Home Country (home + country)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Humanities and Social Sciences


Selected Abstracts


Maintenance and Change in the Diet of Hispanic Immigrants in Eastern North Carolina

FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 4 2001
Laura H. McArthur
The objectives of this descriptive, exploratory study were to assess maintenance and change in the food consumption, preparation, and purchasing practices of Hispanic immigrants currently residing in eastern North Carolina who had lived in the United States for no more than 10 years, and to identify underlying ecological factors and perceptions about food quality that shape their postmigrational food habits. The participants were 33 Hispanic immigrants: 8 males and 25 females. Qualitative data were collected using individual interviews and a focus group session. Findings suggest that these Hispanic immigrants struggle to retain their cultural food traditions and are consuming more high-fat, high-sugar foods than they did in their home countries. Improved economic status and school food service offerings are examples of factors that promote dietary change among children and families. These influences and identified misconceptions about food safety and freshness are important topics for culturally sensitive nutrition education for this population. [source]


Proposed Curriculum for an "Observational" International Emergency Medicine Fellowship Program

ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 4 2000
C. James Holliman MD
Abstract. This article presents information on considerations involved in setting up and conducting fellowship training programs in emergency medicine (EM) for physicians from other countries. General goals for these programs are to assist in providing physicians from other countries with the knowledge and skills needed to further develop EM in their home countries. The authors report their opinions, based on their cumulative extensive experiences, on the necessary and optional structural elements to consider for international EM fellowship programs. Because of U.S. medical licensing restrictions, much of the proposed programs' content would be "observational" rather than involving direct "hands-on" clinical EM training. Due to the very recent initiation of these programs in the United States, there has not yet been reported any scientific evaluation of their structure or efficacy. International EM fellowship programs involving mainly observational EM experience can serve as one method to assist in EM development in other countries. Future studies should assess the impact and efficacy of these programs. [source]


Understanding Remigration and Innovation , An Appeal for a Cultural Economic Geography

GEOGRAPHY COMPASS (ELECTRONIC), Issue 5 2009
Claudia Klaerding
The acquisition of new knowledge is a crucial capital of highly skilled remigrants and its utilisation in home countries can play a major role for regional economic development. By reviewing the remigration literature it is shown that remigrants are able to create innovation in their home countries and promote regional development. But also theoretical deficits can be identified regarding the structural conditions of transferring new knowledge across regions which precedes potential innovation processes. Recent theoretical ideas cannot sufficiently explain why remigrants become innovative to varying degrees depending on their home regions. A cultural approach of economic geography is needed to highlight the cultural construction of the economy. It allows for remigrants to be perceived as knowledge brokers, which crucially influences the returnee's capacity to innovate. [source]


Distant warriors, distant peace workers?

GLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 4 2008
Multiple diaspora roles in Sri Lanka's violent conflict
Abstract This article provides a critical, empirically based analysis of the multiple ways in which diaspora communities participate in transnational politics related to their war-affected former home countries. The case of Sri Lanka , and the Tamil and Sinhalese diasporas in the West , is used to illustrate how contemporary armed conflicts are increasingly waged in an international arena. Active diaspora groups have enabled an extension of nationalist mobilization, hostilities and polarization across the globe. Diaspora actors take part in propaganda work and fundraising in support of the belligerent parties in Sri Lanka, while the polarization between Sinhalese and Tamils is to a large extent replicated in the diaspora. However, there are also examples of diaspora groups that challenge war and militarism, for instance by calling for non-violent conflict resolution, condemning atrocities by both sides, and engaging in cross-ethnic dialogue. The article also argues that diaspora engagement in reconstruction of war-torn areas can be a double-edged sword, as it can reproduce , or reduce , grievances and inequalities that fuel the conflict. By discussing the many ways in which diasporas engage in homeland politics, the article challenges simplified understandings of diasporas as either,warriors'or,peace workers' in relation to their homeland conflicts. [source]


Regrounding the ,Ungrounded Empires':localization as the geographical catalyst for transnationalism

GLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 2 2001
Yu Zhou
The emerging literature on transnationalism has reshaped the study of immigration in the USA from ,melting pot' and later ,salad bowl', to ,switching board', which emphasizes the ability of migrants to forge and maintain ties to their home countries. Often under the heading of ,transnationalism from below', these studies highlight an alternative form of globalization, in which migrants act as active agents to initiate and structure global interactions. The role of geography, and in particular, localization in transnational spaces, is central to the transnationalism debate, but is yet to be well articulated. While it has been commonly claimed that transnationalism represents deterritorialized practices and organizations, we argue that it is in fact rooted in the territorial division of labour and local community networks in immigrant sending and receiving countries. We examine closely two business sectors engaged in by the Chinese immigrants in Los Angeles: high-tech firms and accounting firms. Each illustrates, respectively, the close ties of Chinese transnational activities with the economic base of the Los Angeles region, and the contribution of local-based, low-wage, small ethnic businesses to the transnational practices. We conclude that deeper localization is the geographical catalyst for transnational networks and practices. [source]


