Diaspora identification and long-distance nationalism among Tamil migrants of diverse state origins in the UK

Accounts of Tamil long-distance nationalism have focused on Sri Lankan Tamil migrants. But the UK is also home to Tamils of non-Sri Lankan state origins. While these migrants may be nominally incorporated into a 'Tamil diaspora', they are seldom present in scholarly accounts. Framed by Werbner's (2002) conception of diasporas as 'aesthetic' and 'moral' communities, this article explores whether engagement with a Tamil diaspora and long-distance nationalism is expressed by Tamil migrants of diverse state origins. While migrants identify with an aesthetic community, 'membership' of the moral community is contested between those who hold direct experience of suffering as central to belonging, and those who imagine the boundaries of belonging more fluidly - based upon primordial understandings of essential ethnicity and a narrative of Tamil 'victimhood' that incorporates experiences of being Tamil in Sri Lanka, India and in other sites, despite obvious differences in these experiences. © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Cosmopolitans and 'cliques':everyday socialisation amongst Tamil student and young professional migrants to the UK

Among student and young professional migrants to the UK the opportunity for a global or cosmopolitan experience emerges as a motivating factor for migration. This article takes the example of student and young professional migrants to the UK from the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, and explores how this cosmopolitan ambition plays out in the formation of UK social networks. Two 'types' of research participant are identified; 'self-conscious cosmopolitans' whose social networks are cross-ethnic, and others whose networks are largely co-ethnic and who are often derided by their self-consciously cosmopolitan counterparts as 'clannish' or 'cliquey'. The article asks how ethnicity emerges as salient (or not) in these migrants' talk and practice around UK social network formations. It then considers whether a co-ethnic social network necessarily limits the cosmopolitan experience, or whether this interpretation reflects a narrow understanding of cosmopolitanism which excludes the multiple inter-cultural encounters these migrants experience in their everyday lives. © The Author(s) 2013 Reprints and permissions: sagepub.co.uk/journalsPermissions.nav.

Being Tamil, being Hindu:Tamil migrants’ negotiations of the absence of Tamil Hindu spaces in the West Midlands and South West of England

This paper considers the religious practices of Tamil Hindus who have settled in the West Midlands and South West of England in order to explore how devotees of a specific ethno-regional Hindu tradition with a well-established UK infrastructure in the site of its adherents’ population density adapt their religious practices in settlement areas which lack this infrastructure. Unlike the majority of the UK Tamil population who live in the London area, the participants in this study did not have ready access to an ethno-religious infrastructure of Tamil-orientated temples and public rituals. The paper examines two means by which this absence was addressed as well as the intersections and negotiations of religion and ethnicity these entailed: firstly, Tamil Hindus’ attendance of temples in their local area which are orientated towards a broadly imagined Hindu constituency or which cater to a non-Tamil ethno-linguistic or sectarian community; and, secondly, through the ‘DIY’ performance of ethnicised Hindu ritual in non-institutional settings.

Experiencing transnationalism at home:open borders and the everyday narratives of non-migrants

The normative migration rights literature has engaged with the situated experience of migration to a very limited extent, with particularly little attention paid to non-migrants living in receiving localities. This article argues that exploring the non-elite narratives of non-migrants provides valuable insights for normative theorising about migration rights. The discussion is illustrated with a description of research undertaken within rural migration-receiving communities in England, which shows how the narratives of non-migrants shape the experience of migration at a micro-level. This article discusses the implications of this research for normative theory in order to demonstrate the value of this methodological approach.

Migrants and the Hungarian Society. Dignity, Justice and Civic Integration

The aim of the research was to explore the integration, political and civic participation of "third country nationals residing in Hungary" (hereafter, immigrants or migrants). How immigrants and Hungarian society interpret political and civic activity was examined, along with how this is correlated to their material, cultural and social resources (using such concepts as identity and action potential, as well as the sense of fairness and dignity). The samples do represent Hungarian society and those people staying in Hungary with immigration or residence permits/ permanent residence (collectively labeled as immigrants). It should be stressed that the immigrants we studied are not refugee camp dwellers or foreigners employed illegally in Hungary. Though themselves faced with a lot of problems, the immigrants we interviewed are in a far more favorable position than refugees or aliens employed in the grey economy. This is an important fact to be remembered when reading about the research.

