Immigration,intermarriage and the changing face of Europe in the post war period

In this article we compare the propensity to intermarry of various migrant groups and their children who settled in Germany, France, England, Belgium and the Netherlands in the post-war period, using a wide range of available statistical data. We try to explain different intermarriage patterns within the framework of Alba and Nee's assimilation theory and pay special attention to the role of religion, colour and colonial background. We therefore compare colonial with non colonial migrants and within these categories between groups with ‘European’ (Christian) and non-European (Islam, Hinduism) religions. First of all, religion appears to be an important variable. Migrants whose faith has no tradition in Western Europe intermarry at a much lower rate than those whose religious backgrounds correspond with those that are common in the country of settlement. The rate of ethnic endogamous marriages in Western Europe are highest in Hindu and Muslim communities, often regardless if they came as guest workers or colonial migrants. Whereas differences in religion diminish the propensity to intermarry, colour or ‘racial’ differences on the other hand seem to be less important. This is largely explained by the pre-migration socialisation. Furthermore, the paper argues that the attention to institutions, as rightly advocated by Richard Alba and Victor Nee, needs a more refined and layered elaboration. Institutions, often as barriers to intermarriage, do not only emanate from the receiving society, but also—be it less formalized—within migrant communities. Especially religions and family systems, but also organized nationalist feelings, can have a profound influence on how migrants think about endogamy. Finally, strong pressures to assimilate, often through institutionalized forms of discrimination and stigmatization, not only produce isolation and frustrate assimilation (with resulting low intermarriage rates), but can also stimulate assimilation by 'passing' mechanisms. These factors, together with a more comparative perspective, are not completely ignored in the new assimilation theory, but—as this study of Western European intermarriage patterns stresses—deserve to be included more systematically in historical and social scientist analyses.     

‘Unhomely moments’: Civilising domestic worlds in colonial Australia

This article explores the multiple connections between the colonisation of Australia in the nineteenth century and the formation of domestic worlds as the site for ‘civilising’ children. The affective bonds of family were often regarded as an indispensable element in the nurture and training of children, but where the bonds of ‘natural affection’ seemed to pose an obstacle to the civilising project, they were ruthlessly severed.     

Poor relief and families in nineteenth-century Ireland and Italy

This article examines the extent to which poor relief supported families and households in two contrasting European (and predominantly Roman Catholic) countries, Ireland and Italy, over the long nineteenth century. The main focus of the article is on the poor law in Ireland and the extent to which it provided support to families and households. While nuclear and extended families dominated household structures in late nineteenth-century Ireland (at least in rural areas), we show that by 1900, the majority of persons supported in workhouses were single. However, outdoor relief also formed an important part of the Irish poor law system and data on the household composition of persons supported is not available from official sources. Drawing on a data-matching exercise for one poor law union, this article suggests that the household structure of persons on outdoor relief may have been more complex than the official data would indicate and, in contrast to indoor relief, much more representative of overall household structures. In order to put these findings in context we compare the Irish approach with that adopted in Italy.     

From Contest to Content: The Impact of Public Journalism on New Zealand Election Campaign Coverage

Supporters of public journalism hope to reengage citizens with politics and overcome the shortcomings of contemporary political journalism. However, there has been little systematic study of how public journalism differs from mainstream journalism. During the 1996 general election campaign in New Zealand, the first under proportional representation, three newspapers, conscious of the challenges imposed by electoral changes, experimented with public journalism coverage. This presented an opportunity to study how coverage as a whole differed from coverage of the previous elections and what specific changes were the result of public journalism initiatives. The researchers analyzed 1,938 stories from a 12-day sample of the New Zealand general election campaign coverage in 1993 and 1996. A total of seven metropolitan and provincial papers were included. The results showed public journalism articles covered proportionally more policy issues and concentrated less on personality than conventional campaign stories. Public journalism stories also were less negative and more neutral in tone and were more inclined to be ''soft'' news, reflecting a tendency to cover issues rather than events. Public journalism articles also were less likely than conventional coverage to cover the campaign from a ''horse race'' angle. The findings provide support for the utility of public journalism in campaign reporting.     

The calculation of DNA match probabilities in mixed race populations

A coherent method is offered to estimate likelihood ratios for DNA match probabilities from mixed racial populations that avoids the approach of reporting separate estimates for each race. The method is demonstrated for some cases involving profiles derived from several individuals and incorporates a correction for 'subpopulation' effects.     

论“点线面体”立体式模拟法庭实践教学模式创新——基于学科竞赛的实践简

随着中国的法学教育由注重理论教育向注重实践教育的转变,模拟法庭教学模式作为一种实践性教学方式,被广泛应用于现代法学教学中.在课堂教学实践中,以学生为主体,使学生能够在主动参与、积极探究中构建新知,发展能力.但也存在诸多问题,比如存在重“表演”,轻实务训练;重形式,轻内容;重程序,轻实体;重知识传授,轻职业角色的技能和技巧训练等不足,使模拟法庭训练往往流于形式,表面热闹,实际“内功”严重不足,脱离实际;等等.     

An economic appraisal of the Egyptian revolution

Historical research, mainly focused on early-modern Europe, has suggested a positive link between taxation and democracy. This study approaches the connection in a present-day developmental context by looking at differences between taxpayers and non-taxpaying citizens in terms of political interest, a precondition for accountability demands. Using survey data from sub-Saharan Africa, a multilevel analysis shows that taxpaying increases political interest. The causal direction of this finding is confirmed through an instrumental variable analysis. The results support the existence of the mechanisms underlying the theory of taxation working as a generator of political engagement and democracy.