scholarly journals Understanding the Spatial Trajectories of Minority Groups: An Approach that Examines their Demographic, Cultural and Socio-economic Characteristics

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Sapiro

Population researchers have contributed to the debate on minority group distribution and disadvantage and social cohesion by providing objective analysis. A plethora of new distribution measurement techniques have been presented in recent years, but they have not provided sufficient explanatory power of underlying trajectories to inform ongoing political debate. Indeed, a focus on trying to summarise complex situations with readily understood measures may be misplaced. This paper takes an alternative approach and asks whether a more detailed analysis of individual and environmental characteristics is necessary if researchers are to continue to provide worthwhile input to policy development. Using England and Wales as a test bed, it looks at four small sub-populations (circa 250,000 at the turn of the century) – two based on ethnic grouping: Bangladeshi and Chinese; and two based on an under-researched area of cultural background, religion: Jews and Sikhs. Despite major differences in longevity of presence in the UK, age profile, socio-economic progress, and levels of inter-marriage, there are, at a national level, parallels in the distribution patterns and trajectories for three of the groups. However, heterogeneity between and within the groups mean that at a local level, these similarities are confounded. The paper concludes that complex interactions between natural change and migration, and between suburbanisation and a desire for group congregation, mean that explanations for the trajectory of distribution require examination of data at a detailed level, beyond the scope of index-based methods. Such analyses are necessary if researchers are to effectively contribute to future policy development.

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 71
Author(s):  
Flavia Ghencea ◽  
Mihnea Claudiu Drumea

The general concept of non-territorial autonomy is analyzed in the specialized doctrine from various perspectives - considered, in fact, as its attributes – such as, cultural, linguistic, educational, traditional and religious perspectives- all considering the identity of the minority group that lives in a majority community.The present paper, part of a larger research, proposes, on the one hand, an analysis of the legal framework regarding non-territorial autonomy in Romania - from the perspective of the regulations regarding the establishment, organization and functioning of the authorities with their role in the elections and the administrative structures at a local level and, whilst considering the role played by the minority groups in this framework. According to the recently adopted New Administrative Code with big impact on minorities’ lives, another purpose of this research is to track how they are applied to the provisions on the linguistic rights of the national minorities included in Local Public Administrative Regulation. The objectives of this research will be, to use the data obtained in national reports and secondly, to making recommendations on the most efficient way in which the legislative norms regarding the protection of minorities can be applied, focusing on costs, human and financial resources


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Modugno ◽  
S. C. M. Johnson ◽  
P. Borrelli ◽  
E. Alam ◽  
N. Bezak ◽  
...  

AbstractDecision-making plays a key role in reducing landslide risk and preventing natural disasters. Land management, recovery of degraded lands, urban planning, and environmental protection in general are fundamental for mitigating landslide hazard and risk. Here, we present a GIS-based multi-scale approach to highlight where and when a country is affected by a high probability of landslide occurrence. In the first step, a landslide human exposure equation is developed considering the landslide susceptibility triggered by rain as hazard, and the population density as exposed factor. The output, from this overview analysis, is a global GIS layer expressing the number of potentially affected people by month, where the monthly rain is used to weight the landslide hazard. As following step, Logistic Regression (LR) analysis was implemented at a national and local level. The Receiver Operating Characteristic indicator is used to understand the goodness of a LR model. The LR models are defined by a dependent variable, presence–absence of landslide points, versus a set of independent environmental variables. The results demonstrate the relevance of a multi-scale approach, at national level the biophysical variables are able to detect landslide hotspot areas, while at sub-regional level geomorphological aspects, like land cover, topographic wetness, and local climatic condition have greater explanatory power.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-58
Author(s):  
Bojana Subasic ◽  
Bogdana Opacic

