The experiences of ethnic minority police officers in Britain: under-recruitment and racial profiling in a performance culture

The findings draw on independent research conducted in the aftermath of the Macpherson Report of 1999 and are based on in-depth interviews with African Caribbean and South Asian officers in five British police services. Serving officers offer their frequently contrasting views on the underrecruitment of ethnic minority officers and their experiences in the police force and beyond. While many question whether increasing the recruitment of ethnic minority officers would make the widely-assumed positive impact in reducing racism, others maintain that it would; but they believe persistent habitual racist practices by white officers serves as the most formidable impediment to recruitment. Reasons are offered for this persistent racism. It is proposed that the trend towards assessing occupational performance in the police has had the unintended consequence of promoting racial profiling, or selecting ethnic minority groups for unfair treatment. Ethnic minority police officers are subject to racist abuse as a way of 'testing' them. They believe that, if they protest against either their own treatment or that of ethnic minority civilians, they may damage their careers. This perception acts as a deterrent to challenging racism in police work and contributes towards its continuation.     

Ethnicity and fertility in Liberia: a test of the minority group status hypothesis

This study examines the relationship between ethnicity and fertility in Liberia, within the context of the minority group status hypothesis. The hypothesis argues that minority group status exerts an independent effect on fertility, net of controls for socioeconomic and demographic variables. Using a subsample of women from the 1974 Liberian census, the study examines interethnic variations in fertility by comparing five ethnic minorities--Bassa, Vai, Grebo, Kru, Kpelle--with the majority group, Americo-Liberian. With the possible exception of Bassa women, the findings do not support the minority group status hypothesis. Instead, the findings are more congruent with the alternative assimilationist hypothesis which argues that when sociodemographic differences between majority and minority groups are controlled, their fertility levels should converge. The implications of these findings are explored.     

Is racism the new sectarianism? Negativity towards immigrants and ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland from 2004 to 2015

Negativity towards ethnic minorities is a serious problem in Northern Ireland. Its history of the Troubles around religious identities makes Northern Ireland a special case in Europe. This paper examines negativity towards Muslims, Eastern Europeans and immigrants in Northern Ireland using data from the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey and the British Social Attitudes Survey. The results from regressions show that anti-immigrant negativity is no more prevalent in Northern Ireland than elsewhere in the UK. However, levels of negativity towards Muslims and Eastern Europeans are significantly higher than in Great Britain and have increased in recent years, particularly among young adults aged 18–24 years, although older cohorts are more intolerant on average. Our regression analyses found strong positive relationships between anti-immigrant negativity, sectarianism and perceived neighbourhood segregation. Higher education, contacts with minority members and (religiously) mixed schooling are negatively related to negativity towards immigrants.     

Ethnicity and fertility in Liberia: A test of the minority group status hypothesis

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between ethnicity and fertility in Liberia, within the context of the minority group status hypothesis. The hypothesis argues that minority group status exerts an independent effect on fertility, net of controls for socioeconomic and demographic variables. Using a subsample of women from the 1974 Liberian census, the study examines interethnic variations in fertility by comparing five ethnic minorities—Bassa, Vai, Grebo, Kru, Kpelle—with the majority group, Americo‐Liberian. With the possible exception of Bassa women, the findings do not support the minority group status hypothesis. Instead, the findings are more congruent with the alternative assimilationist hypothesis which argues that when sociodemographic differences between majority and minority groups are controlled, their fertility levels should converge. The implications of these findings are explored.     

Ethnic politics and labour market closure: Shipbuilding and industrial decline in Northern Ireland

This article examines the interplay of ethnic conflict and economic interests in Northern Ireland, specifically for the case of the shipbuilding industry, which received massive state aid despite its terminal decline. Parkin's theory of dual social closure by members of the subordinate class but dominant status group to monopolize resources and opportunities is employed to examine the interests and actions of Protestant workers. The contribution of local institutions including Extended Internal Labor Markets to the salience of Protestant group solidarity is examined from a political economy perspective. Political accommodation between Protestant labour and the Northern Ireland government, and later British government political fears of antagonizing Loyalist workers, facilitated huge aid to a failing industry.     

