Segregation and Mistrust


Book Description

Generalized trust – faith in people you do not know who are likely to be different from you – is a value that leads to many positive outcomes for a society. Yet some scholars now argue that trust is lower when we are surrounded by people who are different from us. Eric M. Uslaner challenges this view and argues that residential segregation, rather than diversity, leads to lower levels of trust. Integrated and diverse neighborhoods will lead to higher levels of trust, but only if people also have diverse social networks. Professor Uslaner examines the theoretical and measurement differences between segregation and diversity and summarizes results on how integrated neighborhoods with diverse social networks increase trust in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia. He also shows how different immigration and integration policies toward minorities shape both social ties and trust.




Communities in Action


Book Description

In the United States, some populations suffer from far greater disparities in health than others. Those disparities are caused not only by fundamental differences in health status across segments of the population, but also because of inequities in factors that impact health status, so-called determinants of health. Only part of an individual's health status depends on his or her behavior and choice; community-wide problems like poverty, unemployment, poor education, inadequate housing, poor public transportation, interpersonal violence, and decaying neighborhoods also contribute to health inequities, as well as the historic and ongoing interplay of structures, policies, and norms that shape lives. When these factors are not optimal in a community, it does not mean they are intractable: such inequities can be mitigated by social policies that can shape health in powerful ways. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity seeks to delineate the causes of and the solutions to health inequities in the United States. This report focuses on what communities can do to promote health equity, what actions are needed by the many and varied stakeholders that are part of communities or support them, as well as the root causes and structural barriers that need to be overcome.




Social Capital Versus Social Theory


Book Description

This volume traces the origins of social capital through the work of Becker, Bourdieu and Coleman, and comprehensively reviews the literature across the social sciences.




Ethnic Diversity and Social Cohesion


Book Description

Exploring the debate within social sciences on the consequences of ethnic diversity for social cohesion and the production of public goods, this book draws on extensive survey data from Germany to engage with questions surrounding the relationship between ethnic diversity and issues such as welfare provision and the erosion of public trust and civic engagement in Europe. It moves away from the question of whether there is in fact a universal correlation between ethnic diversity and social cohesion in order to focus on the reasons for which people's reciprocity and trust might be reduced in more ethnically diverse areas. Drawing attention to the importance of peoples' perceptions of diversity in explaining levels of social cohesion, Ethnic Diversity and Social Cohesion shows how specific types of perceived diversity can help explain the reasons for which ethnic diversity is associated with declines in social cohesion, and the contexts and conditions in which this occurs. The book also outlines potential courses of action, revealing the important roles of residential segregation, children and interethnic partners in overcoming barriers of language, values and cognitive bias. A rigorous, timely study of ethnic diversity and its relation to liberal democracy as a form of deliberative conflict that requires certain levels of trust, shared values and engagement, Ethnic Diversity and Social Cohesion will be of interest to policy makers, sociologists and political scientists working in the fields of race and migration, ethnic diversity and community cohesion.




Ethnic Diversity in Europe


Book Description

Ethnic diversity is on increase in Europe; at the same time, there is evidence of growing anti-immigrant feeling in some countries, such as Spain (especially in the Southern provinces). In order to build a politically united and democratic Europe, the accommodation of ethnic diversity and the integration of ethnic minorities are both key challenges. This book tries to explain ethnic problems in Europe.




Streetwise


Book Description

A taxi driver's life is dangerous work. Picking up a bad customer can leave the driver in a vulnerable position, and erring even once can prove fatal. To protect themselves, taxi drivers must quickly and accurately assess the trustworthiness of complete strangers. In Streetwise, Diego Gambetta and Heather Hamill take this predicament as a prototypical example of many trust decisions, where people must act on limited information and judge another person's trustworthiness based on signs that may or may not be honest indicators of that person's character or intent. Gambetta and Hamill analyze the behavior of cabbies in two cities where driving a taxi is especially perilous: New York City, where drivers have been the targets of frequent and violent robberies, and Belfast, Northern Ireland, a divided metropolis where drivers have been swept up in the region's sectarian violence. Based on in-depth ethnographic research, Streetwise lets drivers describe in their own words how they seek to determine the threat posed by each potential passenger. The drivers' decisions about whom to trust are treated in conjunction with the "sign-management" strategies of their prospective passengers—both genuine passengers who try to persuade drivers of their trustworthiness and the villains who mimic them. As the theory that guides this research suggests, drivers look for signs that correlate closely with trustworthiness but are difficult for an impostor to mimic. A smile, a business suit, or a skullcap alone do not reassure drivers, as any criminal could easily wear them. Only if attached to other signs—a middle-aged woman, a business address, or a synagogue—are they persuasive. Drivers are adept at deciphering deceitful signals, but trickery is occasionally undetectable, so they must adopt defensive strategies to minimize their exposure to harm. In Belfast, where drivers are locals and often have histories of paramilitary involvement, "macho" posturing often serves to deter would-be criminals, while New York cabbies, mostly immigrants who view themselves as outsiders, try simply to minimize the damage from attacks by appeasing robbers and carrying only small amounts of cash. For most people, erring in a trust decision leads to a broken heart or a few dollars lost. For cab drivers, such an error could mean losing their lives. The way drivers negotiate these high stakes offers us vivid insight into how to determine another person's trustworthiness. Written with clarity and color, Streetwise invites the reader to ride shotgun with cabbies as they grapple with a question of relevance to us all: which signs of trustworthiness can we really trust? A Volume in the Russell Sage Foundation Series on Trust




