Majority Minority Research Articles

A majority–minority cellular automata algorithm for global optimization

Cellular automata (CA) are discrete dynamical systems that can give rise to complex behaviors under certain conditions. Its operation is based on simple local interactions between its elements. The different dynamical behaviors of CA offer a great diversity of ideas and inspiration to propose new metaheuristics focused on global optimization. One such automata is the one specified by the majority rule, which is capable of implementing logical operations under the right conditions. Taking this rule as inspiration, this work proposes the majority–minority CA algorithm. This algorithm takes different adaptations of the majority rule and its counterpart, the minority rule, to establish different rules that modify vectors of real values in order to achieve a good balance in exploration and exploitation tasks for optimization tasks. The efficiency of the majority–minority CA algorithm is tested with 50 widely used test problems in the literature, using both uni- and multimodals and fixed dimensions. Additionally, 3 engineering applications used in recent literature are also optimized. The numerical results verify the competitiveness of the algorithm compared to other recently published specialized algorithms. The source codes of the proposed algorithm are publicly available at https://github.com/juanseck/MmCAA.git.

Hungarian Language Teaching in Asymmetric Language Context: A Case of Constrained Teacher Agency

ABSTRACT There is a sizable Hungarian minority living in Romania, who have the right to learn in their mother-tongue. While most Hungarians are enrolled in Hungarian medium education, there is a small number of families who opt for mainstream Romanian monolingual schools. According to the Law, the latter group can choose to learn Hungarian in an optional manner, but there is no usable curriculum for this kind of education. Given the absence of top-down regulation, without centralized pressure on choosing how to teach, teachers could become real classroom decision-makers; nevertheless, they fail to do so. More exactly, as they emphasize solely the symbolic values of the minority language, they unintendedly reinforce the asymmetry between the majority Romanian and minority Hungarian languages, implicitly legitimizing the dominant languages ideology promoted by the more powerful institutional actors and the policy environment itself.

The sociology of white America: A teaching and learning guide

The sociology of white America: A teaching and learning guide

Demographic change and assimilation in the early 21st-century United States.

SignificanceThe contemporary intellectual landscape, dominated by theories about race and racism, has engendered the majority-minority conception of the American future, in which White people are outnumbered by Americans of color by midcentury. But assimilation, as a set of processes with societal ramifications, is still potent, driven by demographic dynamics that generate opportunities for minority mobility, and is linked to increasing family mixing between White and non-White people. The children of these families offer the best window into ongoing assimilation. The binary vision of the majority-minority society needs major modification because of the emergence and growing size of this bridging group. In addition, racism-focused theories need to be complemented by assimilation ideas to grasp the implications of demographic change.

European identity among ethnic majority and ethnic minority students: understanding the role of the school curriculum

ABSTRACT Schools are an important setting wherein different identity dimensions are made available to youth. This paper argues that European identity can be a relevant unifying collective identity in ethnically diverse contexts. We study whether (or not) students who are confronted with a European and/or a multicultural dimension in their school curriculum, identify more strongly with a European identity. More specifically, we analyse whether the importance of these dimensions for European identification differs between a sample of ethnic majority and ethnic minority students. The results show that both the European and the multicultural curriculum predicted a stronger European identity for both groups. The effects of both dimensions on European identity were similar for ethnic majority students, while the multicultural dimension had significantly stronger effects on European identity for ethnic minority students. The paper thus highlights how curricula contribute to changing patterns of identification in a diversifying society.

Satisfaction of visually disabled users with California educational websites

BACKGROUND: College and university websites in the United States are legally required to meet accessibility standards to promote equal opportunity in education for blind and visually disabled students. Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are the recognized standard for website accessibility. OBJECTIVE: Determine how satisfied blind and visually disabled college and university students are with college and university websites in California, and whether compliance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines is a good predictor of that satisfaction. METHODS: A random sample of websites from California colleges and universities was evaluated for accessibility compliance. A stratified sample of six websites was taken from the initial sample. Thirty blind or visually disabled students performed a prescribed series of tasks on each of the six websites, then answered a Likert-format survey regarding their satisfaction with each website. RESULTS: Sixty-three percent of websites did not meet the first priority accessibility criteria. Participant responses showed a majority were satisfied with websites, both compliant and non-compliant, and a strong correlation between satisfaction and accessibility compliance. CONCLUSIONS: Despite legal requirements, a majority or large minority of college and university websites in California do not meet accessibility guidelines, indicating a significant opportunity to improve the accessibility of those websites.

