Ethnic foundations of economic transactions: Mexican and Korean immigrant entrepreneurs in Chicago

Although researchers have chronicled the high rate of entrepreneurship in Chicago among recent Asian immigrants, especially Koreans, few studies examine groups with low rates of self-employment, such as Mexicans. In this article we analyse a unique survey of business owners operating in an immigrant community to identify circumstances that help and hinder entrepreneurship by comparing the experiences of Mexicans, with those of Koreans. We find that Korean and Mexican business owners draw on thinner ethnic social networks and do not reap similar advantages from co-ethnic business dealings. Until Mexicans consolidate a market niche, their opportunities to benefit from ethnic vertical integration will remain limited.     

The economic returns of bonding and bridging social capital for immigrant men in Germany

Using longitudinal data, this paper analyses the effect of different forms of social capital on the likelihood of employment and the occupational status of first generation immigrant men in Germany. This allows me to examine to what extent social capital of the bonding and the bridging types yield different returns. The study considers how contacts with natives, co-ethnic ties and family-based social capital are beneficial to the economic position of immigrant men. Random effects and fixed effects models show that strong inter-ethnic ties are beneficial both for employment and occupational status. There is no effect of co-ethnic ties and family-based social capital. It is concluded that, when using panel data, bridging social capital contributes to a better economic position and bonding social capital does not.     

A critical race theory approach to black American entrepreneurship

ABSTRACT

In recent years, a growing literature has suggested that self-employment is a viable means of solving economic problems for a wide range of groups who are subject to poverty, discrimination and other disadvantages. Yet African Americans have not developed an ethnic economy large enough to solve many of their economic problems. To explore the question, this paper reviews three of the most common explanations for black Americans’ low rates of entrepreneurship: the cultural/psychological perspective, the ethnic enterprise perspective and the critical race approach. While the first two are widely accepted, neither approach identifies black Americans as a racial group, instead defining them as a cultural or ethnic group. Accordingly, neither apprehends the full impact of racial inequality in limiting black Americans’ entrepreneurial opportunities. Following a discussion of race-based obstacles to entrepreneurship, the paper concludes that the critical race view provides the most convincing explanation for black Americans’ limited entrepreneurial achievements.     

The "Other" Story of Model Minorities: Korean American High School Dropouts in an Urban Context

This article analyzes how socioeconomic backgrounds, social capital, and school resources affect Korean American youths' educational attainment and aspirations. In the context of limited social and economic support, students delineate differences within coethnic communities along class lines and adopt an oppositional cultural frame of reference to endure and resist institutional barriers. This study demonstrates the significance of distinguishing socioeconomic differences within Korean American communities and for whom the enclaves may be more beneficial.     

Discontinuous intersections: second-generation immigrant girls in transition from school to work

This article provides a theoretical framework for analysing discrimination against second-generation immigrant girls in education and the labour market by proposing an intersectional approach. Drawing upon selected elements of the findings of our Neskak Gora Project – a qualitative research conducted between 2009 and 2011 in Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK and funded by the EC Daphne III Programme – we show that the intersection of class, gender and ‘race’/ethnicity, which is at play at the structural, institutional and discursive levels of systems of intersectional discrimination, works in variable ways. While gendered educational structures seem partly to benefit female immigrant youth at school, gendered disadvantages are experienced particularly in the transition to the labour market. This highlights the necessary acknowledgement of the ‘discontinuity’ of axes of inequality that are manifested in different ways, according to specific contexts, institutional settings and moments of the individual's life cycle.     

Violence and trauma as constitutive elements in Korean American racial identity formation: the 1992 L.A. riots/insurrection/saigu

This paper proposes a new understanding of race as an artifact constructed from racist violence and the trauma it engenders. The paper applies Jeffrey Alexander's concept of ‘cultural trauma’, i.e. when ‘members of a collectivity feel they have been subjected to a horrendous event that leaves indelible marks on their group consciousness’, to the case of Korean immigrant merchants who were victims of violence during the 1992 L.A. riots/insurrection/saigu in Los Angeles, California, following the acquittal of four white police officers charged with violently assaulting a black motorist. Though the violence was contained to distinct neighbourhoods, the larger society experienced the terror because of the mass media. Over time this media-event led to the construction of a new identity rooted in violence and trauma. Through an examination of various texts, this paper argues that the Korean-American collective consciousness shifted discursively from an identity rooted in nationality to one incorporating race.     

