Ethnic culture and social mobility among second-generation Asian Americans

ABSTRACT

This review engages with Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou’s The Asian American Achievement Paradox to consider how ethnic culture matters for social mobility among the immigrant second generation. It describes the strengths and contributions of the book, connects it to broader debates on culture, poverty, and mobility, and draws on my own research on the second generation in New York City. It highlights three additional cultural mechanisms that underlie the Chinese (or Asian) second-generation advantage: social class heterogeneity in the co-ethnic community, intergenerational support in the immigrant family, and the belief in achievements as redemption for parental sacrifice. While pointing out the similarities and differences between Los Angeles and New York, it also suggests possible applications of these cultural mechanisms in explaining second-generation achievements.     

Evidence for social enhancement of reproduction in two Eulemur species

Across the past 20 years, captive reproduction has declined steeply in mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz) and has been only moderately successful in black lemurs (E. macaco). At the same time, reproduction has been so successful in brown lemurs (E. fulvus) that contraception has been used since 1987 to limit captive numbers. No obvious cause for the differential reproductive success has been identified. Our experience with a pair of unrelated mongoose lemurs at the Philadelphia Zoological Garden suggested that they reproduced in only those years when they were caged in close proximity to another nonreproductive, full-sibling pair of mongoose lemurs. Examination of the worldwide pattern of captive reproduction by Eulemur species during the past two decades revealed that female black and mongoose lemurs housed in institutions with either additional conspecific males or additional conspecific pairs had a higher rate of reproduction than those maintained as an isolated pair. Black lemurs also had higher rates of reproduction when additional conspecific females were present. No similar pattern was found for brown lemurs or for two comparable mammals, the pudu (Pudu pudu) and the okapi (Okapia johnstoni). The evidence presented for the black and mongoose lemurs supports the existence of the Allee effect in these two species, namely, that reproduction is enhanced by the presence of conspecifics. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Repeated evolution of queen parthenogenesis and social hybridogenesis in Cataglyphis desert ants

Over the last decade, genetic studies on social insects have revealed a remarkable diversity of unusual reproductive strategies, such as male clonality, female clonality, and social hybridogenesis. In this context, Cataglyphis desert ants are useful models because of their unique reproductive systems. In several species, queens conditionally use sexual reproduction and parthenogenesis to produce sterile workers and reproductive queens, respectively. In social hybridogenesis, two distinct genetic lineages coexist within a population, and workers result from mating between partners of different lineages; in contrast, queens and males are both produced asexually by parthenogenesis. Consequently, nonreproductive workers are all interlineage hybrids, whereas reproductives are all pure lineage individuals. Here, we characterized the reproductive systems of 11 species to investigate the distribution of the conditional use of sex and social hybridogenesis in Cataglyphis. We identified one new case in which sexual reproduction was conditionally used in the absence of dependent‐lineage reproduction. We also discovered five new instances of social hybridogenesis. Based on our phylogenetic analyses, we inferred that both the conditional use of sex and social hybridogenesis independently evolved multiple times in the genus Cataglyphis.     

社会资本进入公立医院政策演进分析

目的 对我国公立医院利用社会资本的有关政策进行阐述和分析。方法 基于国内公立医院发展现况,通过个案调查、访谈、文献查阅等形式,对公立医院的融资过程进行政策分析。结果 公立医院对社会资本引入的尝试,已形成了一些具有若干特点的融资模式,如银行贷款、融资租赁、慈善捐赠等。结论 我国公立医院为实现可持续发展,多渠道引入社会资本已经成为必然的发展趋势。但从整体上讲,还未形成满足各种社会资本状况的政策体系。     

The minority culture of mobility of France's upwardly mobile descendants of North African immigrants

This article examines the challenges associated with the experience of upward educational mobility among descendants of North African immigrants in France. Drawing on in-depth, open-ended interviews with students and graduates of the prestigious grandes écoles, it sheds light on three specific ways in which class-based and ethno-racial inequalities intersect to shape the mobility costs that our respondents outline: (1) feelings of isolation resulting from being one of the only bursar recipients and ethno-racial minorities of their schools; (2) perceived conflation of their minority background with counter-elite dispositions; and (3) difficulties of adjusting to a student life reflecting the cultural styles of the predominantly white, upper-middle-class group. The article suggests that our respondents deploy a minority culture of mobility rooted in class and ethno-racial processes to overcome these challenges. It finally discusses implications for future research, stressing the need to examine the intersecting effect of multiple social categories in informing complex mobility experiences.     

Are the differences in stature between social classes a modification or an assortment effect?