Abstract Reforming cultural policy in Serbia comes into a focus after year 2000. With delegating jurisdiction on the local cultural systems, because one of the ideas is that local government and experts can recognize needs, potential and capacities for local development more clearly and comprehensively. This work deals with the challenges of cultural policy as initiators of sustainable development, where the City of Pancevo has been selected as an example of a good practice. The first part of the text deals with challenges of cultural policy on national level. When it comes to cultural policy development on the Republic level, one can say that participants in culture in Serbia contribute to improving culture every year. However, for more successful cultural policy it is necessary to approach cultural policy challenges in service of sustainable development. Ranking all challenges leads to a conclusion that it is necessary to solve problems such as financing of the institutions, lack of a strategic thinking and insufficient inter-sector, inter -department and international cooperation. The second part of the text is dedicated to the City of Pancevo, as an example of a good practice in cultural policy and sustainable development domain. During 2013. with the support of the IPA fund cross-border cooperation program, the City of Pancevo accomplished Poles of Culture project. Within that project the Center for Study in Cultural Development conducted a research of cultural needs and habits of citizens of Pancevo, cultural institutions and citizen associations within culture. The third part of the text deals with the research results of cultural needs and habits of Pancevo citizens. They represent guidelines for improving the city cultural policy. The fourth part of the text is dedicated to the cultural policy on the local level and recommendations for cultural policy improvement has been given based on the example of the City of Pancevo.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy R. Tavitian ◽  
Michael Bender ◽  
Fons J. R. Van de Vijver ◽  
Athanasios Chasiotis ◽  
Hrag A. Vosgerichian

How people deal with adversity, in terms of threats to their social or ethnic identity has been extensively investigated. However, most studies have focused on samples (e.g. minority groups) from prototypical Western contexts. It is unclear how individuals perceive and deal with identity threats within non-Western plural contexts characterized by intergroup conflict. We therefore assess whether self-affirmation by recalling a past success can buffer against identity threat in the plural, non-Western context of Lebanon. In two studies we investigate how threats are negotiated at a national (Lebanon) (Study 1) and ethnic minority (Armenian) level (Study 2). In Study 1, we show that in a context characterized by a history of intergroup conflict, a superordinate national identity is non-salient. When investigating the content of memories of a sectarian group in Study 2, we find a hypersalient and chronically accessible ethnic identity, a pattern specific to Armenian Lebanese. We suggest that this hyper-salience is employed as a spontaneous identity management strategy by a minority group coping with constant continuity threat. Our findings point to the importance of expanding the study of identity processes beyond the typically Western contexts and in turn, situating them within their larger socio-political and historical contexts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 215013272110183
Author(s):  
Azza Sarfraz ◽  
Zouina Sarfraz ◽  
Alanna Barrios ◽  
Kuchalambal Agadi ◽  
Sindhu Thevuthasan ◽  
...  

Background: Health disparities have become apparent since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. When observing racial discrimination in healthcare, self-reported incidences, and perceptions among minority groups in the United States suggest that, the most socioeconomically underrepresented groups will suffer disproportionately in COVID-19 due to synergistic mechanisms. This study reports racially-stratified data regarding the experiences and impacts of different groups availing the healthcare system to identify disparities in outcomes of minority and majority groups in the United States. Methods: Studies were identified utilizing PubMed, Embase, CINAHL Plus, and PsycINFO search engines without date and language restrictions. The following keywords were used: Healthcare, raci*, ethnic*, discriminant, hosti*, harass*, insur*, education, income, psychiat*, COVID-19, incidence, mortality, mechanical ventilation. Statistical analysis was conducted in Review Manager (RevMan V.5.4). Unadjusted Odds Ratios, P-values, and 95% confidence intervals were presented. Results: Discrimination in the United States is evident among racial groups regarding medical care portraying mental risk behaviors as having serious outcomes in the health of minority groups. The perceived health inequity had a low association to the majority group as compared to the minority group (OR = 0.41; 95% CI = 0.22 to 0.78; P = .007), and the association of mental health problems to the Caucasian-American majority group was low (OR = 0.51; 95% CI = 0.45 to 0.58; P < .001). Conclusion: As the pandemic continues into its next stage, efforts should be taken to address the gaps in clinical training and education, and medical practice to avoid the recurring patterns of racial health disparities that become especially prominent in community health emergencies. A standardized tool to assess racial discrimination and inequity will potentially improve pandemic healthcare delivery.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
David Bradley