Police and Thieves,Gunmen and Drunks: Problems with Men and Problems with Society in Papua New Guinea

The image of the ‘man with a gun’ is pervasive in Papua New Guinea and connotes not only the state's capacity to use force, but that of men to resist and subvert state control. At the same time, the association of beer and marijuana with both modernity and violent masculine behaviours provides the context, the justification and the forms of homosocial activities involving violence. In this paper, I explore the ambiguities surrounding guns as instruments of state force and as symbols of masculine autonomy in so‐called ‘weak states’ by examining some stories about the ways that guns are acquired for illegal activities. In particular, I shall discuss the ways that guns and beer are instruments of violence and potency for police, tribal warriors and criminals as well as some of the means whereby men gain access to new forms of power. Drawing on ethnographic research with young men in New Ireland Province, the paper will deal specifically with the ways that adolescent boys construe ‘modern masculinity’.     

A new Mississippian problematicum from Ireland and Britain: comparison with the problematicum Draffania

Upper Viséan platform limestones from Ireland and northern England contain occasionally hemispherical to bean-shaped structures attached to fenestellid bryozoan colonies. These problematic structures are described and compared with another Mississippian problematicum, Draffania. Both problematic taxa exhibit a similar skeletal structure, but have some different morphological features. They also have comparable stratigraphic records and occupied similar palaeoecological niches. Possible affinities of this new problematicum with foraminiferans, crinoids, algae, and bryozoans are discussed, but its definite taxonomic status remains to be elucidated.     

Intertidal seagrass in Ireland: Pressures,WFD status and an assessment of trace element contamination in intertidal habitats using Zostera noltei

Intertidal seagrass has been selected as a Biological Quality Element for the assessment of ecological status under the Water Framework Directive. In Ireland, two species of seagrass, Zostera marina and Z. noltei occur in intertidal habitats. This study presents the first comprehensive assessment of the distribution and Water Framework Directive status of intertidal seagrass in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Most of the areas assessed, using the Water Framework Directive-compliant assessment tool, have a status of HIGH or GOOD. Only two areas were found to have a status less than GOOD and in both, the cause for the decline was smothering by opportunistic foliose green macroalgae. Linear regression showed a relationship between pressure index scores and Ecological Quality Ratio, showing the relevance of the index as a metric of anthropogenic pressure. Trace element concentrations were examined in Z. noltei tissues and Trace Element Pollution Index values were calculated. The relationship between Trace Element contamination and Water Framework Directive status was examined but the results showed little correlation. However, a relationship between the pressure index and trace element contamination was obtained. This assessment provides the most comprehensive overview of intertidal seagrass beds in Ireland and establishes a strong baseline for ongoing monitoring and assessment under the Water Framework Directive. The data provide key information on the pressures affecting these valuable habitats which will assist in the development of measures to improve and protect our transitional and coastal waters.     

Minority statuses and positive views of the country in the United States: an investigation of nativity/immigrant status,and racial/ethnic and religious backgrounds

Using a nationally representative sample of adults in the US, this study examines the majority and minority’s positive views of the country in terms of nativity status, race and ethnicity, and religion. The results suggest that the majority–minority differences vary by demographic characteristics and attitudes examined. Although non-US citizens have a lower level of regard for the US as the best country in which to be a citizen than their counterparts, they have no less favourable views in other respects. Among ethnic minorities, only blacks have more negative views of the US than whites do. While religious minorities also have less regard for the country than the majority, individuals with no religious affiliation hold lower levels of most national attitudes. These findings suggest that the associations between minority status and views of the country go beyond race and ethnicity, which previous research has overlooked.     

Does being Roma matter? Ethnic boundaries and stigma spillover in musical consumption

Manele songs, an updated version of traditional Romani music, are excluded from mainstream Romanian media due to their association with the country’s large Roma minority. The genre is at the intersection between Romania’s democratic transition and growing efforts to strengthen boundaries between the country’s marginalized Romani minority and the non-Romani majority population. But we find that media discussions around manele underscore a fluid relationship between ethnic boundaries and stigmatized cultural consumption. All those who listen to manele are portrayed in negative terms by the media, no matter whether ethnic markers are used as part of the portrayal. In the context of manele, genre-based stereotypes extend beyond ethnic boundaries to assign negative social value to a wide swathe of people who consume the genre. The stigma spillover surrounding manele audiences therefore underlines the ways in which Roma identity is fluid, and anyone associated with the Roma can be relegated to the lower rungs of social status. Manele show how the political process of ethnic boundary-making draws a wide net over those located at the bottom of power hierarchies.     