The present paper is a contribution to the discussion on the question of whether social differences in stature are due predominantly to social assortment or whether they represent a modification effect.The statures of 120 males and 114 females were measured, together with those of their parents. The target groups were “social climbers” and, for comparison, persons who had remained in the same social class as their parents. Moreover, 61 pairs of sibs were examined whereby in each case the one partner had risen up the social scale while the other had remained in his or her original class.Using the t-test, the height measurements of each group were compared with one another. It was shown that with respect to stature the “social climbers” placed themselves in the target class and diverged significantly both from their own parents and from their brothers and sisters who had not climbed the social scale. This fact was interpreted as an indication that the process of upward social mobility favours persons who are endowed with greater stature.     

How selective migration enables socioeconomic mobility

ABSTRACT

Jennifer Lee and Min Zhou’s new book, The Asian American Achievement Paradox, revives Asian American scholarship from a period of relative stagnation and elevates the discussion from the morass of cultural essentialism. Its major contributions are to extensively articulate: (1) how much cultural explanations are actually class-based explanations and (2) how selective migration creates the conditions that promote social mobility. This book resolves empirical paradoxes in the scholarship and engages broader debates on race, immigration and inequality.     

Rapid evolution of social learning

Culture is widely thought to be beneficial when social learning is less costly than individual learning and thus may explain the enormous ecological success of humans. Rogers (1988. Does biology constrain culture. Am. Anthropol.  90 : 819–831) contradicted this common view by showing that the evolution of social learning does not necessarily increase the net benefits of learned behaviours in a variable environment. Using simulation experiments, we re‐analysed extensions of Rogers’ model after relaxing the assumption that genetic evolution is much slower than cultural evolution. Our results show that this assumption is crucial for Rogers’ finding. For many parameter settings, genetic and cultural evolution occur on the same time scale, and feedback effects between genetic and cultural dynamics increase the net benefits. Thus, by avoiding the costs of individual learning, social learning can increase ecological success. Furthermore, we found that rapid evolution can limit the evolution of complex social learning strategies, which have been proposed to be widespread in animals.     

Self-made lawyers? Pathways of socially mobile descendants of migrants from Turkey in Europe

ABSTRACT

This study is based on narratives of successful lawyers in Europe who are descendants of migrants from Turkey. I will discuss the main mechanisms whereby social actors have a significant impact on the professional pathways of these upwardly mobile professionals. The findings provide two insights. The relevance of significant others found in literature on educational mobility of descendants of migrants can be extended to professional pathways. Some respondents became acquainted with the middle-class culture of the majority group through peers and school during their youth. This was instrumental in adjusting to the specific white-collar professional environments of corporate law firms. Others who grew up and attended schools in disadvantaged neighbourhoods had more difficulties adjusting. However, they became accustomed to middle- and upper-class norms and behaviour at university or on the job by observing and learning along the way.     

Books received,August 1st to October 31st 1989

Abstract

This article focuses on two important questions. First, how can we explain changes in the employment position of England's racialized minority groups over the past three decades? And second, why have these changes taken place at a different pace for different minority groups? It is argued that much of the increase in Asian self-employment represents working-class accommodation to the inferior conditions of employment available under neo-liberal modernity rather than evidence of upward social mobility as current orthodoxy claims. It is also contended that the growing representation of minorities in junior non-manual work was driven by anti-racist activism around a racialized ‘black’ identity and confirms the continuing significance of ‘race’ in the English labour market. By unravelling the complex relationship between the geographical distribution of different minority groups, their educational qualifications, anti-racist activism, and racism, the study establishes why such employment change has taken place at a different pace for different minority groups.     

Effect of the early social environment on behavioural and genomic responses to a social challenge in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate

The early social environment can have substantial, lifelong effects on vertebrate social behaviour, which can be mediated by developmental plasticity of brain gene expression. Early‐life effects can influence immediate behavioural responses towards later‐life social challenges and can activate different gene expression responses. However, while genomic responses to social challenges have been reported frequently, how developmental experience influences the shape of these genomic reaction norms remains largely unexplored. We tested how manipulating the early social environment of juvenile cooperatively breeding cichlids, Neolamprologus pulcher, affects their behavioural and brain genomic responses when competing over a resource. Juveniles were reared either with or without a breeder pair and a helper. Fish reared with family members behaved more appropriately in the competition than when reared without. We investigated whether the different social rearing environments also affected the genomic responses to the social challenge. A set of candidate genes, coding for hormones and receptors influencing social behaviour, were measured in the telencephalon and hypothalamus. Social environment and social challenge both influenced gene expression of egr‐1 (early growth response 1) and gr1 (glucocorticoid receptor 1) in the telencephalon and of bdnf (brain‐derived neurotrophic factor) in the hypothalamus. A global analysis of the 11 expression patterns in the two brain areas showed that neurogenomic states diverged more strongly between intruder fish and control fish when they had been reared in a natural social setting. Our results show that same molecular pathways may be used differently in response to a social challenge depending on early‐life experiences.     