Ethnic and sub-ethnic attachments among Chinese,Korean, and Indian immigrants in New York City

This article compares ethnic and sub-ethnic attachments in Chinese, Indian, and Korean immigrants in New York City, based on results of a survey. Indian respondents, with much higher levels of education and fluency in English, show a lower level of cultural ethnic attachment than the other two groups. The Chinese show the lowest level of formal ethnic affiliation, mainly due to their much lower level of religious affiliation. All three groups show extremely high levels of informal ethnic networks. However, Chinese and Indian respondents largely limit their close friendships to their sub-ethnic group, based on national origin, religion, regional origin and/or language, while Korean respondents, characterized by group homogeneity, tend to maintain close friendships with all other Koreans. Much larger proportions of Chinese and Indian respondents than Koreans choose the sub-ethnic identity label and they show much lower levels of loyalty to their homeland than Korean respondents.     

Moral bricolage and immigrant identification: The case of Romanian Americans

Immigration historians have illuminated the institutional forces that made possible Eastern and southern European immigrants' inclusion in the white racial category in the early twentieth century, initiating their ascent into mainstream America. Sociologists have shown that their descendants assimilated into American society while maintaining symbolic attachments to their ethnic roots. But, whereas current studies of immigrant racialization have focused on the strategies of immigrants of colour for asserting a higher position in the American social hierarchy, scholars have generally overlooked such processes for phenotypically white immigrants. This paper highlights first and 1.5 generation Romanian immigrants' strategies for navigating their ambivalent relationship to Americanness. While they assumed their whiteness unproblematically, Romanian Americans sought to distinguish themselves from whites and non-whites on the basis of their ethnicity. Furthermore, they used American values to distance themselves from their former compatriots. Through moral bricolage, Romanians made strategic use of desirable traits they associated with being Romanian and American, melding them into a particularly worthy ethnic identity.     

Culture at work: Polish migrants in the ethnic division of labour on Norwegian construction sites

Following large-scale labour migration from Poland to the Norwegian construction sector since 2004, new ethnic divisions of labour have been established between the usually native core workforces of construction firms, and Polish migrant workers hired through temporary subcontracting and staffing agencies. Survey data suggest that there is very little mobility between these segments of the labour market. The establishment and reproduction of this ethnic division of labour is analysed through qualitative interviews with Norwegian employers and Polish migrant workers. Polish migrants and their particular ‘work culture’ are perceived by Norwegian employers as well-suited for work in the firms’ temporary external workforces but unfit for permanent positions unless they assimilate to a ‘Norwegian work culture’. These stereotyped employment practices are reinforced by the migrants’ own tactical use of the cultural capital available to them when negotiating the conflicting expectations in different job segments.     

The role of migrant networks in the labour market outcomes of Senegalese men: how destination contexts matter

Research on the role of co-ethnic ties in immigrants’ labour market outcomes has reached mixed conclusions. Some argue they are a valuable resource, increasing immigrants’ labour force participation and wages; others find negative effects such as trapping workers in low-quality employment. Thus far very few quantitative studies have investigated systematically the circumstances under which migrant networks work. Taking advantage of unique data on Senegalese men in France, Italy and Spain, this paper shows that the receiving context shapes the role of pre-migration ties. In France, where the Senegalese community is well-established and socio-economically diverse, networks lead to better economic prospects. In contrast, pre-migration ties in Italy and Spain mostly lead to the perpetuation of ethnic niches developed by the Senegalese in small and precarious trade activities. The article emphasizes the benefits of adopting a comparative and diachronic approach and calls for future work on the factors shaping the role of networks.     