AbstractMost nations in mainland Southeast Asia and elsewhere have one national language as a focus of national identity and unity, supported by a language policy which promotes and develops this language. Indigenous and immigrant minority groups within each nation may be marginalized; their languages may become endangered. Some of the official national language policies and ethnic policies of mainland Southeast Asian nations aim to support both a national language and indigenous minority languages, but usually the real policy is less positive. It is possible to use sociolinguistic and educational strategies to maintain the linguistic heritage and diversity of a nation, develop bilingual skills among minority groups, and integrate minorities successfully into the nations where they live, but this requires commitment and effort from the minorities themselves and from government and other authorities. The main focus of this paper is two case studies: one of language policy and planning in Myanmar, whose language policy and planning has rarely been discussed before. The other is on the Lisu, a minority group in Myanmar and surrounding countries, who have been relatively successful in maintaining their language.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 78
Author(s):  
Winfried Osthorst

Academic and political debate places great expectations on cities’ potential for furthering decentralized, bottom-up climate policies. Local policy research acknowledges the role of local agency to develop and implement sustainability, but also acknowledges internal conflicts. This partly reflects tensions between different functions of the local level, and different governance models related to them. In addition, local dependency on higher level competencies, resources, and overarching strategies is discussed. This article proposes a focus on political processes and power relationships between levels of governance, and among relevant domains within cities, to understand the dynamics of policy change towards sustainability. Researching these dynamics within local climate policy arrangements (LCPAs) is proposed as an approach to understanding the complexities of local constellations and contradictions within them. It makes the distinction between “weak” and “strong” ecological modernization, and relates it to two basic rationales for local governance. The resulting typology denotes constellations characterizing policy change ambitions towards local climate policy in crucial domains, including economic development, energy infrastructures, climate change management, town planning and housing, and transportation. This article argues that this approach overcomes the limitations of the predominating conceptualizations of urban carbon control strategies as consistent, and recognises the multi-level dimension of such internal urban processes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 6698
Author(s):  
Seongwon Yoon ◽  
Sungsoo Kim

Despite the increasing uptake of the term sustainable business model (SBM), the concept has mainly focused on business strategies. However, integrating the SBM into a longer-term and macroscopic framework would make it more sustainable. This article explored the SBM as a national strategy that operates beyond a corporate level. In this respect, the study examined the ways in which cultural and political perceptions of a nation can influence consumers’ choices. This article particularly examined the explanatory power of two ideational driving forces: perceptions of cultural heritage, and perceptions of politics and foreign relations. By assessing a dataset of the views of 223 African students studying in Korea, this study confirmed that national image meaningfully affects consumer behavior (intention to recommend). Furthermore, the study provided new evidence that cultural and political perceptions of a nation have a significantly positive effect on national image. It was also found that national image played a role as a mediating variable relating to cultural/political perceptions and intention to recommend. By extending the concept of the SBM to a national level, this article lays the foundation for a win–win situation between decision makers in both business and political sectors.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Conor O'Dwyer ◽  
Matthew Stenberg

Abstract Aspiring dominant-party regimes often institute major institutional and political reforms at the national level to ensure they retain control. However, subnational politics is an important, under-studied, component of regime consolidation. This study uses mayoral races in Hungary and Poland from 2006 to 2018 to examine two factors that may inhibit dominant-party regime consolidation in local politics: the use of two-round, i.e. runoff, electoral systems and strategic coordination among opposition parties. While we find little evidence that strategic coordination can lead to widespread opposition success in single-round systems, we do find that increasing the number of candidates decreases the likelihood of the nationally dominant party winning in the first round while not affecting the second round. As such, two-round mayoral elections may be an important buffer to dominant-party regime consolidation and may provide a training ground for the future opposition.


1983 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noah M. Meltz ◽  
Frank Reid

The Canadian Government has introduced a work-sharing program in which lay offs are avoided by reducing the work week and using unemployment insurance funds to pay workers short-time compensation. Compared to the lay-off alternative, there appear to be economic benefits to work-sharing for both management and employees. Reaction to the scheme has been generally positive at the union local level and the firm level, but it has been negative at the national level of both labour and management. These divergent views can be explained mainly as a result of short-run versus long-run perspectives. Managers at the firm level see the immediate benefit of improved labour relations and the avoidance of the costs of hiring and training replacements for laid-off workers who do not respond when recalled. The national business leaders are more concerned with work incentive and efficiency aspects of work-sharing.


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