Transitory Sites: Mapping Dubai's ,Forgotten' Urban Spaces

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF URBAN AND REGIONAL RESEARCH, Issue 4 2008
YASSER ELSHESHTAWY
Abstract Seeking to uncover a hidden side of Dubai, this article investigates the city's ,forgotten' urban spaces. I use a theoretical framework that responds to a shift in global city research, emphasizing the everyday as well as transnational connections in which the local and the global are closely intertwined. I argue that such processes can be observed in these ,forgotten' settings, which, as well as being major gathering points, are utilized by Dubai's low-income migrant community for the exchange of information. Through an analysis of users and their activities as well as of the morphology of these spaces, I situate them within the overall development of Dubai. A key construct developed in this study and used as a unit of analysis is the notion of transitory sites , viewed as a major element in understanding migrant cities. The architectural and urban character of these sites is identified. A key finding is that low-income migrants resist globalizing influences by claiming these settings and establishing linkages through them to their home countries. Résumé En tentant de révéler la face cachée de Dubaï, cet article étudie les espaces urbains ,oubliés' des grandes villes. Son cadre théorique tient compte d'une transformation dans la recherche sur les villes planétaires, en soulignant les rapports, à la fois quotidiens et transnationaux, dans lesquels le local et le mondial sont liés de manière inextricable. Ce genre de processus est observable dans ces environnements ,oubliés' qui, en plus d'être des points de rassemblement importants, servent à la communauté des migrants à faible revenu de Dubaï pour échanger des informations. En analysant les usagers et leurs activités, ainsi que la morphologie de ces espaces, on peut les positionner dans le cadre de l'aménagement global de Dubaï. Cette étude produit un concept essentiel qui est utilisé comme unité d'analyse : la notion de sites transitoires, considérée comme un élément majeur pour comprendre les villes de migration. Le caractère architectural et urbain de ces sites est identifié. L'un des principaux résultats est le fait que les migrants à faible revenu résistent aux influences mondialisatrices en revendiquant ces espaces et en instaurant, grâce à eux, des liens avec leurs pays d'origine. [source]


An Examination of the Danish Immigrant-Trade Link

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 5 2007
Roger White
ABSTRACT This paper investigates the influence of immigrants on Danish imports and exports. As public and political debates concerning immigration policy are expected to continue, the findings presented here provide valuable information. Prior to 2002, Denmark's immigration policy was among the most liberal in Europe. However, concerns regarding terrorism, social services depletion, and detrimental labour market effects, all purported to stem from immigration, led the Danish government to severely tighten its policy. In examining Denmark, we explore the immigrant-trade relationship in a small host country that is globally well-integrated, open to trade, and proximate to both major trading partners and primary immigrant source nations. Further, as the share of the Danish population constituted by immigrants increased from 2.6 to 5.6 per cent between 1980 and 2000, Denmark presents an opportunity to consider immigrant-trade links for an increasingly diverse population that was initially relatively homogenous. We consider a number of variations regarding home countries and trade values to estimate immigrant-trade links using a Tobit specification. The findings presented here, when considered in relation to prior research, suggest that the presence and magnitude of immigrant-trade links vary according to host country population homogeneity. Cet article étudie l'influence des immigrants sur les importations et les exportations danoises. Comme il est prévu que les débats publics et politiques sur la politique d'immigration se poursuivent, les conclusions présentées ici fournissent des informations très utiles. Avant 2002, la politique danoise d'immigration était l'une des plus libérales d'Europe. Cependant, les craintes liées au terrorisme, à l'épuisement de l'action sociale et aux effets néfastes sur le marché du travail - que l'on tend à attribuer à l'immigration, ont poussé le Gouvernement danois à durcir sérieusement sa politique. Cet examen du cas du Danemark nous permet d'étudier les liens entre immigration et commerce dans un petit pays d'accueil globalement bien intégré, ouvert au commerce et proche à la fois des grands partenaires commerciaux et des principales nations d'origine des immigrants. Par ailleurs, étant donné que la proportion d'immigrants au sein de la population danoise est passée de 2,6 à 5,6 % entre 1980 et 2000, le Danemark offre la possibilité d'étudier les liens entre immigration et commerce dans une population sans cesse plus hétérogène, par contraste avec son homogénéité d'autrefois. L'auteur considère plusieurs variations en fonction des pays d'origine et des valeurs commerciales afin d'évaluer les liens entre immigration et commerce grâce au modèle Tobit. Les résultats présentés, ajoutés aux travaux de recherche précédents, suggèrent que l'existence et l'importance des liens entre immigration et commerce varient en fonction de l'homogénéité de la population du pays d'accueil. En este documento se investiga la influencia de los inmigrantes sobre las importaciones y exportaciones danesas. Dado que se espera una continuación de los debates públicos y políticos sobre la política de inmigración, las conclusiones que aquí se presentan son de gran utilidad. Con anterioridad a 2002, la política de inmigración de Dinamarca era una de las más liberales de Europa. Sin embargo, inquietudes relacionadas con el terrorismo, el agotamiento de los servicios sociales y los efectos perjudiciales para el mercado laboral, todo lo cual supuestamente se debe a la inmigración, condujeron al Gobierno danés a adoptar una política mucho más estricta. Al examinar la situación en Dinamarca, exploramos la relación entre la inmigración y el comercio en un pequeño país de acogida que, en términos globales, puede decirse que goza de un buen nivel de integración y apertura al comercio y proximidad a los asociados comerciales más importantes y a los principales países de origen de la primera inmigración. Por otro lado, teniendo en cuenta que el porcentaje de la población danesa constituido por inmigrantes aumentó del 2,6 al 5,6 por ciento entre 1980 y 2000, la situación en Dinamarca es una oportunidad para examinar los vínculos entre la inmigración y el comercio con respecto a una población cada vez más diversa, que inicialmente era relativamente homogénea. Se han considerado una serie de variaciones en relación con los países de origen y los valores del comercio para estimar los vínculos entre la inmigración y el comercio, utilizando una especificación Tobit. Las conclusiones que se presentan, al examinarse en relación con anteriores trabajos de investigación, sugieren que la presencia y la magnitud de los vínculos entre la inmigración y el comercio varían según la homogeneidad demográfica del país de acogida. [source]


