Pre- and Post-Migration Determinants of Socio-Cultural Integration of African Immigrants in Italy and Spain

In the beginning was metamorphosis. This paradoxical thought, which the ancient Roman poet Ovidius and modern author Franz Kafka represented in their literary works, is visualized in Koji Yamamura’s short animation Franz Kafka’s A Country Doctor. Diverse metamorphoses that do and do not appear in the Kafka original are so elaborately and dynamically depicted in this animation that no live-action film could possibly represent them. In addition, the film itself can be seen as a metamorphosis, as it is an animation converted from a short story. Such a dominance of metamorphosis is also true for the transculturality and transnationalism of Yamamura’s animation. In a sense, the film results from a cultural integration of foreign language and image. However, this integration is also part of the swirl of metamorphosis. The traditional performance art Kyogen, which the director uses to voice the main characters in the animation, could not integrate foreign culture without its own diversification. Yamamura’s animation demonstrates that transculturality is another name for fundamental metamorphosis in which diversification and integration occur simultaneously.

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Comparing generations of migrants’ transnational behaviour: the role of the transnational convoy and integration

Comparative Migration Studies ◽

10.1186/s40878-020-00206-0 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Jolien Klok ◽

Theo van Tilburg ◽

Tineke Fokkema ◽

Bianca Suanet

Keyword(s):

Generational Differences ◽

Cultural Integration ◽

Third Generation ◽

Transnational Studies ◽

Property Ownership ◽

The Third ◽

Transnational Ties ◽

Migrant Families ◽

Contact Frequency

AbstractThis paper compares generations (G1, G1.5, G2, G3) of male Turkish migrants to Europe in their transnational behaviours: contact frequency, visits, remittances, property ownership and voting. We aim to explain differences by generational differences in transnational convoy size and integration into residence countries. Data from 798 members of migrant families were obtained from 2000 Families. Generations differ in visiting, remitting, property ownership and voting, but not in contact frequency. Using regression analysis, the transnational convoy cannot explain transnational behaviours. Structural and socio-cultural integration impact various transnational behaviours within generations. Generally, waning of transnational ties across generations cannot be attributed to differences in transnational ties or integration. We add to knowledge on generational differences in transnational behaviour until the third generation and on determinants of transnational behaviour, but conclude that the field of transnational studies is in need of further refinement of operationalization and theory to understand generational differences in transnational behaviour.

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Longer Residence in the United States is Associated With More Physical Function Limitations in African Immigrant Older Adults

Journal of Applied Gerontology ◽

10.1177/0733464820977608 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 073346482097760

Author(s):

Manka Nkimbeng ◽

Yvonne Commodore-Mensah ◽

Jacqueline L. Angel ◽

Karen Bandeen-Roche ◽

Roland J. Thorpe ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Older Adults ◽

Confidence Interval ◽

Physical Function ◽

Racial Discrimination ◽

African Immigrants ◽

The United States ◽

African Immigrant ◽

High Discrimination ◽

The Mean

Acculturation and racial discrimination have been independently associated with physical function limitations in immigrant and United States (U.S.)-born populations. This study examined the relationships among acculturation, racial discrimination, and physical function limitations in N = 165 African immigrant older adults using multiple linear regression. The mean age was 62 years ( SD = 8 years), and 61% were female. Older adults who resided in the United States for 10 years or more had more physical function limitations compared with those who resided here for less than 10 years ( b = −2.62, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [–5.01, –0.23]). Compared to lower discrimination, those with high discrimination had more physical function limitations ( b = −2.51, 95% CI = [–4.91, –0.17]), but this was no longer significant after controlling for length of residence and acculturation strategy. Residing in the United States for more than 10 years is associated with poorer physical function. Longitudinal studies with large, diverse samples of African immigrants are needed to confirm these associations.

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