Ontological (in)Security and African Pentecostalism in Ireland

The last number of years has seen the mushrooming of African Pentecostal churches, especially Prosperity Gospel churches, in the post-recession industrial landscapes of Ireland. This article aims to explore the growth of African Pentecostalism in Ireland from both the perspective of embodied and affective religious experience and the conditions for the possibility of those religious experiences. This article is based on several years of ethnographic research among African Pentecostals in Ireland. It attends especially to the sensorious forms of worship and the Jesus walks that Pentecostals organise to transform the Irish symbolic landscape. Drawing on recent anthropological theory, the article draws out the contradictions, doubts, boundaries and limitations perceived and lived in totalising Pentecostal discourses and practices. Here, we develop the concept of ontological (in)security in order to theorise these doubts and limitations as well as the power of contemporary Pentecostalism in late modernity.     

Ethnicity,the search for rapists and the press

Media reporting of rape continues to provoke concern. This article focuses on the press reporting of the discovery and search for alleged rapists. On examining nine British newspapers for one complete year (1992), a serious distortion in the media reporting of ethnicity emerges at this early stage of the criminal process. While there is an over‐representation of minority ethnic men accused of rape coming to the notice of the police, the cases identified as involving minority ethnic (particularly black) men as assailants, are much more likely to be reported widely. The distortion is then intensified by associating minority ethnic (and again particularly, black men) with certain types of rape. However, there are important differences between newspapers in their coverage. Furthermore, while media coverage of the search for rapists is a matter of concern, it also needs to be seen as part of the wider process of the social construction of rapists. Nevertheless, the conclusion is that the media coverage of rape tends to distort in ways which may well exacerbate hostility against minority ethnic groups.     

The invader,the enemy within and they-who-must-not-be-named: how police talk about minorities in Italy,the Netherlands and France

How people talk about ethnic minorities is a sensitive subject, especially in law enforcement. We know little about it as far as continental Europe is concerned. This article is about how police officers talk about minorities in France, in Italy and in the Netherlands. How do speech norms (‘political correctness’) apply outside the anglophone world? Is there a relation between speech norms and practices? This exploratory study is based on interviews with fifty-five police officers from France, Italy and the Netherlands. In these countries, police officers are aware that displaying overt racism is not socially desirable. Interviews show that there are vastly different speech norms governing decent race talk in the three countries. Specifically, we compare: how police use ethnic categories; how police anticipate accusations of discrimination; and how police theorize the over-representation of ethnic minorities in crime. French respondents respect much stricter speech norms than Dutch or Italian ones.     

The White Ceiling Heuristic and the Underestimation of Asian-American Income

The belief that ethnic majorities dominate ethnic minorities informs research on intergroup processes. This belief can lead to the social heuristic that the ethnic majority sets an upper limit that minority groups cannot surpass, but this possibility has not received much attention. In three studies of perceived income, we examined how this heuristic, which we term the White ceiling heuristic leads people to inaccurately estimate the income of a minority group that surpasses the majority. We found that Asian Americans, whose median income has surpassed White median income for nearly three decades, are still perceived as making less than Whites, with the least accurate estimations being made by people who strongly believe that Whites are privileged. In contrast, income estimates for other minorities were fairly accurate. Thus, perceptions of minorities are shaped both by stereotype content and a heuristic.     