Sustainable Return in Post-conflict Contexts

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION, Issue 3 2006
Richard Black
ABSTRACT Post-conflict return is a highly politically charged process in a number of contexts, both for returnees and those who did not migrate or flee, leading many observers to question the notion of an unproblematic return "home". Specifically, doubts remain both about the conditions and voluntariness of return, the ability of individual returnees to reintegrate in their home countries and regions, and the wider sustainability of the return process. This paper seeks to provide an overview of recent policy interest in returns, before setting out a tentative definition of what might be considered a "sustainable" return. It is argued that it is possible to draw a distinction between narrow indicators of the "sustainability" of return, such as whether returnees subsequently reemigrate, and wider definitions, which see "sustainability" as involving both the reintegration of individual returnees in their home societies, and the wider impact of return on macroeconomic and political indicators. Based on either definition, the development of robust indicators of the sustainability of return could assist in monitoring the impact of return programmes, providing valuable insight on return policies. The broader definition suggested also draws attention to the idea that continued mobility after an initial return - including circulation and the development of a "transnational" lifestyle - may be more "sustainable" than a single and definitive return to the refugee's place of origin. Les retours dans une situation d'après-conflit sont un processus politiquement signifiant dans certains contextes, à la fois pour les rapatriés et pour ceux qui n'ont ni émigré ni fui, ce qui conduit de nombreux observateurs à s'interroger sur le concept d'un retour sans problème "dans les foyers". Plus précisément, des doutes subsistent à la fois quant aux conditions et au caractère volontaire du retour, à la capacité des rapatriés à se réinsérer dans leur pays et leur région d'origine, et à la durabilité, au sens plus large, du processus de retour. L'auteur s'efforce de donner un aperçu de l'intérêt politique récent pour les retours avant de tenter une définition de ce qui pourrait être considéré comme retour "durable". Selon lui, il est possible de faire une distinction entre les indicateurs au sens étroit de la "durabilité" du retour, à savoir par exemple si les rapatriés émigrent à nouveau, et des définitions plus larges, considérant la "durabilité" comme intégrant à la fois la réintégration des rapatriés dans leur société d'origine et l'impact plus large des retours sur les indicateurs macroéconomiques et politiques. Selon l'une ou l'autre définition, l'élaboration d'indicateurs solides de la durabilité des retours pourrait faciliter l'observation de l'impact des programmes de retour, en apportant un éclairage précieux sur les politiques de retour. La définition plus large appelle également l'attention sur l'idée selon laquelle la mobilité continue après un retour initial - y compris la circulation et l'adoption d'un style de vie "transnational" - pourrait être plus "durable" qu'un retour unique et définitif vers le lieu d'origine du réfugié. El retorno consecutivo a conflictos es un proceso con una alta connotación política en varios contextos, tanto para los retornantes como para quienes no emigraron ni huyeron, lo que da lugar a que muchos observadores cuestionen la noción de un retorno al "hogar" sin problemas. Concretamente, subsisten dudas sobre las condiciones y el carácter voluntario del retorno; la capacidad de los retornantes a título individual de reintegrarse en sus países y regiones de origen; y la sostenibilidad amplia del proceso de retorno. Este estudio trata de ofrecer un panorama del reciente interés político que suscitan los retornos, antes de establecer tentativamente una definición de lo que puede considerarse como un retorno "sostenible". En este artículo se arguye que es posible establecer una distinción entre estrechos indicadores del "sostenimiento" del retorno, a saber, si las personas que retornan vuelven a emigrar ulteriormente, y definiciones más amplias que consideran el "sostenimiento" como la reintegración de quienes retornan a título individual a sus sociedades de origen conjuntamente con las repercusiones más amplias del retorno en los indicadores macroeconómicos y políticos. Sobre la base de cualquiera de estas definiciones, el desarrollo de sólidos indicadores del sostenimiento del retorno podría servir para supervisar el impacto de los programas de retorno, al ofrecer una visión valiosa sobre las políticas de retorno. La definición más amplia propuesta señala a la atención la idea de que la continua movilidad tras el retorno inicial -incluida la circulación y el desarrollo de un estilo de vida transnacional- podría ser más "sostenible" que un retorno único y definitivo al lugar de origen del refugiado. [source]


