Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies (JEMS) ISSN 1369-183X
(incorporating New Community)
Volume 23 Number 3 July 1997
Articles
The mental health of ethnic minorities
Richard Berthoud and James Nazroo
Abstract Clinical studies have suggested that men of Caribbean origin living in Britain had much higher rates of psychosis than their white counterparts; while adults of South Asian origin have been found to have lower rates of depression. These findings have been controversial, both because of the inherent difficulty of diagnosing mental illness, and because of the possibility of cultural bias in the definition and measurement of these conditions. This article summarises the findings of the most substantial population-based study of mental illness ever undertaken among ethnic minorities in Britain. 5,106 members of minority groups, and 2,867 white people, were screened for indicators of mental illness in the course of a national survey. Those who screened positive were then re-interviewed to validate the initial diagnosis. The results carry some resonance with the findings of clinical studies, without replicating them exactly. Some doubts are shed on the appropriateness of standard measures of mental health for migrants from South Asia.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 309-324, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
Developing success strategies for ethnic minorities in business: evidence from Scotland
David Deakins, Madhavi Majmudar and Andrew Paddison
Abstract This article draws upon qualitative research with ethnic minority entrepreneurs in Strathclyde, involving 43 interviews with ethnic minority small firm owners and entrepreneurs from the Strathclyde region in Scotland and three more detailed case studies. We argue that, in Scotland, ethnic minority entrepreneurship has faced different issues from those that have been identified in the literature, success has been achieved through innovative developments, necessary partly due to special environmental factors in Scotland, which include a low rate of new firm formation and the peripheral nature of the market. The relevance of such development, however, provides examples and ‘cases’ of successful entrepreneurship that has relevant application to other areas of the UK and Europe. We use analysis of the recorded interviews and case studies to demonstrate that the keys to successful diversification and development rely upon the development of effective networks and marketing strategies and the use of contacts to form the bridge into mainstream development. Our recommendations concentrate on how enterprise development can be achieved successfully for ethnic minority entrepreneurs. We concentrate upon the lessons that can be learned and the results that can be applied to other areas in terms of policy and support towards ethnic minority entrepreneurs.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 325-342, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
'You're becoming more and more English': investigating Chinese siblings' cultural identities
Miri Song
Abstact In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on the cultural identities of the ‘second generation’ of ethnic minorities and of ‘new ethnicities’ in Britain. Much of this literature to date has explored the identities of ethnic minority youth in the context of inter-generational relations between parents and children, whereby conflict and ‘culture gap’ between the generations have been investigated. However, there has been very little study of how siblings’ cultural identities within ethnic minority families may differ. The present study of young peoples’ labour participation in Chinese families running take-away businesses, revealed that siblings could be committed to ‘helping-out’ in the take-away to different degrees. These differences in ‘helping out’ were understood in terms of siblings’ respective family reputations and cultural identities. This suggests the importance of looking beyond inter-generational negotiations of ethnic identity and cultural practices, and situating young peoples’ identities in the context of sibling dynamics and relationships as well. Furthermore, the findings suggest that more attention should be paid to forms of economic activity, such as the performance of family labour, for the formation of cultural identities.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 343-362, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
Segregation and Turks’ housing conditions in middle-sized Dutch cities
Gideon S. Bolt and Ronald van Kempen
Abstract This article attempts to answer two questions. First, it describes and explains segregation and concentration of one minority ethnic group (Turks) in three middle-sized Dutch cities (Amersfoort, Delft, and Den Bosch). The question is whether or not segregation and concentration have increased and how this can be explained. This information adds to existing knowledge about the largest cities in the Netherlands. One of the main conclusions is that, compared to big cities in the Netherlands, Turks in middle-sized cities have penetrated more in the early post-World War II areas. Segregation levels in middle-sized cities are, however, not necessarily smaller compared to those in the big cities. Second, the article focuses on Turks’ housing conditions in these cities. The question here is whether or not housing conditions differ between concentration areas and other areas within the city. The answer is based largely on the opinions of the Turks themselves. The main conclusion here is that many Turks are not very happy with their present housing. There was no evidence of a relationship between segregation and ties with the mother country. Nor does the presence of other Turks contribute significantly to an explanation of neighbourhood choice of those Turks who have indicated a preference to move. It must be concluded that segregation and concentration should be explained by the income position of Turks. Their low incomes limit their options for moving to better dwellings. The notion that Turks live among other Turks by choice should, on the basis of this research, be abandoned.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 363-384, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
