeguarding diversity. Drawing on studies on minority protection and diversity management as well as on European integration, the authors examine the impact of regional development policies and strategies, in particular territorial cooperation, on minorities, on the one hand, and the importance of minorities for these policies on the other hand. The article focuses on the European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) as concrete policy instrument to promote territorial cooperation, studying its practical implementation on the Austrian-Italian border.

Religious Issues in China's Rural Development: The Importance of Ethnic Minorities

This paper considers Chinese religion in relation to the changing nature of rural society and modernisation. Rural/urban distinctions are questioned, while the realities of religious differences between them are affirmed. Development is related to modernisation and multiple sources of Chinese modernity are considered. Religion is examined in terms of its tendencies towards diversification and capacity to embody visions of an alternative moral order. Some aspects of ethnic minority religion and its renewal are introduced, with reference to the ethnography of the Hmong, to show that minority religious issues can reflect broader religious issues in China. Geomancy and ancestral worship are shared by Hmong and Han Chinese. In conclusion it is argued that religion is increasingly presented as cultural in China through a process of ‘folklorisation’, which in the larger sense may not be problematic, yet important aspects of spirituality are lost which may find expression in mass Christian conversions.

Los españoles y la revolución comercial mexicana: las cadenas de supermercados, 1921-2011

In this article I emphasize the role played by Spanish-born entrepreneurs in the creation of large supermarket chains in Mexico. Their resource contribution, as well as their proximity to the United States, were both key aspects in that development and growth. This story thus reveals the importance of national minorities in the creation of big businesses in Latin America. However, at the same time it also delves into an aspect of Mexican Business History that has been explored little to date: the strength of its commercial firms, reinforced by their responses to the highly segmented market and competition from Wal-Mart. The article also allows us to identify the transfer of experience and knowledge in the sector from Mexico to Spain in the 1960s.

From segments and lifestyles to communities‐light

PurposeThe ethnic marketing field has long recognized the need to address specific needs and tastes of ethnic minorities in traditionally Western‐dominant societies. However, it has done so mainly by considering socio‐demographic indicators such as ethnic provenance. The growing importance of ethnic minorities in Western societies calls for a further refinement of existing segmentation models which takes into account the development of specific sub‐cultures within ethnic groups. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how Islamic minorities in Europe are developing into a complex set of micro‐cultures.Design/methodology/approachEthnographic methods, such as participant observation, photographic analysis and phenomenological interviewing helped identifying extant sub‐cultures within the Islamic youth minority in The Netherlands. By applying interpretive methods, the aim is not external generalization but rather theory informing.FindingsFive sub‐cultures/neo‐tribes have been identified, which differ consistently in terms of preferences, values and behaviour.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper advocates a shift from conceiving markets in terms of socio‐demographic, or psychometric, variables to considering markets as sub‐cultural systems or communities‐light.Social implicationsA more realistic approach to segmenting markets helps marketers and consumers to develop more meaningful products and marketing activities. The paper also adds to knowledge about the increasingly important Islamic minority in The Netherlands.Originality/valueTo the authors' knowledge, this is the first study addressing the importance of Islamic minorities for marketers, from a sociological perspective, in Europe.

Party politics, religion and elections in Western democracies

In the field of the comparative study of religion and politics, much has been written about Christian Democracy but rather little about the religious cleavage, which according to most studies of the party family underlies it. This paper addresses the issues of the characteristics of the religious cleavage in Western democracies in the transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century and the role of religious parties. Beginning with a critical review of the concepts of secularization and cleavage politics the argument is advanced that the religious cleavage remains a force in party politics and voting behaviour, yet is undergoing a change in light of cultural and political differentiation processes. There are signs that denominational voting decreases in most Western democracies; at the same time, differences between religiously oriented and secular voters, though also slightly declining, remain rather robust at a higher level than denominational voting. A new element is added by the growing importance of non-Christian minorities in most of these countries. These developments have profound consequences for the position and identity of Christian Democracy and other confessionally oriented parties.

Minority Students and Faculty in Higher Music Education

he College Music Society (CMS) has acknowledged the importance of minorities to higher music education in its publication Music in the Undergraduate Curriculum: A Reassessment. In the 1989 report, the CMS listed seven essential that twenty-first-century music students need to be able to participate in the musical life of the United States. Several of these competencies acknowledge the ethnic diversity of the American population and reflect the need to address this diversity in college music programs:

An outranking-based fuzzy logic model for collaborative group preferences

Some ideas coming from Multi Criteria Decision Aid are here extended to group decision. We present a logical model in order to reflect the degree of truth of the following predicate “group G considers that option x is at least as good as y.” The proposal considers the strength of the majority using its number and the intensity of its preference, and it also acknowledges the importance of the minorities of a certain numerical significance that manifest an intense disagreement with the predicate of the outranking. The effects of the “majority dictatorship” are restricted. Since it considers simultaneously the strength of the majority, the importance of unhappy minorities, and the intensity of the preference/opposition, this model exhibits desirable qualities of the classic methods by Condorcet and Borda. This model can be used to solve problems regarding selection, ranking, classification, and sorting. Various examples are given, which show the quality of the solutions that were obtained.

The political incorporation of South Asian elites in Britain

The article centres on the debate about the political importance of ethnic minorities and focuses on, first, the political participation of British South Asians at large and, second, the political activities of Asian elites specifically. Following a review of the evidence relating to mass electoral-based participation, the article then highlights the role played by Asian political elites in both setting and responding to the terms of the evaluative debate. A third section deals with the question of how Asian elites—political and other—respond to the key ideological positions of Britain's main political parties. This reopens the question of Asian political distinctiveness and how elites may contribute to debates about so-called Asian values in politics. The artcile concludes with a brief discussion of elite-based versus mass electoral-based strategies for achieving enhanced political leverage in the British system.