Religion and Ethnicity Among New Immigrants: The Impact of Majority/Minority Status in Home and Host Countries

JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 3 2001
Fenggang Yang
Research shows that religion continues to be an important identity marker for new immigrants in the United States. However, immigrant groups differ in the ways they integrate religious and ethnic identities and the emphasis they place on each. In this paper, we argue that majority or minority status of their religious affiliation in the home and host countries is an important, but overlooked, factor in understanding strategies concerning religious and ethnic identities. By comparing two Chinese congregations, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Chinese Christian church in Houston, Texas, we analyze what happens when an immigrant group moves from majority status in the home country to minority status in the United States (Chinese Buddhists) and when a minority group (Chinese Christians in China) become part of the Christian majority in the United States. We conclude by arguing the importance of going beyond U.S. borders and taking into account factors in their home countries in attempts to understand patterns of adaptation of the new immigrants. [source]


Seroprevalence of hepatitis A virus antibodies in Turkish and Moroccan children in Rotterdam,

JOURNAL OF MEDICAL VIROLOGY, Issue 2 2004
J.H. Richardus
Abstract Seasonal fluctuations in hepatitis A have been observed in the Netherlands related to Turkish and Moroccan children after visiting their home countries. This study determined the prevalence and associated factors of hepatitis A virus (HAV) antibodies in Turkish and Moroccan children in Rotterdam. A random sample was taken of children in Rotterdam, aged 5,16 years, of Turkish and Moroccan origin, together with a random sample of native Dutch children aged 5,7 and 14,16 years. Blood was collected by finger prick on filter paper. IgG and IgM anti-HAV was detected by an enzyme-linked immunoassay (EIA). The 319 Turkish, 329 Moroccan, and 248 native Dutch children participated in the study. In Turkish children, IgG anti-HAV increased from 2.2% to 22.2% over the age groups. In Moroccan children, IgG anti-HAV increased from 10.2% to 57.7%. In native Dutch children, 0.8% had IgG anti-HAV in the youngest and 3.1% in the oldest age group. The percentage IgG-positive also having IgM anti-HAV was 21% in Turkish, and 41% in Moroccan children. No IgG-positive native Dutch children had IgM anti-HAV. The prevalence of IgG anti-HAV was associated with increased age, being Moroccan, longer stay in the country of origin before migrating to the Netherlands, and known contact to HAV. The majority of Turkish and Moroccan children aged 4,16 years in Rotterdam are not protected against HAV, but do have a high risk of becoming infected while visiting their native country. Active vaccination against HAV of these children is indicated, with as primary aim their own protection. Prevention of HAV-transmission in the general community should be seen as a secondary benefit. In addition, possible Dutch contacts of nonvaccinated Turkish and Moroccan children, such as day care workers and teachers, should also be vaccinated against HAV. J. Med. Virol. 72:197,202, 2004. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]