Context-dependent Online Social Influence: Effect of Majority and Minority Comments on Posters and Lurkers

While participatory websites provide users with two distinctive contexts, such as posting opinions and lurking, not many studies examine how such contexts affect the ways in which users are influenced by peer opinions. In a 2 (context: posting vs. lurking) X 3 (peer-opinion composition: balanced, lopsided, or unanimous) between-subjects experiment, participants ( N = 334) revealed their opinions in a public poll or in an anonymous survey. After reading a unanimous opinion in the comments, both posting and lurking groups agreed with the unanimous opinion to a greater extent than reading the balanced opinion. After reading opposing opinions of the numerical majority and the numerical minority of peer groups, posters leaned toward the majority opinion, and lurkers toward the minority opinion. Additional analyses revealed that different mechanisms governed the effects. The moderating effect of group identification and need for cognition implies that normative influence and informational influence underlies the majority effect and minority effect, respectively.

Persistent and interdependent: Racial disparities and their mechanisms in postmastectomy breast reconstruction

BackgroundRacial disparities in accessing postmastectomy breast reconstruction persist despite expansion of insurance coverage. An updated examination with a broad assessment of mediating factors in a “majority minority” community is needed. MethodsData were collected on all patients undergoing mastectomy for breast cancer from 2011 to 2019 in a private academic center and adjacent safety-net hospital. Multivariable logistic regression was used to assess the effect of race on postmastectomy breast reconstruction, controlling for predetermined potentially mediating and confounding variables. ResultsOf 1,554 patients, 63.8% (n = 203) of non-Hispanic White, 33.4% (n = 102) of Black, and 47.9% (n = 438) of Hispanic patients underwent postmastectomy breast reconstruction. Multivariable logistic regression showed that Black patients (odds ratio [OR] 3.6, 95% confidence internal [CI]: 2.2–5.9; P < .0001) undergo significantly less postmastectomy breast reconstruction than White patients. Age, insurance status, stage, and hospital type mediated this relationship. ConclusionBlack patients have substantially reduced rates of postmastectomy breast reconstruction compared with White patients, which is mediated by socioeconomic factors.

Ethnic Bias in Judicial Decision Making: Evidence from Criminal Appeals in Kenya

Understanding sources of judicial bias is essential for establishing due process. To date, theories of judicial decision making are rooted in ranked societies with majority–minority group cleavages, leaving unanswered which groups are more prone to express bias and whether it is motivated by in-group favoritism or out-group hostility. We examine judicial bias in Kenya, a diverse society that features a more complex ethnic landscape. While research in comparative and African politics emphasizes instrumental motivations underpinning ethnic identity, we examine the psychological, implicit biases driving judicial outcomes. Using data from Kenyan criminal appeals and the conditional random assignment of judges to cases, we show that judges are 3 to 5 percentage points more likely to grant coethnic appeals than non-coethnic appeals. To understand mechanisms, we use word embeddings to analyze the sentiment of written judgments. Judges use more trust-related terms writing for coethnics, suggesting that in-group favoritism motivates coethnic bias in this context.

Quantifying determinants of social conformity in an online debating website

Social conformity is the act of individuals adjusting their personal opinions to agree with an opposing majority. Previous work has identified multiple determinants of social conformity in controlled laboratory studies, but they remain largely untested in naturalistic online environments. For this study, we developed a realistic debating website, which 48 participants used for one week. We deployed four versions of the website using a 2 (high vs. low social presence) x 2 (high vs. low emphasis on majority–minority group composition) between-subjects factorial design. We found that participants were significantly more likely to conform when the platform promotes high social presence, despite its emphasis on group composition. Our qualitative findings further reveal how different aspects of social presence embedded in platform design (i.e., user representation, interactivity, and response visibility) contribute to heightened conformity behaviour. Our results provide evidence of the organic manifestation of conformity in online groups discussing subjective content and confirm the effect of platform design on online conformity behaviour. We conclude with a discussion on the implications of our findings on how future online platforms can be designed accounting for conformity influences.

All things considered: The views of adolescents in vocational education on competing democratic values

The views young people have towards democratic values shape their views in later life. However, the values that are fundamental to democracy, such as majority rule and minority rights, are often competing. This study aims to provide insight into the ways adolescents view democratic issues in which democratic values are competing. To do so, three democratic issues with varying conditions were designed, and discussed during interviews with students in vocational education. The results show that most adolescents consider both democratic values that underlie an issue. Furthermore, as the conditions in which the issues take place were altered during the interviews, adolescents explicitly evaluated different perspectives and starting shifting between both values. The findings of this study show that adolescents’ views on democratic issues are layered, and include considering multiple democratic values and taking account of the conditions in which these are situated.