Dreaming in Spain: parental determinants of immigrant children's ambition

We examine determinants of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations among children of immigrants in Spain on the basis of a unique data set that includes statistically representative data for foreign-origin secondary students in Madrid and Barcelona plus a sample of one-fourth of their parents. Independently collected data for both generations allow us to establish effects of parental characteristics on children's orientations without the confounding potential inherent in children's reports about parents. We analyse first determinants of parental ambition and, through a series of stepwise regressions, the effects of these goals and other parental and family characteristics on children's aspirations and expectations. A structural equations model synthesizes the results of the analysis. The model confirms predictions from the research literature, especially those based on the Wisconsin status attainment model, but rejects others, including the predicted significance of private versus public school attendance. Parental ambition, knowledge of Spanish by parents and children, gender and children's age are major determinants of youths' educational and occupational goals. These results have direct implications for policy; these are discussed in the conclusion.     

红松人工幼林透光伐效果的分析

红松人工幼林透光伐分别采取清除红松林冠上方全部(全透林)和50％(半透林)阔叶树的抚育方式。半透林生长快,蓄积是全透林的1.5倍;叶面积指数、叶面积密度和森林生产力分别是全透林的1.3、0.8和1.3倍。全林营养元素积累量大,吸收的太阳辐射比全透林多100.3×10~6J/m~2,光能利用率高0.06％。最后,根据乌道特公式证明,幼林半透抚育效果良好,有利于形成复层结构的林分,充分利用环境资源,减少竞争,提高森林生产力。     

The social side of ethnic entrepreneur breakout: evidence from Latino immigrant business owners

This article examines the social uses of immigrant business spaces that correspond to different stages of breakout, or the movement of a business from a limited, primarily co-ethnic customer base to a wider, primarily non-co-ethnic customer base. Using participant observation and interview data from three Latino immigrant-dominated shopping malls in the USA, we assess how the degree of breakout at each mall and the resulting degree of heterogeneity in customers is associated with different kinds of social uses of the spaces. We find that Latino immigrant business spaces that have yet to begin a transition towards breakout are important sites of bonding for Latino immigrants and serve to strengthen their ethnic solidarity. Latino immigrant business spaces that are in the midst of transitioning towards breakout facilitate casual interaction between Latino immigrant and non-Latino residents, while those Latino immigrant entrepreneur spaces that have achieved breakout act as spaces of cultural consumption by non-Latinos.     

阔叶红松林林木与林分生长对采伐干扰的响应

提升森林质量、修复生态功能是东北阔叶红松林生态修复的核心,而阐明林木与林分生长对采伐干扰的响应机理是其中的关键。森林对采伐干扰的响应会受到空间尺度、时间尺度以及干扰程度等因素的综合影响。以往的研究侧重于比较不同采伐处理下林木生长的相对大小,而忽视了不同恢复时间下,林木和林分生长随干扰程度的变化。以吉林蛟河阔叶红松林采伐样地为对象,基于连续四次样地调查数据(2011、2013、2015、2018年),分别探讨了林木和林分生长在不同恢复阶段对不同程度采伐干扰的响应,并通过构建分段模型确定采伐干扰阈值。结果显示:林木和林分生长对采伐干扰的响应并不一致,采伐促进了林木生长,并且林木生长量随采伐强度的升高而升高;采伐降低了林分生产力,林分生产力随采伐强度的升高而降低。林木和林分生长对采伐干扰的响应存在时滞效应:林木和林分生长在采伐后两年内并无显著变化,而在采伐三年后才发生明显变化。此外,分段模型的结果显示:当保留木断面积为21.6 m²/hm²时,林分生产力最高,表明通过密度调整使阔叶红松林胸高断面积维持在21.6 m²/hm²附近,可使林分处于较高的生产力水平、促进森林恢复。研究结果能够为制定科学的阔叶红松林生态修复策略提供技术支撑。     