Cross-Border Bank M&As and Risk: Evidence from the Bond Market

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 4 2010
SUNGHO CHOI
bank risk; cross-border; M&A; yield spreads The impact of cross-border bank M&As on bank risk remains an open question. Though geographically diversifying bank M&As have the potential to reduce the risk of bank insolvency, they also have the potential to increase that risk due to the increase in risk-taking incentives by bank managers and stockholders following these transactions. This paper empirically investigates whether cross-border bank M&As increase or decrease the risk of acquiring banks as captured by changes in acquirers' yield spreads. This paper also investigates how differences in the institutional environments between bidder and target countries affect changes in yield spreads following M&A announcements. The study finds that bondholders, in general, perceive cross-border bank M&As as risk-increasing activities, unlike domestic bank mergers. Specifically, on average, yield spreads increase by 4.13 basis points following the announcement of cross-border M&As. This study also finds that these yield spreads are significantly affected by the differences in investor-protection and deposit insurance environments between the transacting countries. However, the study does not find that the regulatory and supervisory environment in the home countries of the transacting parties significantly affects the changes in yield spreads. The overall evidence suggests that regulators should judge the relative environment in both the home and the host countries in evaluating the associated risks of an active multinational financial institution and in setting the sufficiency of the banks' reserve positions. [source]


Diagnostic Problems in a Patient With Amicrofilaremic Loa loa

JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2008
Masahide Yoshikawa MD
We report a Japanese patient with loiasis who became infected in Cameroon. Despite the clinical history and laboratory data providing adequate evidence for suspecting loiasis, microfilariae were not detected in the blood. It is important to note that most infected travelers whose home countries are in nonendemic regions are amicrofilaremic. [source]


International Regulations for Automobile Driving and Epilepsy

JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2000
Winnie W. Ooi
Background: Many patients with epilepsy travel abroad and drive automobiles with the assumption that policies, rules, and regulations on epilepsy and driving are similar to those of their home countries. This paper investigates the driving restrictions and other pertinent information on this issue in foreign countries. Methods: A questionnaire was sent to 231 neurologists (chosen from American neurological and epilepsy societies) from 84 countries and to 230 official (embassies and consulates) representatives of 134 countries asking for the local rules and regulations and their comments on driving and epilepsy. Results: One hundred and sixty-six responses were received from 96 of 134 (72%) countries. One hundred and six neurologists (of 231 queried [46%]) responded. In 16 countries, persons with epilepsy are not permitted to drive. In the remaining countries, these patients must have a seizure-free period of 6 to 36 months. This period varies according to the type of seizure. In five countries, physicians must report the names of these patients to their local authorities. In many countries, the rules and regulations are being reevaluated and changed. Conclusions: Patients with epilepsy who plan to drive overseas are advised to contact local embassies and consulates, well before their trips (and keep records of the communications) to obtain the latest information on the rules and regulations governing the driving of automobiles in those countries. [source]


People's Exit in North Korea: New Threat to Regime Stability?

PACIFIC FOCUS, Issue 2 2010
Kyung-Ae Park
As suggested in a growing literature that securitizes the phenomenon of refugee migration and analyzes it as a national as well as a regional security issue, the growing number of North Korean border-crossers has far-reaching political implications for both North Korea and the international community. Studies have argued that refugees could contribute significantly to democratic change in their home countries by assisting and actively participating in the struggle of the domestic opposition, even sparking regime instability and eventual regime breakdown. Much of the North Korean refugee research has focused on the human rights issues faced by the refugees, but a largely unexplored area of the refugee research concerns the political consequences of the refugee flight for the current regime in Pyongyang. This article examines whether North Korean refugees are expected to play the role of political opposition in exile by raising the following four questions: (i) Are the refugees political dissidents? (ii) Are they a resourceful critical mass? (iii) Does exit always lead to regime instability? and (iv) Would China and South Korea encourage exile politics against the current North Korean regime? The article contends that the North Korean refugee community does not currently represent a critical mass that can trigger instability of the Pyongyang regime. Most of the North Korean refugees are not political dissidents, nor have they organized into any resourceful critical mass capable of generating a threat to their home country. In addition, people's exit does not necessarily destabilize the regime as it can sometimes yield a positive political effect by driving out dissidents' voices. Furthermore, several of the receiving countries, in particular, China and South Korea, would not encourage exile dissident movements against North Korea for fear of Pyongyang's collapse. The North Korean regime's stability does not seem to be threatened by the current refugee situation, although the potential of refugees becoming a critical threat should not be discounted should people's exit ever reach the point of developing into an uncontrollable mass exodus. [source]


State Policy, Economic Crisis, Gender, and Family Ties: Determinants of Family Remittances to Cuba