War and peace in the age of corona: an analysis of support for repressive state policies in divided societies

ABSTRACT Unlike various natural disasters that some studies have highlighted as potential contributors to peace, the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is neither short-term nor regionally confined. Thus, rather than invoking a compassionate response, the pandemic is likely to aggravate pre-existing divisions and create an environment that accentuates survival over compassion. Building on a large probability survey data gathered in May 2020 in Turkey, we demonstrate that the pandemic has disproportionally affected minority Kurds and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and social polarization. Results from a series of regression analyses show growing dissatisfaction with the Turkish government’s handling of the pandemic. However, this effect fails to translate into the sense of solidarity between majority Turks and minority Kurds necessary to build a peaceful society. Support for the government’s approach to the Kurdish opposition seems to be conditioned by social categorization and increasingly partisan political identities in Turkey.

Teaching “Islam and Politics” in the Wake of the Christchurch Terrorist Attack

The terrorist attack against two Mosques in Christchurch on 15 March 2019 created an elevated interest in Islam and Muslims in Aotearoa/New Zealand. This article describes a course on Islam and Politics, which was designed and taught at a university in A/NZ in the wake of Christchurch 3/15. The audience comprises a majority non-Muslim and minority Muslim students with an academic interest in the relationship between Islam and politics. A Religious Studies programme offered the framework for the delivery of the course, while fearmongering, misinformation, racism and Islamophobia common to Muslim-minority countries influenced its philosophical conception. The 12-week course communicates two key themes: Islam is not a monolith and is complex; and Islamic law is inherently diverse. Nine case-studies augment these themes. Teaching objectives are for students to articulate their own views on contemporary debates concerning Islam and politics and to critique global influences and processes which contribute to the othering of Muslims. Moreover, the course aims to shift students’ perspectives.

Projecting the Nation(s) in Multinational Federal Systems: International Education and Nation Branding in Canada/Quebec

AbstractThis article pursues a novel endeavor by anchoring the study of nation branding in the context of multinational federal systems. Through an examination of the manner in which international education strategies are used to cultivate images of “nation” in Canada and Quebec, the study underlines how the “politics of recognition” at the heart of Canada/Quebec relations play out in the international education sphere. The results point to the significance of policy effectiveness for the “politics of recognition,” contributing to the literature on majority–minority tensions, which tends to highlight the symbolic role of policy control as opposed to the realization of said policies. The research also sheds light on the potential interplay between the political autonomy of minority nations and their symbolic recognition, by highlighting how the provision of policy control can work to substantiate the (external) recognition of their distinct nation status.

Decentring the Majority–Minority Paradigm: A Multidimensional Conceptualization of Inter-ethnic Relations Based on a Study of Chinese Canadians

Inter-ethnic research has been dominated by studies on majority–minority relations. The limited studies on relations among ethnic minority groups are usually restricted to a focus on attitudes and the cognitive domain, with little attention to actual behaviours. As Canada becomes increasingly diverse, it calls for a greater need in examining the interpersonal relationships among ethnic minority groups. A study originally designed to look at intra-group dynamics generated results that led the authors to decentre the dominant majority–minority view and explore inter-ethnic engagements. This report examines the subjective sense-making, actual performance, and management of inter-ethnic relations from Chinese Canadians’ perspectives. Data from individual interviews and focus groups with thirty-five Chinese Canadians show a multidimensional picture: factors such as participants’ needs, circumstances, characteristics, and capacities play a more significant role in shaping relationship development and maintenance. Results also reveal the complex and contingent nature of the sense-making and management of inter-ethnic relationships. These findings call for a more holistic view of individuals’ experiences that include cognitive, affective, and behavioural dimensions.

