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Book part
Publication date: 12 December 2012

Padma D. Jayaweera

This article focuses on an analysis of common understandings of the terms “conflict” and “conflict resolution,” giving examples of differing types of conflict. The article then…

Abstract

This article focuses on an analysis of common understandings of the terms “conflict” and “conflict resolution,” giving examples of differing types of conflict. The article then brings to light specific examples from Sri Lanka of ethnic conflict, as a case study. It discusses how language itself should be seen as a human right, as language plays a huge part in empowering members of society and in their ability to contribute to issues of public concern by raising public awareness. Language, conflict resolution, and ethnic harmony are therefore inextricably linked.

Details

Cooperation for a Peaceful and Sustainable World Part 1
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-78190-335-3

Book part
Publication date: 29 October 2003

Aleksandra Ålund

The article discusses some general features of the dominant discourses of ethnicity and culture, their historical roots and relations to contemporary forms of multiculturalism. It…

Abstract

The article discusses some general features of the dominant discourses of ethnicity and culture, their historical roots and relations to contemporary forms of multiculturalism. It compares different expressions of cultural belonging in European societies taking Sweden as an example. Departing from the complex meaning of culture the problems of essentialism inherent in concepts of culture and ethnicity are discussed. Sweden, as well as other European multiethnic societies, is undergoing a division along ethnic lines. Social inequalities tend to be understood in terms of cultural difference. Culture is usually connected with ethnicity and race and understood as pure, as an “essence,” as related to some original and eternal ethnic core. In this way important aspects of cultural dynamics in the multiethnic society, not least among young people, are left unobserved. What are usually not recognized are cultural crossings and the emergence of composite identities and their relations to social structure.

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Multicultural Challenge
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-0-76231-064-7

Article
Publication date: 3 August 2009

Sumathi Renganathan

In this paper I explore the notion of reflexivity in two main domains. In the first, I explore my struggles as a trained objective, positivist researcher trying to embrace and…

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Abstract

In this paper I explore the notion of reflexivity in two main domains. In the first, I explore my struggles as a trained objective, positivist researcher trying to embrace and appreciate subjective qualitative research practices. In the second section, I explore the dynamic relationship between myself, the researcher and my participants, focusing on issues related to ethnicity and power. Generally, research that explores ethnicity and power relationships commonly depicts the researcher as the privileged self compared with the participants as the marginalised other. However, in this paper I illustrate how this relationship in a multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual research context is much more complex and multifaceted than usually acknowledged. Moreover, this was further complicated by the researcher’s own experience in relation to the issue under investigation, which was different from that of the participants.

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Qualitative Research Journal, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1443-9883

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 March 2008

James R. Moore

This article examines the continued salience of ethnic identity and ethnic conflicts in world politics; this is especially important given the central role that ethnicity plays in…

Abstract

This article examines the continued salience of ethnic identity and ethnic conflicts in world politics; this is especially important given the central role that ethnicity plays in world politics, especially many developing world countries. The author argues that teachers and teacher educators must understand the pivotal role that ethnicity continues to play in world politics, especially in post-colonial African and Asian societies. Teaching about global issues, such as the current war in Iraq, population patterns in the former Soviet Union, and the genocide in Sudan, requires a deep understanding of ethnicity and its major perspectives. Moreover, by adopting a non-linear perspective, students can understand that traditional societies will reassert their ethnic identities as they confront the powerful and dynamic forces of globalization. Finally, the article will establish the links between ethnicity and multicultural and global education, especially the National Council for the Social Studies major curriculum standards.

Details

Social Studies Research and Practice, vol. 3 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1933-5415

Book part
Publication date: 7 October 2020

Adrian Favell

In June 2016, a clear majority of English voters chose to unilaterally take the United Kingdom out of the European Union (EU). According to many of the post-Brexit vote analyses…

Abstract

In June 2016, a clear majority of English voters chose to unilaterally take the United Kingdom out of the European Union (EU). According to many of the post-Brexit vote analyses, the single strongest motivating factor driving this vote was “immigration” in Britain, an issue which had long been the central mobilizing force of the United Kingdom Independence Party. The chapter focuses on how – following the bitter demise of multiculturalism – these Brexit related developments may now signal the end of Britain's postcolonial settlement on migration and race, the other parts of a progressive philosophy which had long been marked out as a proud British distinction from its neighbors. In successfully racializing, lumping together, and relabeling as “immigrants” three anomalous non-“immigrant” groups – asylum seekers, EU nationals, and British Muslims – UKIP leader Nigel Farage made explicit an insidious recasting of ideas of “immigration” and “integration,” emergent since the year 2000, which exhumed the ideas of Enoch Powell and threatened the status of even the most settled British minority ethnic populations – as has been seen in the Windrush scandal. Central to this has been the rejection of the postnational principle of non-discrimination by nationality, which had seen its fullest European expression in Britain during the 1990s and 2000s. The referendum on Brexit enabled an extraordinary democratic vote on the notion of “national” population and membership, in which “the People” might openly roll back the various diasporic, multinational, cosmopolitan, or human rights–based conceptions of global society which had taken root during those decades. This chapter unpacks the toxic cocktail that lays behind the forces propelling Boris Johnson to power. It also raises the question of whether Britain will provide a negative examplar to the rest of Europe on issues concerning the future of multiethnic societies.