ECONOMIC GEOGRAPHY, Issue 1 2004
Sarah A. Blue
Abstract: This article advances the argument that changing economic conditions in the home country act as an important determinant for sending remittances. Research on the determinants of remittances has tended to focus on the characteristics of the sending population. In the case of Cuba, disproportionate attention is paid to political disincentives to send remittances and not enough to changing state policy and the growing economic demand for remittances in that country. Using empirical data gathered from households in Havana, this article tests the importance of economic conditions in the home country, political ideology, the relationship of the sender to the receiver, the length of time away from home, and gender as determinants for remittances. Migration during an economic crisis, having immediate relatives in the home country, and female gender positively influenced remittance behavior for Cuban emigrants. Visits to the home country, especially for migrants who had left decades earlier, were found to be critical for reestablishing family connections and increasing remittances. No support was found for political disincentives as a major determinant of remittance sending to Cuba. [source]


Transnational Entrepreneurship: Determinants of Firm Type and Owner Attributions of Success

ENTREPRENEURSHIP THEORY AND PRACTICE, Issue 5 2009
Jennifer M. Sequeira
Building on a typology of transnational firm types, developed by Landolt, Autler, and Baires in 1999, we examine whether immigrant attitudes toward the host country and their degree of embeddedness in the home country can predict the specific type of transnational enterprise that an immigrant is likely to begin. We also investigate whether the determinants of success of transnational enterprises vary by firm type. Based on a sample of 1,202 transnational business owners drawn from the Comparative Immigrant Entrepreneurship Project database, our analyses indicate general support for our hypotheses. More specifically, we found that transnational entrepreneurs' positive perceptions of host country opportunities and greater embeddedness in home country activities helped predict the specific type of ventures they would undertake. Further, the degree of embeddedness in the home country may influence the determinants of success for these types of firms. Depending on firm type, owners attributed their primary success to either personal characteristics, social support, or to the quality of their products and services. [source]


Transnationalism as a Motif in Family Stories

FAMILY PROCESS, Issue 4 2005
Elizabeth Stone Ph.D.
Family stories have long been recognized as a vehicle for assessing components of a family's emotional and social life, including the degree to which an immigrant family has been willing to assimilate. Transnationalism, defined as living in one or more cultures and maintaining connections to both, is now increasingly common. A qualitative study of family stories in the family of those who appear completely "American" suggests that an affiliation with one's home country is nevertheless detectable in the stories via motifs such as (1) positively connotated home remedies, (2) continuing denigration of home country "enemies," (3) extensive knowledge of the home country history and politics, (4) praise of endogamy and negative assessment of exogamy, (5) superiority of home country to America, and (6) beauty of home country. Furthermore, an awareness of which model,assimilationist or transnational,governs a family's experience may help clarify a clinician's understanding of a family's strengths, vulnerabilities, and mode of framing their cultural experiences. [source]


Work-life balance: Expatriates reflect the international dimension

GLOBAL BUSINESS AND ORGANIZATIONAL EXCELLENCE, Issue 6 2007
Sue Shortland
Studies by ORC Worldwide have found that long hours, travel, and other work-related factors intrude into personal lives and create stress for a significant portion of HR professionals and expatriates around the world. But while HR professionals believe work-life balance policies have benefited their organization and themselves, expatriates believe quite the opposite. Given the cost of expatriate assignments and the potential for work-life imbalance to erode employee commitment, organizations can do more to communicate and support work-life practices outside their home country, and to better prepare the expatriate and family for life in their new location. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


The multiplicity of citizenship: transnational and local practices and identifications of middle-class migrants

GLOBAL NETWORKS, Issue 3 2010
MARIANNE VAN BOCHOVE
Abstract In this article we focus on local and transnational forms of active citizenship, understood as the sum of all political practices and processes of identification. Our study, conducted among middle-class immigrants in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, indicates that the importance of active transnational citizenship should not be overstated. Among these immigrants, political practices are primarily focused on the local level; political practices directed to the home country appear to be quite rare. However, although transnational activities in the public sphere are rather exceptional, many immigrants do participate in homeland-directed activities in the private sphere. If we look at processes of identification, we see that a majority of the middle-class immigrants have a strong local identity. Many of them combine this local identification with feelings of belonging to people in their home country. [source]


The influence of expatriate and repatriate experiences on career advancement and repatriate retention

HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT, Issue 1 2009
Maria L. Kraimer
Abstract We address repatriate retention from a career advancement perspective by developing a model that analyzes the effect of expatriate experiences and organizational career support on repatriates' career advancement upon return to the home country. Career advancement, in turn, is expected to affect the repatriate's perceived underemployment and turnover intentions. We collected data from a sample of 84 recently repatriated employees. Results revealed a curvilinear relationship between the number of international assignments and career advancement upon repatriation. Results also showed that developmental expatriate assignments were positively related to career advancement while the acquisition of managerial skills was negatively related to career advancement. Acquiring cultural skills, completing assignment objectives, and organizational career support did not relate to career advancement. In terms of outcomes, we found that perceived underemployment mediated the relationship between career advancement and turnover intentions. A lower level of organizational career support also resulted in greater turnover intentions. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Multinationals, international integration and employment practice in domestic plants