Detailed analysis of paternal knockout Grb10 mice suggests effects on stability of social behavior,rather than social dominance

Imprinted genes are highly expressed in monoaminergic regions of the midbrain and their functions in this area are thought to have an impact on mammalian social behaviors. One such imprinted gene is Grb10, of which the paternal allele is generally recognized as mediating social dominance behavior. However, there has been no detailed study of social dominance in Grb10 ^+/p mice. Moreover, the original study examined tube‐test behavior in isolated mice 10 months of age. Isolation testing favors more territorial and aggressive behaviors, and does not address social dominance strategies employed in group housing contexts. Furthermore, isolation stress impacts midbrain function and dominance related behavior, often through alterations in monoaminergic signaling. Thus, we undertook a systematic study of Grb10 ^+/p social rank and dominance behavior within the cage group, using a number of convergent behavioral tests. We examined both male and female mice to account for sex differences and tested cohorts aged 2, 6 and 10 months to examine any developments related to age. We found group‐housed Grb10 ^+/p mice do not show evidence of enhanced social dominance, but cages containing Grb10 ^+/p and wild‐type mice lacked the normal correlation between three different measures of social rank. Moreover, a separate study indicated isolation stress induced inconsistent changes in tube test behavior. Taken together, these data suggest future research on Grb10 ^+/p mice should focus on the stability of social behaviors, rather than dominance per se.     

Complex genotype interactions influence social fitness during the developmental phase of the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum

When individuals interact, phenotypic variation can be partitioned into direct genetic effects (DGEs) of the individuals’ own genotypes, indirect genetic effects (IGEs) of their social partners’ genotypes and epistatic interactions between the genotypes of interacting individuals (‘genotype‐by‐genotype (G×G) epistasis’). These components can all play important roles in evolutionary processes, but few empirical studies have examined their importance. The social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum provides an ideal system to measure these effects during social interactions and development. When starved, free‐living amoebae aggregate and differentiate into a multicellular fruiting body with a dead stalk that holds aloft viable spores. By measuring interactions among a set of natural strains, we quantify DGEs, IGEs and G×G epistasis affecting spore formation. We find that DGEs explain most of the phenotypic variance (57.6%) whereas IGEs explain a smaller (13.3%) but highly significant component. Interestingly, G×G epistasis explains nearly a quarter of the variance (23.0%), highlighting the complex nature of genotype interactions. These results demonstrate the large impact that social interactions can have on development and suggest that social effects should play an important role in developmental evolution in this system.     

Intrinsic survival advantage of social insect queens depends on reproductive activation

The central trade‐off between reproduction and longevity dominates most species' life history. However, no mortality cost of reproduction is apparent in eusocial species, particularly social insects in the order Hymenoptera: one or a few individuals (typically referred to as queens) in a group specialize on reproduction and are generally longer lived than all other group members (typically referred to as workers), despite having the same genome. However, it is unclear whether this survival advantage is due to social facilitation by the group or an intrinsic, individual property. Furthermore, it is unknown whether the correlation between reproduction and longevity is due to a direct mechanistic link or an indirect consequence of the social role of the reproductives. To begin addressing these questions, we performed a comparison of queen and worker longevity in the ant Cardiocondyla obscurior under social isolation conditions. Survival of single queens and workers was compared under laboratory conditions, monitoring and controlling for brood production. Our results indicate that there is no intrinsic survival advantage of queens relative to workers unless individuals are becoming reproductively active. This interactive effect of caste and reproduction on life expectancy outside of the normal social context suggests that the positive correlation between reproduction and longevity in social insect queens is due to a direct link that can activate intrinsic survival mechanisms to ensure queen longevity.     