The oral health of older people from minority ethnic communities in south east England

Objectives: To describe the clinical health status and subjective oral health status of older adults from minority ethnic communities resident in South East England. Design: Cross sectional survey incorporating a clinical examination and a questionnaire assessment of subjective oral health status. Setting: Community groups working with individuals from minority ethnic communities. Subjects: A total of 540 individuals from 7 minority ethnic communities. Measures: Clinical assessment of oral health status using BASCD criteria. Assessment of oral symptoms and impact experienced together with satisfaction with oral status, by structured questionnaire. Results: On all measures of clinical health status the participants were healthier than a comparison group based on data from the Adult Dental Health Survey. The participants expressed high levels of subjective oral symptoms. Levels of satisfaction were lower than those found in the Adult Dental Health Survey. There was evidence of some variation across minority ethnic communities in clinical and subjective oral health status. Conclusions: Approximately 20% of the 540 adults from minority ethnic communities resident in the South East of England surveyed were relatively fit orally. They experienced a great many oral symptoms, and in approximately 30% of individuals these were sufficient to interfere with their quality of life. Ethical approval: The research described in this paper was approved by the Ethics committee of King's College London.     

The perils of integration: exploring the experiences of African American and black Caribbean students in predominately white secondary schools

Racial minority students who attend predominately white schools in the United States and England face unique challenges in their learning environments that are connected to their status as non-white students. Scholars have documented the experiences of racial and ethnic minority students in mixed-raced schools in the United States and the UK for over four decades. However, the authors explore new research territory by employing critical race analysis to further articulate the similar experiences shared by African American and black Caribbean students’ in mixed-race schools. Using data two different studies, one in the United States and one in England, the authors highlight the resemblances between the experiences of African American and black Caribbean students in predominantly white suburban and rural secondary schools. To increase racial equity in education, we must accurately understand the structural and societal barriers that racial minority students face as they continue to access education resources and quality schools.     

THE PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE WORLD: W.E.B. DU BOIS AND THE RACE CONCEPT AT MIDCENTURY

Most studies of police–minority relations in America focus on blacks, usually in comparison with whites. This pattern is particularly puzzling in light of the growing population of Hispanic Americans throughout the US, now outnumbering blacks and consisting of the majority in some major cities. Aside from the need for more empirical research on the policing of Hispanics per se, comparing Hispanics’ relations with the police to other racial and ethnic groups offers some important insights into both the dimensions that are shared across groups and those that are distinctive to Hispanics. This article critically evaluates the small body of empirical research literature on this topic – highlighting both deficiencies in this literature as well as suggestive findings – and concludes by identifying a set of issues that should be addressed in future studies. The available evidence largely supports a racial-hierarchy perspective with regard to the policing of different racial and ethnic groups in the US.     

An assessment of population size and distribution of harbour seals in the Republic of Ireland during the moult season in August 2003

The status of Ireland's harbour seal Phoca vitulina vitulina population is poorly understood. The most recent national population estimate dates back to the breeding season in 1978 and did not cover the entire coastline. Reliable up-to-date information on the abundance and distribution of harbour seals in Ireland is necessary to assess the conservation status of the species and for the effective identification, management and monitoring of special areas of conservation required for harbour seals under the EU Habitats Directive. To provide comprehensive current information on Ireland's harbour seal population, a geographically extensive survey was conducted along the coastline of the Republic of Ireland during the species' annual moult in August 2003. This complemented a similar survey of Northern Ireland, which was conducted in 2002. Using thermal imaging technology, haul-out groups of harbour seals and grey seals Halichoerus grypus were identified from the air, aerial-counts were obtained and compared with simultaneous ground-count data from selected sites. Harbour seal distribution recorded during the 2003 moult season was concentrated in the south-west, west and north-west of the country. This national survey yielded a minimum population estimate for the Republic of Ireland of 2905 harbour seals, delivering an effective baseline for current and future population research.     

Relational identities on EU borderlands: the case of Poles in Belarus and Belarusians in Poland

The paper argues that the well-known triadic relationship between kin state, resident state and national minority needs to take into account a fourth dimension: that of European institutions. This is illustrated through a study of relational identities on the EU’s Eastern border where the reconfiguration of ethnic relations followed the end of the iron curtain and EU accession. It considers two neighbouring ethnic minorities. One minority is part of the EU – the Belarusians in Poland – and the other is not part of the EU – the Poles in Belarus. The paper argues that the intersection of these four relational dimensions result in contrasting kinds of ethnic identification for the two minority groups leading to either fluidification or solidification under different circumstances.