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS JOURNAL, Issue 2 2000
Tony Edwards
The article explores the diffusion of employment practices from the foreign operations of multinational companies to those in the home country. Specifically, it uses data from ten mini-case studies to examine the type of multinational in which this phenomenon, termed ,reverse diffusion', is most likely to be found. [source]


A study of cross-border outshopping determinants: mediating effect of outshopping enjoyment

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 6 2009
Chiquan Guo
Abstract Outshopping has been studied in the marketing literature for years, and research has identified some compelling reasons for people to shop out of their home country. Outshoppers literally go extra miles to outshop for better quality and assortment of merchandise, higher quality of personal service, more pleasant shopping atmospherics, and more competitive prices. In this study, we propose that outshopping enjoyment is not only directly related to outshopping, as are the earlier outshopping determinants, but mediate the relationships between those cognitive determinants and outshopping behaviour. In addition, we explore how patriotism and terror would affect people's outshopping frequency. Managerial and research implications are also discussed. [source]


Migrant Assimilation in Europe: A Transnational Family Affair1

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 1 2009
Sam Scott
The paper advances our empirical and theoretical understanding of migrant assimilation. It does so by focusing on a very particular group of individuals who appear more likely than other migrant types to "go native." We call these individuals "mixed nationality relationship migrants" (i.e., migrants who have committed to a life outside their home country because of the presence of a foreign partner). The paper argues that the transnational family milieus that emerge from this form of international migration are critical to the assimilation process. Empirical material from 11 in-depth interviews with female migrants in Britain (Sheffield) and France (Paris) supports our argument. We also suggest that such "extreme" assimilation is more likely within a regional migratory system , like the EU , where the "identity frontiers" crossed in the formation of a transnational family are relatively shallow. [source]


Does Selective Migration Matter?

INTERNATIONAL MIGRATION REVIEW, Issue 4 2005
Explaining Ethnic Disparities in Educational Attainment among Immigrants'Children
Understanding why some national-origin groups excel in school while others do not is an enduring sociological puzzle. This paper examines whether the degree of immigrants'educational selectivity - that is, how immigrants differ educationally from non-migrants in the home country - influences educational outcomes among groups of immigrants'children. This study uses published international data and U. S. Census and Current Population Survey data on 32 immigrant groups to show that as immigrants'educational selectivity increases, the college attainment of the second generation also increases. Moreover, the more positive selection of Asian immigrants helps explain their second generations'higher college attendance rates as compared to Europeans, Afro-Caribbeans, and Latinos. Thus, the findings suggest that inequalities in relative pre-migration educational attainments among immigrants are often reproduced among the next generation in the United States. [source]


Religion and Ethnicity Among New Immigrants: The Impact of Majority/Minority Status in Home and Host Countries

JOURNAL FOR THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF RELIGION, Issue 3 2001
Fenggang Yang
Research shows that religion continues to be an important identity marker for new immigrants in the United States. However, immigrant groups differ in the ways they integrate religious and ethnic identities and the emphasis they place on each. In this paper, we argue that majority or minority status of their religious affiliation in the home and host countries is an important, but overlooked, factor in understanding strategies concerning religious and ethnic identities. By comparing two Chinese congregations, a Chinese Buddhist temple and a Chinese Christian church in Houston, Texas, we analyze what happens when an immigrant group moves from majority status in the home country to minority status in the United States (Chinese Buddhists) and when a minority group (Chinese Christians in China) become part of the Christian majority in the United States. We conclude by arguing the importance of going beyond U.S. borders and taking into account factors in their home countries in attempts to understand patterns of adaptation of the new immigrants. [source]


Management Ethics and Corporate Policy: A Cross-cultural Comparison

JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 3 2000
Terence Jackson
This paper reports the results of a cross-cultural empirical study that investigated differences in the clarity of corporate attitudes towards ethical ,grey areas' and their influences on managers' ethical decision making. The study encompassed managers in France, Germany, Britain, Spain and the USA working in over 200 companies operating in these countries. Comparisons are made at both individual manager level and at corporate level. At the former level significant differences are found among nationalities of managers themselves. For the latter, differences are found among companies according to the nationality of their home country rather than the host country. Despite identifying national differences in areas of gift giving and receiving, loyalty to company, loyalty to one's group, and reporting others' violations of corporate policy, the study presents evidence that clarity of corporate policy has little influence on managers' reported ethical decision making. The perceived behaviour of managers' colleagues is far more important in predicting attitudes towards decision making of managers across the nationalities surveyed. This has implications for the efficacy of the growing popularity of corporate codes across Europe. Companies should place more emphasis on intervening in peer dynamics rather than trying to legislate for managers' ethical conduct. [source]