A review of the social behaviour of the giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis: a misunderstood but socially complex species

1. Until around 2000, giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis were believed to have no social structure. Despite a resurgence of interest in giraffe behaviour in around 2010, most studies are of isolated populations, making it difficult to draw general conclusions. Although it is now well established that giraffe social organisation is non-random, there is little consensus as to what influences preferred and avoided associations or the underpinning mechanisms.
2. We test two hypotheses: first, giraffe have a complex cooperative social system, exhibited by 1) stable groups of females, 2) offspring that stay in their natal group for part or all of their lives, 3) support by non-mothers in rearing young, and 4) non-reproductive females in the group; and second, giraffe form matrilineal societies, evidenced by 1) male dispersal, 2) female philopatry, 3) assistance in raising or protecting offspring, and 4) individual benefits gained from social foraging.
3. We reviewed 404 papers on giraffe behaviour and social organisation; captive studies were included where they supplemented information from free-living populations.
4. We show that giraffe exhibit many of the features typical of mammals with complex cooperative social systems and matrilineal societies. However, the social complexity hypothesis posits that such species also require complex communication systems to regulate interactions and relations among group members; giraffe communication systems are poorly understood.
5. Quantifying the fitness and survival benefits of the giraffe’s social organisation is necessary to ensure its long-term survival. Giraffe numbers have declined by 40% since 1985, they have been declared extinct in seven (possibly nine) countries and are listed as Vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. We identify research areas that will advance our understanding of giraffe behaviour and conservation requirements.

     

Can there be a truly systematic and comprehensive theory of race?

ABSTRACT

In this ambitious new book, Mustafa Emirbayer and Matthew Desmond contend that there has never been a truly comprehensive and systematic theory of race. They go on to argue that ‘Much of our best work no longer tells us how to understand or reconstruct racial dynamics but simply gives us concrete proof of their continuing significance’ (3). To what extent does The Racial Order theoretically advance existing theorizing of race? An important contribution – and a central plank in the book – is the way in which a wide variety of cultural and social phenomena is discussed and interwoven into the analysis. The authors draw most heavily on Bourdieu, Dewey, and Durkheim, in their elaboration of the racial order.     

Human children rely more on social information than chimpanzees do

Human societies are characterized by more cultural diversity than chimpanzee communities. However, it is currently unclear what mechanism might be driving this difference. Because reliance on social information is a pivotal characteristic of culture, we investigated individual and social information reliance in children and chimpanzees. We repeatedly presented subjects with a reward-retrieval task on which they had collected conflicting individual and social information of equal accuracy in counterbalanced order. While both species relied mostly on their individual information, children but not chimpanzees searched for the reward at the socially demonstrated location more than at a random location. Moreover, only children used social information adaptively when individual knowledge on the location of the reward had not yet been obtained. Social information usage determines information transmission and in conjunction with mechanisms that create cultural variants, such as innovation, it facilitates diversity. Our results may help explain why humans are more culturally diversified than chimpanzees.     

Stronger social bonds do not always predict greater longevity in a gregarious primate

In group‐living species, individuals often have preferred affiliative social partners, with whom ties or bonds can confer advantages that correspond with greater fitness. For example, in adult female baboons and juvenile horses, individuals with stronger or more social ties experience greater survival. We used detailed behavioral and life history records to explore the relationship between tie quality and survival in a gregarious monkey (Cercopithecus mitis stuhlmanni), while controlling for dominance rank, group size, and life history strategy. We used Cox proportional hazards regressions to model the cumulative (multi‐year) and current (single‐year) relationships of social ties and the hazard of mortality in 83 wild adult females of known age, observed 2–8 years each (437 subject‐years) in eight social groups. The strength of bonds with close partners was associated with increased mortality risk under certain conditions: Females that had strong bonds with close partners that were inconsistent over multiple years had a higher risk of mortality than females adopting any other social strategy. Within a given year, females had a higher risk of death if they were strongly bonded with partners that changed from the previous year versus with partners that remained consistent. Dominance rank, number of adult female groupmates, and age at first reproduction did not predict the risk of death. This study demonstrates that costs and benefits of strong social bonds can be context‐dependent, relating to the consistency of social partners over time.     

How social network structure affects decision-making in Drosophila melanogaster

Animals use a number of different mechanisms to acquire crucial information. During social encounters, animals can pass information from one to another but, ideally, they would only use information that benefits survival and reproduction. Therefore, individuals need to be able to determine the value of the information they receive. One cue can come from the behaviour of other individuals that are already using the information. Using a previous extended dataset, we studied how individual decision-making is influenced by the behaviour of conspecifics in Drosophila melanogaster. We analysed how uninformed flies acquire and later use information about oviposition site choice they learn from informed flies. Our results suggest that uninformed flies adjust their future choices based on how coordinated the behaviours of the informed individuals they encounter are. Following social interaction, uninformed flies tended either to collectively follow the choice of the informed flies or to avoid it. Using social network analysis, we show that this selective information use seems to be based on the level of homogeneity of the social network. In particular, we found that the variance of individual centrality parameters among informed flies was lower in the case of a ‘follow’ outcome compared with the case of an ‘avoid’ outcome.