A ‘stage Irish identity’ – an example of 'symbolic power’
Judy Scully
Abstract This article proposes a notion of a ‘stage Irish identity’ in a bar and applies an analytic concept which explores two intersecting stereotype images which characterise the symbolised identity. The enactment of a ‘stage Irish identity’ in a bar invokes cross-cutting images of the Irish as inherently prone to drinking and the pub as their natural habitat. For Irish migrant bar keepers, who deploy the symbolised identity as a form of cultural capital to increase pub trade, the strategy is empowering. However, an exploration of a ‘stage Irish identity’ in this form reveals that the essence of the celebrated identity and associated imagery is shot through with ambiguities. Its own identity construct renders an ‘unresolvable contradiction’ because it necessitates Irish people to be simultaneously the target and producers of an image of Irish culture, which is positioned within a structure characterised by unequal power relations. It is my contention that Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of ‘symbolic power’ mediates the ambiguities that are evident in this process of social action and contributes to our understanding of how the cultural capital of minority group members, can be positioned and utilised in a power relationship. The argument is based on comparative research on Irish bar entrepreneurship, particularly the accounts of 42 Irish bar proprietors and their partners, who were trading in Birmingham (UK) and Chicago (USA) in 1993/1994.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 385-398, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
Double identity: being German and Hungarian at the same time
Györgyi Bindorffer
Abstract In the wake of the Turkish occupation of Hungary in the eighteenth century, peasants were recruited from various parts of the Habsburg Empire to develop agriculture in Hungary. Settlements were scattered throughout much of the country. Officially referred to as ‘Hungarian Germans’, the descendants of these settlers identify as Swabian and hold Swabian to be their mother tongue. This is not, in fact, one common language but includes a number of quite different dialects. The absence of a shared language and the scattered settlements have meanst that these groups have never undergone a country-wide social or political unification. Despite extensive intermarriage with Hungarians and a perception of Hungary as being their homeland, these groups continue to identify themselves as Swabian and thus provide an interesting case study for the exploration of ethnicity and assimilation. The fieldwork on which this article is based was carried out among three generations of Swabians in five villages near Budapest. The relevance of ethnic and national identity was explored at both the individual and the collective level. The fieldwork explored boundary markers, cultural representations and identity interplay. Swabian traditions and culture were found to have been maintained overwhelmingly in those spheres of life where they did not conflict with assimilated Hungarian values. Endogamy has, for example, disappeared. The social representation of ethnicity is moreover found to be situational, with Swabian culture increasingly only being overtly displayed within the confines of Swabian villages. The article concludes that while a process of assimilation is clearly taking place, ethnic identity has not altogether disappeared and ethnic and national sentiment can co-exist, as can tradition and modernity.
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 399-411, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
Debates
The ethics of practice-testing
Michael Banton
(New Community Vol. 23 No. 3: 413-420, © Carfax Publishing Ltd.)
Reviews
Malcolm Cross
Michael Banton, International Action against Racial Discrimination
Barbara Schmitter Heisler
Martin Bulmer and Anthony M. Rees, Citizenship Today: The Contemporary Relevance of T.H. Marshall
John C. Cross
Arnold Dashefsky, Jan DeAmicis, Bernard lazerwitz and Ephraim Tabory, Americans Abroad; A Comparative Study of Emigrants from the United States
Amalendu Misra
Marcus Banks, Ethnicity: Anthropological Constructions
Robert Moore
Andrea Murphy, From the Empire to the Rialto: Racism and Reaction in Liverpool 1918–1948
Barbara Schmitter Heisler
Michael R. Darby (Ed.), Reducing Poverty in America: Views and Approaches
Chris Quispel
Carter A. Wilson, Racism: From Slavery to Advanced Capitalism
Amalendu Misra
Karen Fog Olwig and Kirsten Hastrup (Eds.), Sitting Culture: The Shifting Anthropological Object
Gaby Straßburger
Ÿ ule š zuekren and Ronald van Kempen (Eds.), Turks in European Cities: Housing and Urban Segregation
Books received, to June 1997
Last updated: March 2, 1998 / Comments
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