Social Cohesion and Immigration in Europe and North America


Book Description

Concerns about immigration and the rising visibility of minorities have triggered a lively scholarly debate on the consequences of ethnic diversity for trust, cooperation, and other aspects of social cohesion. In this accessibly written volume, leading scholars explore where, when, and why ethnic diversity affects social cohesion by way of analyses covering the major European immigration countries, as well as the United States and Canada. They explore the merits of competing theoretical accounts and give rare insights into the underlying mechanisms through which diversity affects social cohesion. The volume offers a nuanced picture of the topic by explicitly exploring the conditions under which ethnic diversity affects the ‘glue’ that holds societies together. With its interdisciplinary perspective and contributions by sociologists, political scientists, social psychologists, as well as economists, the book offers the most comprehensive analysis of the link between ethnic diversity and social cohesion that is currently available.




Black Identities


Book Description

The story of West Indian immigrants to the United States is generally considered to be a great success. Mary Waters, however, tells a very different story. She finds that the values that gain first-generation immigrants initial success--a willingness to work hard, a lack of attention to racism, a desire for education, an incentive to save--are undermined by the realities of life and race relations in the United States. Contrary to long-held beliefs, Waters finds, those who resist Americanization are most likely to succeed economically, especially in the second generation.




Superdiversity


Book Description

Superdiversity explores processes of diversification and the complex, emergent social configurations that now supersede prior forms of diversity in societies around the world. Migration plays a key role in these processes, bringing changes not just in social, cultural, religious, and linguistic phenomena, but also in the ways that these phenomena combine with others like gender, age, and legal status. The concept of superdiversity has been adopted by scholars across the social sciences in order to address a variety of forms, modes, and outcomes of diversification. Central to this field is the relationship between social categorization and social organization, including stratification and inequality. Increasingly complex categories of social “difference” have significant impacts across scales, from entire societies to individual identities. While diversification is often met with simplifying stereotypes, threat narratives, and expressions of antagonism, superdiversity encourages a perspective on difference as comprising multiple social processes, flexible collective meanings, and overlapping personal and group identities. A superdiversity approach encourages the re-evaluation and recognition of social categories as multidimensional, unfixed, and porous as opposed to views based on hardened, one-dimensional thinking about groups. Diversification and increasing social complexity are bound to continue, if not intensify, in light of climate change. This will have profound impacts on the nature of global migration, social relations, and inequalities. Superdiversity presents a convincing case for recognizing new social formations created by changing migration patterns and calls for a re-thinking of public policy and social scientific approaches to social difference. This introduction to the multidisciplinary concept of superdiversity will be of considerable interest to students and researchers in a range of fields in the humanities and social sciences. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.




The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism


Book Description

A broad examination of the rise of nationalism, populism, xenophobia, and racism throughout the world The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism provides expert insight into the complex, interconnected factors that are influencing patterns of human relations worldwide in a time of rising populist nationalism, intensified racial and religious tensions, and mounting hostilities towards immigrants and minorities. Analyzing the underlying forces which continue to drive global trends, this volume examines contemporary patterns based on the most recent evidence spanning five continents—offering a diversity of interpretations, models and perspectives that address the challenges facing the study of race, ethnicity, and nationalism. The Companion features original contributions by both established experts and emerging scholars that explore an expansive range of theoretical, historical, and empirical case studies. Organized into five sections, the text first discusses growing trends in the United States, the significance of populism in major societies around the globe, and how global changes are influencing regional variations in race, ethnicity, and nationalism. An investigation of global migration patterns is followed by examination of conflict and violence, from urban riots and boundary disputes to warfare and genocide. The final section focuses on the policy debates resulting from changing patterns and their impact on politics, the economy, and society. Timely and highly relevant, this book: Discusses contemporary issues such as the failure of school systems to provide equal opportunities to minorities, the evolution of the School-to-Prison pipeline, and the Black Lives Matter movement Explores shifts in American race relations, the influence of social media and the internet, and the links between increased globalization and contemporary forms of nationalism, racism, and populism Features essays on national and ethnic identity in China, Japan, and South Korea, India, Central Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe Analyzes policies regarding borders, immigration, refugees, and human rights in different countries and regions Offers perspectives on the radicalization of social movements, the creation of ethnic, linguistic and other boundaries between groups, and the models used to understand intractable conflicts in many global settings The Wiley Blackwell Companion to Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism is an indispensable resource for scholars, researchers, instructors, and students across the social sciences, including sociology, political science, global affairs, economics, comparative race and ethnic relations, international migration, social change, and sociological theory.