Perceptions regarding intercollegiate alliance among administrators of Taiwanese technological higher education institutions

This study explored Taiwanese technological higher education administrators' perceptions about the motivation and capability of their institutions to form intercollegiate alliance, their preferred areas of collaboration, and their preferred partner attributes. Possible differences in perceptions of administrators from public and private institutions were also explored. ^ The study targeted six chief administrators in each of 88 technological and vocational higher education institutions in Taiwan. A mix of quantitative and qualitative research designs was used to collect and analyze data. Quantitative data were collected from 328 administrators through a questionnaire and analyzed using univariate and multivariate statistical techniques. In addition, to obtain a deeper understanding of the process of alliance formation, qualitative data were collected through interviews with 13 administrators and content analyzed using emergent themes analysis. ^ Findings revealed that Taiwanese technological education administrators were not strongly confident in the competitive positions of their institutions. They perceived themselves as non-competitive in faculty research performance, in getting financial support, and having easy-access locations. Administrators believed that forming an alliance would help them obtain more external resources, achieve academic enhancement, provide better services, have a stronger voice, and obtain promotion to a higher institutional level. Cost cutting was not believed to be an attainable goal. ^ Strong interest was expressed for an alliance in the sharing of technology, information networks, and library resources; cross-registration; admissions and recruitment practices; school-industry endeavors; and international academic exchanges. Sharing of administrators and staff, joint bidding and purchasing, and cooperative fundraising were considered of less interest. ^ Administrators favored partners who have excellent academic programs, who have complementary skills, who are willing to share resources, and who are enthusiastic leaders. They also wanted partners to match their institutions in performance and prestige and to be geographically close to them. ^ Multivariate analysis of variance did not reveal significant differences between the perceptions of the administrators from public and private institutions. It was concluded that despite governmental encouragement and the institutions' eagerness for forming an alliance, the administrators had little confidence that a sustainable alliance could be arranged. ^

Taiwanese faculty and administrators' perceptions and preferences toward shared governance

This study investigated the perceptions, attitudes, preferences, and actual reported degree of faculty participation in decision-making in Taiwanese universities. It was aimed at exploring possible agreements and disagreements between the faculty and administrators concerning these perceptions, and between the actual and preferred degree of faculty participation in both groups. ^ Seven questions were addressed in this study: (a) What are the most and the least reported areas of faculty involvement in decision making? (b) What are the most and the least preferred areas of faculty involvement in decision-making? (c) Is there a difference between faculty and administrators' reports of faculty involvement in decision-making? (d) Is there a difference between faculty and administrators in their preference for faculty involvement in decision-making? (e) Among the faculty, is reported involvement different from preferred involvement in decision-making? (f) Among the administrators, is their reported faculty involvement different from their preferred faculty involvement? and (g) Do faculty and administrators hold different attitudes toward faculty participation in decision-making? ^ The results indicated that: (a) Faculty had the highest level of involvement in academic decisions, and had the lowest level of involvement in developing general policies. (b) Both faculty and administrators had the highest preference for faculty involvement in academic decisions, and both of them had the lowest preference for faculty involvement in general policies. (c) Administrators reported a level of involvement for the faculty that was higher than the level that the faculty themselves reported. (d) Faculty desired a higher level of involvement than they currently have, and administrators also agreed that faculty should have greater involvement. ^ The interview results indicated that the presidents believed that faculty should participate in decision-making, but they also had negative feelings towards faculty who were enthusiastic about participating. The presidents showed their support of faculty participation in academic decisions, but not in other areas. ^ The results reflected the traditional Taiwanese social expectations of the role of faculty. When the range of decisions was narrowed to the academic context, the disagreements between the faculty, administrators, and university presidents disappeared. However, when the range of decisions was expanded, the agreement declined. ^

The Study of Clustering of Taiwanese Tourists' Motivations to Hong Kong

Abstract Driven by the political and economic forces of cross-strait, Taiwan has become one of the major source markets for Hong Kong tourism industry since 1987. The major purposes of this study were to investigate the following factors (1) The influential factors of travel motivation, (2) The clusters of travel motivations, (3) The marketing segmentation of clusters of Taiwanese tourists to visit Hong Kong. Through ten travel agents, self-report surveys were distributed to collect data from 366 Taiwanese travelers. Hence, four push factors and six pull factors were identified as travel motivations through the factor analysis. Combined with the cluster analysis; five new groups were founded. Finally, five clusters which process unique profiles (location difference, visiting frequency, travel satisfaction, and destination loyalty) were addressed. The suggestions of developing effective market strategies to attract Taiwanese tourists to Hong Kong were also provided.