Searching for wages and mothering from Afar: The case of Honduran transnational families

JOURNAL OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY, Issue 5 2004
Leah Schmalzbauer
This article draws on data from a 2-year two-country study that included 157 people to explore the survival strategies of poor Honduran transnational families. I argue that transnational families, defined as those divided between two nation-states who have maintained close ties, depend on a cross-border division of labor in which productive labor occurs in the host country and reproductive labor in the home country. This article bridges the literatures on transnationalism and families. The transnationalism literature tends to focus on macro processes, whereas the literature on families assumes proximity. This research helps fill the gap in both literatures, exposing the ways in which processes of economic globalization have radically altered family form and function. [source]


Monetary Policy and Stock Prices in an Open Economy

JOURNAL OF MONEY, CREDIT AND BANKING, Issue 8 2007
GIORGIO DI GIORGIO
monetary policy; stock prices; Taylor Rule; open-economy DSGE models; wealth effects This paper studies monetary policy in a two-country model where agents can invest their wealth in both stock and bond markets. In our economy the foreign country hosts the only active equity market where also residents of the home country can trade stocks of listed foreign firms. We show that, in order to achieve price stability, the Central Banks in both countries should grant a dedicated response to movements in stock prices driven by relative productivity shocks. Determinacy of rational expectations equilibria and approximation of the Wicksellian interest rate policy by simple monetary policy rules are also investigated. [source]


Sexual Risk Behavior of Travelers who Consulted a Pretravel Clinic

JOURNAL OF TRAVEL MEDICINE, Issue 1 2008
Mieke Croughs MD
Objective The objective of this study was to determine to which degree travelers who received pretravel advice at a travel clinic have protected or unprotected sexual contact with a new partner and what factors influence this behavior. Method An anonymous questionnaire was sent to travelers who came to a pretravel clinic between June 1 and August 31, 2005. Risk factors for casual travel sex and predictors of protected sex were studied in a multivariate model. Results A total of 1,907 travelers were included (response rate 55%) in the study. Only 4.7% of the respondents had sexual contact with a new partner, and 63.1% of these new partners were from the country of destination. Of those who had casual travel sex, 52.4% did not expect this (women 75%), 30.9% did not always use condoms, and 41% were not protected against hepatitis B. Independent risk factors for casual travel sex were traveling without steady partner (OR 14.4), expecting casual travel sex (OR 9.2), having casual sexual contacts in the home country (OR 2.4), non-tourist journeys (OR 2.2), being male (OR 2.1), the fact that the information on sexually transmitted infections (STI) had been read (OR 2.0), and traveling to South and Central America (OR 2.0). Taking condoms along (OR 5.4) and reading the information on STI (OR 3.3) were identified as independent predictors of protected sex. Conclusions Travelers have substantial sexual risk behavior. Casual sex is usually not expected, and the most important predictor is traveling without a steady partner. We would advice every client of a travel clinic who will travel without a steady partner to read the STI information, to take condoms along, and to be vaccinated against hepatitis B. [source]


Use of the molecular adsorbents recirculating system as a treatment for acute decompensated wilson disease

LIVER TRANSPLANTATION, Issue 10 2008
Alexander Chiu
Acute decompensated Wilson disease presenting as fulminant liver failure is a life-threatening condition for which liver transplantation is the ultimate treatment. It is listed as a status 1 indication according to the United Network for Organ Sharing classification. A massive amount of copper released during the attack induces hemolytic anemia and acute renal failure. Conventional chelating therapy attempting to remove copper from the patient is not satisfactory because there is inadequate time for these drugs to take action and patients are usually oliguric. The Molecular Adsorbents Recirculating System (MARS) is a form of modified dialysis that removes putative albumin-bound toxins associated with liver failure. It is believed that extracorporeal albumin dialysate absorbs the circulating copper molecules that are trapped in the patient's circulation. We report 2 patients with acute decompensated Wilson disease treated with MARS. In the first case, the patient was started on MARS once conventional treatment failed. A significant amount of copper was removed from her circulatory system, and her condition stabilized afterwards. The treatment gained her extra time, and she was eventually bridged to liver transplantation. In the second case, the patient was started on MARS treatment early in the course of his illness, and his condition soon stabilized after the treatment. He was able to return to his home country for liver transplantation. In both cases, MARS was used as a means of preventing deterioration rather than salvaging devastation. In conclusion, MARS may confer benefits to patients with acute decompensated Wilson disease if it is started early in the course of illness. Liver Transpl 14:1512,1516, 2008. © 2008 AASLD. [source]