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Europe's Malaise
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83909-042-4

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 28 December 2018

Barbara Stöttinger and Elfriede Penz

In today’s globalized world, countries are becoming increasingly multiethnic. This raises questions about the different dimensions of consumers’ territorial identities, and how…

Abstract

Purpose

In today’s globalized world, countries are becoming increasingly multiethnic. This raises questions about the different dimensions of consumers’ territorial identities, and how these dimensions are differentiated, interrelated and interlinked. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Design/methodology/approach

Using qualitative interviews, this paper investigates how (40) respondents from two different ethnic minorities in a country that is not necessarily considered multiethnic perceive these dimensions of territorial identity (ethnic, regional and national) as a constituent element of their own person and of their behavior.

Findings

The authors highlight that these three dimensions of territorial identity co-exist as independent entities; they are distinct but interrelated and interconnected. Furthermore, idiosyncrasies in the ethnic sub-samples are investigated and described. These are related to the connection to the country of residence (being born there vs having immigrated there). Finally, avenues for future research, such as expanding the concept of territorial identities and its connection to consumer behavior, are suggested.

Originality/value

The authors extend the bipolarity commonly used in territorial identities (global vs local or ethnic vs national) to three conceptually independent dimensions. The authors explore the relationships between these dimensions of territorial identity and show that they may not conflict but, instead, co-exist.

Details

International Marketing Review, vol. 36 no. 5
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0265-1335

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 1 February 2002

Ågot Berger

Outlines the experiences of the author in studying library services in multiethnic societies in several countries in Western Europe. This led to a comprehensive survey, carried…

1922

Abstract

Outlines the experiences of the author in studying library services in multiethnic societies in several countries in Western Europe. This led to a comprehensive survey, carried out in 2001, into how the ethnic minorities in Denmark use public libraries. The historical context to immigration to Denmark and changing government policies are described, together with the development of public library services. The work of the Danish Central Library of Immigrant Literature is reviewed. The methodology and main findings are provided, together with recommendations. Two main lessons emerged: that public libraries have something both unique and essential to offer as a part of a national policy towards immigration and ethnic minorities; and that success lies in combining different service elements and ensuring that libraries are perceived and used as friendly meeting places.

Details

Library Management, vol. 23 no. 1/2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0143-5124

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 7 September 2018

Dean Karalekas

To understand Taiwan society, it is important to develop an appreciation for the competing forces in the identity question. This is often boiled down to Chinese vs Taiwanese, but…

Abstract

To understand Taiwan society, it is important to develop an appreciation for the competing forces in the identity question. This is often boiled down to Chinese vs Taiwanese, but it goes much deeper than that, with implications for political identification and aspirations for the future of the island nation. Most previous studies look at ethnicity and ethnic identification within the context of a multicultural, multiethnic society such as the United States or Canada. The dynamic is extremely different in a largely homogeneous society (despite self-identification as either Mainlander or Taiwanese, both are, in strict racial terms, considered Han Chinese) such as that in Taiwan, and indeed most East Asian countries. Perspective matters as well: While the Taiwanese identity is growing according to recent polling data, both the Chinese in China and those who identify as Chinese in Taiwan tend to view the Taiwanese (Hokkien speakers) themselves as just another group of Han Chinese people. The migration of Chinese people to Taiwan did not begin until the 17th century, when the Dutch colonialists attracted (and in some cases, kidnapped) Chinese farmers from Fujian and Guangzhou provinces to work the plantations they had established. Thus, the Taiwanese people today are the descendants of these and subsequent waves of immigration during the Qing dynasty, along with a high degree of intermarriage with the indigenous population. These differing paradigms of self-identification have a tremendous importance in perception of the ROC military, the threat it faces, and the role it ought to play in society.

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 1 August 2016

Buddhini Gayathri Jayatilleke and Charlotte Gunawardena

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how university academics from three different cultural and linguistic backgrounds perceived their own cultural context and how it…

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Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how university academics from three different cultural and linguistic backgrounds perceived their own cultural context and how it influences on online learning.

Design/methodology/approach

The views of 30 faculty members from Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Mauritius who engaged in a six-week professional development online course were gathered through a self-reflection questionnaire, posts on an asynchronous discussion forum and personal self-reflections in journal entries. Content analysis of three asynchronous discussion forums indicated the emergence of categories and themes related to traditional culture and the impact of culture on online learning that were triangulated with questionnaire data and journal entries.

Findings

Cultural perceptions of Sri Lankans and Pakistanis showed similar patterns in their recognition that their cultures exhibit characteristics of high power distance, collectivism and feminine values, while there were no definite dimensional perspectives from the Mauritians. The inability to define their own cultural context using bi-polar dimensions may reflect the sociocultural context of Mauritius. While these frameworks may explain more traditional cultures like those in Sri Lanka and Pakistan, they are unlikely to be useful to define cultural characteristics when the society is diverse, multiethnic, multicultural and multilingual like Mauritius.

Research limitations/implications

This study was based on a small sample of participants from three ethnic origins and cannot be generalized. It has generated questions for further research.

Practical implications

The findings have implications for accounting for culture in designing and delivering online courses.

Originality/value

This study will benefit instructional designers/curriculum designers/teachers to design culturally sensitive and culturally adaptive online courses.

Details

Asian Association of Open Universities Journal, vol. 11 no. 1
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1858-3431

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