Musiciens migrants d'origine arabe dans le contexte montréalais : le parcours de la reconnaissance

Ce mémoire traite des parcours de musiciens migrants d’origine arabe à Montréal. Il s’intéresse à la manière dont ces derniers construisent leurs carrières musicales dans ce contexte et acquièrent la reconnaissance des différents acteurs qu’ils côtoient – pairs, intervenants culturels, public. La méthodologie adoptée est de nature qualitative et correspond à une perspective ethnosociologique, le contexte musical de l’étude inscrivant la démarche dans le domaine de la sociomusicologie. Cinq musiciens ayant migré d’un pays arabe avec une pratique musicale préalable ont été rencontrés, ainsi que cinq acteurs du milieu musical qui interagissent avec eux. Ce corpus d’entretiens a été complété par de l’observation et l’étude de traces (ex. : disques, cv). La démarche d’enquête a permis d’élaborer un ensemble de propositions visant à comprendre les phénomènes sociaux observés. Il apparaît que ces musiciens construisent leurs carrières montréalaises grâce à une actualisation et réappropriation originale des sources et influences musicales accumulées au fil de leur vie, processus néanmoins tributaire des rouages du milieu musical. Celui-ci est constitué de multiples acteurs ayant chacun leurs objectifs, intérêts, contraintes vis-à-vis desquels les musiciens doivent s’ajuster, négocier, faire des compromis. Puis, l’ethnicité arabe qui est construite et mise en scène par les performances musicales peut vraisemblablement agir comme outil pour se démarquer dans le contexte montréalais. Cependant, les dynamiques qui sous-tendent les rapports sociaux que ces artistes entretiennent dans la métropole font en sorte qu’ils ont ultimement peu d’emprise sur la manière dont se manifeste la reconnaissance à leur égard et vis-à-vis de leurs pratiques musicales.

Trajectoires migratoires et espaces de sociabilité : stratégies de migrants de France à Montréal

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Trajectoires migratoires et espaces de sociabilité : stratégies de migrants de France à Montréal

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Spaces of Visibility for the Migrants of Lampedusa: The Counter Narrative of the Aesthetic Discourse

Political, legal, and media discourse around ‘boat-migrants’ arriving in Lampedusa share a tendency to focus on an unnamed and anonymous mass of people in order to build and sustain a Border Spectacle revolving around immigration to Italy. In this context, where very little space is usually left to individual migrant voices, this article challenges this common understanding of immigration to Lampedusa by showing a different side of the story, a story told by the real actors of the Mediterranean passage, the migrants themselves, who, by relying on the realm of aesthetics, have managed to gain visibility and to become ‘subjects of power.’

Rethinking Care Through Social Reproduction: Articulating Circuits of Migration

Care has come to dominate much feminist research on globalized migrations and the transfer of labor from the South to the North, while the older concept of reproduction had been pushed into the background but is now becoming the subject of debates on the commodification of care in the household and changes in welfare state policies. This article argues that we could achieve a better understanding of the different modalities and trajectories of care in the reproduction of individuals, families, and communities, both of migrant and nonmigrant populations by articulating the diverse circuits of migration, in particular that of labor and the family. In doing this, I go back to the earlier North American writing on racialized minorities and migrants and stratified social reproduction. I also explore insights from current Asian studies of gendered circuits of migration connecting labor and marriage migrations as well as the notion of global householding that highlights the gender politics of social reproduction operating within and beyond households in institutional and welfare architectures. In contrast to Asia, there has relatively been little exploration in European studies of the articulation of labor and family migrations through the lens of social reproduction. However, connecting the different types of migration enables us to achieve a more complex understanding of care trajectories and their contribution to social reproduction.

Picking on vulnerable migrants: precarity and the mushroom industry in Northern Ireland

This article examines precarious employment in the context of the mushroom industry in Northern Ireland. Migrant workers engaged in mushroom picking were interviewed in the context of wider research investigating forced labour in Northern Ireland. The research found that, while the boundaries between exploitation and forced labour are complex and difficult to discern, there was some evidence of borderline forced labour, according to ILO definitions. However, workers found themselves on a ‘continuum of exploitation’, where initial engagement with the prospect of decent work was superseded by increasing endurance of exploitative practices, brought about by unequal power relationships with employers originating in immigration status. This is examined in the wider theoretical context of precarity, of which precarious employment comprises a part.