基于非线性混合模型的红松人工林枝条生长

基于黑龙江省孟家岗林场36株红松人工林的枝解析数据,以单分子式和理查德方程作为枝条基径(BD)和枝长(BL)生长模型,分别考虑样地效应和样木效应,利用SAS软件的PROC NLMIXED模块构建了枝条基径和枝长生长的非线性混合模型.采用Akaike信息准则(AIC)、贝叶斯信息准则(BIC)、对数似然值(-2Log likelihood)和似然比检验(LRT)等评价指标对所构建模型的精度进行比较.结果表明:当考虑样地效应时,α1、α3和β1、β3分别作为随机参数时基径和枝长生长模型拟合效果最好;当考虑样木效应影响时,α2、α3和β1、β3分别作为随机参数时基径和枝长生长模型拟合效果最好.非线性混合模型不但可反映枝生长总体平均变化趋势,还能反映个体之间的差异.无论考虑样地效应还是样木效应,非线性混合模型的拟合精度都比传统回归模型的拟合精度高,并且考虑样木效应的拟合精度高于考虑样地效应的拟合精度.     

The Declining Significance of Race in the twenty-first century: a retrospective assessment in the context of rising class inequality

No other book in modern sociology is so well known but yet so roundly dismissed as William J. Wilson's The Declining Significance of Race. Its major thesis is supported, however, by a great deal of credible and systematic evidence. Its historical analysis is notably informative and prescient in predicting rising class inequality. The Declining Significance of Race remains vitally important reading for enhancing our understanding of inequality in contemporary America.     

凉水自然保护区不同皮型红松径向生长对气候的响应

运用相关函数及单年分析等树木年轮气候学方法,研究了黑龙江凉水国家自然保护区不同皮型红松径向生长与气候因子的关系、主要影响因子及这种响应关系是否长期稳定.结果表明: 细皮红松更适合做树木年轮气候学分析.两种皮型红松的径向生长对环境变化都比较敏感,对气候因子的响应无显著差异.1902—2009年生长季,尤其当年6月的气候因子是影响研究区两种皮型红松生长的主要因子.其中,温度表现为显著负相关,降水表现为显著正相关.不同时间段内红松径向生长对气候因子的响应存在差异,随着1970年后气温的快速升高及干旱的加剧,两种皮型红松径向生长对气候因子的响应更敏感,尤其表现为对生长季温度和更多季节水热复合因子变化（帕尔默干旱指数）的响应更显著.
     

红松阔叶林倒木贮量动态的研究

在森林倒木研究的基础上探讨长白山红松阔叶林倒木贮量的动态,涉及红松阔叶林倒木分解及其贮量的动态规律。研究表明,倒木分解,除心腐木外,均由表及里进行;倒木分解速率在其它生态条件相同时因树种、直径和部位而异。红松阔叶林倒木贮量动态包括现有倒木贮量和倒木年输入量两个分解动态过程,现有倒木贮量在头100年其干重迅速减少,其中椴树比红松尤速,前者分解91%,后者为72%.林地倒木贮量动态与倒木年输入量分解动态相似,但前者在分解初期贮量增加较大,因为部分现有倒木未完全分解;100年后趋于一致,并恒定于16～17t·hm^-2,直至群落的顶极阶段结束.     

创新创业教育在微生物学实践教学中的探索

创新创业教育是当前高等教育改革的重要方向,如何将微生物学实践教学与创新创业教育相结合是一个值得研究的课题。我们在微生物学实践课程体系和学生业余科研中探索出以下举措来培养学生的创新能力和创业思维:建立兴趣小组参与实验准备的模式,这能让学生快速成长为实验能手,成了我校微生物学实验教学的优良传承和特色,并辐射到全校的其他课程;通过多元化的设计方案、专题实验来锻炼学生综合应用知识的能力、科研思维和创新能力,这让学生在潜移默化中走上科研道路;指导学生申报科研课题和参加学科竞赛项目,培养学生的实验技能和探索能力,这成为实践教学的有益延伸。上述改革的成效显著,学生学习的积极性和参与科研的意识被激发,申报科研项目的质量和数量大大提高,在学科竞赛获奖、参与论文发表和专利申请等方面获得了不俗的成绩。该组合模式为本科生创新创业能力的培养和综合素质的提升发挥了重要的作用,尤其对地方本科院校人才培养具有重要的推广价值。