The Secret of West Indian Success

For nearly a century, black immigrants from the West Indies have enjoyed greater economic success than African Americans. Several explanations have been proposed for this trend, but until now, none of these explanations have been subjected to systematic scrutiny. Recent efforts to adjudicate among them indicate that West Indian success can be attributed entirely to the “selectivity of migration”. This phrase refers to the tendency of people who migrate to be more talented and determined than the compatriots they leave behind. One implication of this discovery is that sympathetic observers should stop exhorting African Americans to behave more like West Indians. Such pleas are inappropriate because West Indian success is a consequence of choosing to move, not a consequence of Caribbean birth. A second implication is that persons of West Indian background remain vulnerable to racism. The new findings provide no evidence that positive selection protects West Indians from the negative stereotypes that Americans associate with black skin.

Citizenship on paper or at heart? a closer look into the dual citizenship debate in Europe

This article seeks to promote an integrated approach to the study of citizenship policies, which pays due attention to their potential impact on migrants whose self-recognition are formally delimited by legal definitions. Through a novel approach that makes use of naturalisation processes as an empirical entry point into the narratives of citizenship embraced by Turkish migrants, this article investigates the role of dual citizenship policies in three European countries: Spain, the Netherlands and the UK. The evidence from the sample group displays a process of ‘self-bargaining’ prior to the naturalisation decision, which calls into question the link established between legal and emotional bonds of citizenship. The Dutch example demonstrates how Turkish migrants cope with the ban on dual citizenship by downplaying the identity-conferring role of citizenship status. This leads to a decoupling of legal and emotional aspects of citizenship and thereby to the adoption of a thin sense of citizenship. While Spain represents an in-between case that has a tolerant implementation despite a de jure ban, the British example shows how the process of ‘self-bargaining’ can result in the widening of emotional landscape, when dual citizenship is allowed. A thick sense of citizenship is therefore not only preserved but it can also be extended to the citizenship of the country of residence.     

The Experience of College Challenges Among Chinese Americans

Abstract

The current investigation examined the experience of college challenges in 112 American-born, 121 early immigrant, and 110 late immigrant Chinese American students. Due to differential acculturation, it was hypothesized that late immigrants would encounter the most difficulties and American-born Chinese the least. Using the 13-domain Inventory of College Challenges for Ethnic Minority Students, we found that late immigrants reported more problems than American-born Chinese on six academic, social, and general living domains and experienced more problems than early immigrants on two academic and social domains. Additionally, early immigrants fared worse than American-born Chinese on two social and general living domains. Service implications, particularly for late immigrants, are discussed.     

Chapter 7. Mental Health Intervention with Dominican Immigrants

Abstract

Dominicans are a significant force in the changing composition of Hispanic immigration in the United States, and all indications are that they will continue to be in the years to come. A framework has been applied in which Dominican culture, psychosocial strengths and risks, and treatment implications are explored in the context of how Dominicans appear to be similar to and different from other Hispanic groups in the U.S. Much more needs to be done in terms of elaborating this combination of homogeneity and heterogeneity. Mental health practitioners who are open to such inquiry, and to keeping an open mind regarding the possibilities of modifications in therapeutic techniques and modality choices, will find Dominicans to be a clinically responsive, and an enjoyable population to work with.     

俄罗斯中国新移民现状述评

苏联解体后,在中俄旅游和边贸的推动下,大量的中国移民涌入俄罗斯。他们在俄罗斯的农业、商业、建筑业等各个领域挥洒着汗水,不仅为自己积累着财富,更为俄罗斯的市场繁荣、经济振兴注入了巨大的活力。同时他们也为祖国的发展和增进中俄友谊做出了贡献。     

Libertad de expresión y discurso homofóbico en méxico: ¿es correcta la teoría constitucional de la suprema corte?

The article discusses a recent decision by the Mexican Supreme Court whereby damage resulting from the use of discriminatory language may in certain cases appropriately counterweight freedom of speech. The ruling expresses thesis at three different levels, all of them relevant from the viewpoint of constitutional theory. First, it expresses a vision of the kind of exercise the Court should deploy when reviewing sentences in amparo: it is a maximizing vision that the author considers to be fundamentally correct. At a second and third level, with different degrees of specificity, it proposes a particular constitutional reading for the revision of the case at hand. On this count and given the relevant historic-constitutional context, the article celebrates the Court's willingness to counterweight free speech with antidiscrimination-based considerations, though in terms of the sub-rules of decision used to pin down the general reading it identifies both successes and failures.     

Some Considerations Regarding the Persistence of the Economic Elite in Mexico in the First Half of the Twentieth Century

This article presents an analysis of some of the most important works on the persistence of the economic elite in Mexico during the first half of the twentieth century. The study seeks to answer the following question: How did the formation and character of the Mexican economic elites change during this period? It examines the effect of events such as the Mexican Revolution (1910–1920) and the agrarian reform programmes, as well as political instability and institutional uncertainty, on the persistence or weakening of the landowning and industrial elite who had consolidated their power during the Porfiriato period (1876–1911).     

Retaking the Middle Passage: glimpses of a modern African diaspora in Brazil

Abstract

Enticed by the various economic, academic and social promises offered by this new ‘metropole’, Africans have begun to form a new diaspora in Brazil, the country with the largest concentration of Afro descendentes outside of Africa. This paper aims to explore, through interviews, the various motivations and experiences of these Africans, as well as to examine the official attitude of the Brazilian authorities and that of the society at large to the new residents of this modern African diaspora.     

The Relationship of Acculturation and Social Integration to Assaults on Intimate Partners Among Mexican American and Non-Mexican White Students

This study examined the role that Mexican ethnicity, acculturation into Anglo American society, and social integration play in intimate partner violence among a sample of 348 college students. The results indicated that Mexican American ethnicity and acculturation into Anglo American society by Mexican American college students had no relation to intimate partner violence. However, integration into society was associated with a decreased probability of severely assaulting a partner among both Mexican Americans and Non-Mexican Whites. The results support a control theory perspective (social integration) on intimate partner violence.     

Confronting the Reality

SUMMARY

The most recent UNAIDS report (December 2003) estimates that approximately 5 million persons became infected with the HIV virus globally in 2003 alone, while 3 million persons died as a result of HIV/AIDS. What do these staggering numbers mean for the Caribbean population? Is the impact of HIV/AIDS the same among Caribbean immigrants in the United States as among the Caribbean population in the countries of origin? If so, what are the factors that promote the spread of HIV/AIDS among this population regardless of their geographic location? Finally, what can be done to reverse the growing infection rate that has made the Caribbean the second largest population to suffer from HIV/AIDS globally? In this paper the authors explore sociocultural, attitudinal and gender-specific factors that place the Caribbean population at risk of the ongoing spread of HIV/AIDS. The authors make recommendations for a community involvement response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic that targets the individual, family and community to address the problem of HIV/AIDS in the Caribbean population. A community involvement model with its potential to reduce the negative impact of socio-structural factors, and attitudes towards victims of HIV/AIDS is recommended as a meaningful response to HIV/AIDS among the Caribbean population.