Performing Peace: Vernacular Reconciliation and the Diplomacy of Return in Cyprus

Abstract The Cyprus conflict is usually described as one between a majority Greek Cypriot and minority Turkish Cypriot population, with their opposing visions of the island’s future. In that conflict, more than 200,000 Cypriots from both these communities were displaced between 1958 and 1974. Lost in this standard narrative, however, are the conflict’s other ‘Others’: the smaller Maronite, Armenian, Latin, and Roma populations, who also experienced displacement in the course of the conflict. This paper concerns the Maronite community’s struggle to remain in or return to their historic lands in the island’s northwest. We examine the acts of everyday diplomacy that, over the past decade, have resulted in a revival of the largest Maronite village, a removal of restrictions on their rights, and most recently the partial withdrawal of the Turkish military from another Maronite village so that it may be reopened to settlement. We use these as instances of what we term ‘vernacular reconciliation’, ways of rebuilding coexistence that suspend questions of sovereignty that remain at the heart of the Cyprus impasse. We argue that this pragmatic approach calls on cultural knowledge of past patterns of coexistence through performances that in turn produce deeply felt senses of responsibility and patterns of reciprocity. Such patterns of reciprocity, we show, are reappropriated in the context of ongoing conflict.

Improvisasi Teknik Oversampling MWMOTE Untuk Penanganan Data Tidak Seimbang

Imbalance data is a condition which there is a distinction in the quantity of data that results withinside the majority class (classes with very many members) and minority class (classes with very few members). It can complicate the classification process since the machine learning algorithm method is designed to classify already balanced data. The oversampling process technique is used to resolve data imbalance by applying synthetic data to the minority class in such a manner that it has the same volume of data as the majority class. MWMOTE is an oversampling technique that generates synthetic data based on members of the minority class clusters that are close to the majority class. This approach is capable of generating synthetic data well. The resulting synthesis data remains in the nearby majority region and too dense on the border of the cluster. It is hence permitting the resulting synthetic data to go into the majority class classification. This study is objectives to improve the process of generating synthetic data on MWMOTE so that the resulting data is extensively dispensed withinside the minority class. The outcomes of the test show that the proposed method is capable of enhancing the classification performance for KNN and C4.5 Decision Tree classification sequentially by 0.46% and 0.96% compared to MWMOTE

Beyond ‘radical’ versus ‘moderate’? New perspectives on the politics of moderation in Muslim majority and Muslim minority settings

ABSTRACT Muslims are increasingly conceived through a binary frame of ‘radical’ versus ‘moderate’. In this thematic issue, we critically explore how the dichotomy of ‘radical’ versus ‘moderate’ is constructed and mobilized in different Muslim majority and Muslim minority settings across the world, and we examine the active role played by Muslims in upholding, appropriating, and/or subverting this binary frame. How do Muslims present themselves, their religion, and other Muslim groups amidst growing concerns about the dangers of ‘radical’ Islam – not only through texts, but also through a wide variety of aesthetic practices? And how do discourses about national sovereignty, loyalty, and belonging feed into these representations? This issue brings together scholars from various disciplines, who analyze how the ‘politics of moderation’ play out in Kenya, Norway, Russia, Morocco, Indonesia, and Egypt. We also call for the development of new pathways of thinking about Islam and Muslims in the contemporary world.

The influence of community norms on black officers’ decision-making in a large municipal police department in a majority minority United States city: a quasi-experiment

For decades, scholars have called for and investigated the effects of representative bureaucracy, with some scholars explaining that common lived experiences, or “subject positions” between street-level bureaucrats and community members might facilitate better communication that in turn could lead to consensus or shared meaning in discourse and behavior between these two groups. Building upon the theoretical scaffolding of the Target Model of discretion, our study uses self-reported survey data from 190 sworn officers in a large majority minority city in the southern United States to investigate the relationship between officer race and the priority Black and non-Black officers ascribe to community norms and expectations as influences on their decision-making processes. Our findings indicate that Black police officers in this city are significantly more likely than their non-Black counterparts to recognize community norms as a factor that influences their decisions, in line with the research hypothesis.

Measuring the impact of diversity attitudes and practices of people without migration background on inclusion and exclusion in ethnically diverse contexts. Introducing the diversity attitudes and practices impact scales

ABSTRACT Assimilation and integration processes have been studied widely and for many years, mainly by looking at the attitudes and practices of people with migration background. This article focusses on the mirror group: the people without migration background. Based on a literature review we propose a new model, the Diversity Attitudes and Practices Impact (DAPI) scales, to assess the impact they have on inclusion and exclusion in ethnically diverse contexts. We test the model using new data on Rotterdam, a superdiverse majority minority city with a large share of voters for anti-immigrant parties. Though the attention, both in research and in the public debate, is focussed on the rise of anti-immigrant sentiments in Europe and the United States, the outcomes of our DAPI-scales model demonstrate that, counter to what is expected, the most probable trend in Rotterdam is towards more socio-economic inclusion and more openness to cultural diversity.