Geographies of Belonging: The Transnational and Local Involvement of Economically Successful Migrants

If scholars of migration had to pick one word to describe the nature of contemporary migration flows and immigrant populations, many of them would probably choose terms like “diversified,” “differentiated,” or “fragmented” (e.g. Alba and Nee 2003: 213; Castles and Miller 2003: 8; Engbersen et al. 2007: 399). It is often said that diver-sity itself is diversifying, creating a situation of “super-diversity” (Vertovec 2007) in most countries of immigration and particularly in their urban areas (cf. Amin 2008: 6). Migrants do not only differ with regard to their ethnic background or country of origin, but also in terms of their labor market position, legal status, immigrant gen-eration, religion, age, and spatial distribution. An important variable that adds to this super-diversity, and in which I am particularly interested in this study, is mi-grants’ transnational involvement, defined as the total of individuals’ transnational activities and identifications (cf. Snel et al. 2006: 288). In the rapidly expanding field of transnational migration studies, it has been demonstrated that much variety exists in the nature of the transnational ties of different migrant groups, depending on in-dividual factors as well as characteristics of the sending and receiving countries (cf. Morawska 2009: 175). The cross-border practices of, say, highly skilled second-generation Chinese in the US differ from those of retired Turkish former guest workers in the Netherlands

Een rolmodel, ik? Vijftien Rotterdamse vrouwen over succes, inspiratie en mentoring

Succesvolle allochtone vrouwen Over Rotterdam wordt vaak gezegd dat de stad de verkeerde lijstjes aanvoert. Op het gebied van armoede, schooluitval en criminaliteit kent Rotterdam grote problemen. Een eenzijdige focus op sociale achtstanden kan er echter toe leiden dat processen van sociale stijging en verbetering aan het oog worden onttrokken. Een van die processen is de opkomst van een allochtone middenklasse. Tussen 1991 en 2002 is in Nederland het aandeel minderheden in de middenklasse verdubbeld en deze opbloei heeft zich daarna doorgezet. Dat is ook in Rotterdam gebeurd. Steeds meer jongeren met een niet-Nederlandse achtergrond stromen door naar het hoger en universitair onderwijs. Ook op de arbeidsmarkt zijn steeds vaker allochtonen in hogere functies te vinden. Een aanzienlijk deel van de allochtone middenklasse bestaat uit vrouwen. Vaak bekijken beleidsmakers, sociologen en publicisten deze vrouwen van een afstandje en proberen vervolgens hun succes te verklaren. Het beeld dat van hen bestaat is dat zij zich op weg naar succes aan twee dominante stempels hebben moeten ontworstelen: het allochtoon-zijn en het vrouw-zijn. De vrouwen die dit is gelukt worden gezien als pioniers; als voorbeelden voor allochtone meisjes die minder succesvol zijn in het onderwijs of op de arbeidsmarkt. In dit onderzoek bekijken we succesvolle allochtone vrouwen niet van een afstandje, maar van dichterbij. We zullen geen ingewikkelde statistische analyses uitvoeren om de invloed te meten van opleiding, religie en de buurt waar de vrouwen zijn opgegroeid. Centraal in dit onderzoek staat hoe vijftien succesvolle allochtone vrouwen hun eigen succes verklaren en hoe het succes van anderen volgens hen gestimuleerd kan worden

Transnationalism and Dimensions of Citizenship

In the international migration literature over recent decades there has been increasing interest in transnational movements and contacts. Researchers have shown that immigrants maintain economic, social, political and/or cultural ties with their home country (Basch et al. 1994; Levitt 2007; Portes 2000). The concept of transnationalism is not new. International migration tends to go hand-in-hand with intensive economic, social and cultural bonds between migrants and their family members and relatives at home (Engbersen et al. 2003). What is new, however, is the extent and diversity of these transnational ties, which can be explained by the availability of high-tech means of communication and transportation, such as cheap flights, longdistance telephone, the Internet, e-mail, and satellite television (Portes et al. 1999; Zhou 2004)

Transnationalisme en Burgerschap

In de internationale migratieliteratuur bestaat in toenemende mate aandacht voor de contacten die migranten onderhouden met hun herkomstland. Verschillende onderzoekers hebben aangetoond dat migranten economische, sociale, politieke en/of culturele banden onderhouden met het herkomstland (Basch e.a. 1994; Portes 2000; Levitt and Waters 2002; Engbersen e.a. 2003; Levitt 2007). Dergelijke grensoverschrijdende activiteiten zijn niet nieuw; migranten houden van oudsher op allerlei manieren binding met het land van herkomst (Thomas en Znaniecki 1918). Nieuw is wel de omvang en de diversiteit van deze ‘transnationale’ banden (Engbersen e.a. 2003; Rusinovic 2006)

Lokaal of transnationaal: actief burgerschap bij de allochtone middenklasse

Op 5 januari 2009 is Ahmed Aboutaleb als burgemeester van Rotterdam geïnstalleerd. Hij is daarmee de eerste burgemeester in Nederland van Marokkaanse afkomst. Zijn benoeming was niet onomstreden. Fractievoorzitter Ronald Sørensen van Leefbaar Rotterdam had grote moeite met zijn voordracht. Hij maakte vooral bezwaar tegen het feit dat Aboutaleb twee paspoorten heeft en ‘een representant is van een groep die in heel Nederland en Rotterdam problemen veroorzaakt’. Aboutaleb kreeg namens de fractie van Leefbaar Rotterdam een lege gefrankeerde envelop overhandigd, met daarop het adres van de koning van Marokko. Hij hoefde daar alleen nog maar zijn Marokkaanse paspoort in te doen, om te laten zien dat hij onvoorwaardelijk voor het Nederlandse staatsburgerschap heeft gekozen

On the Red Carpet. Expats in Rotterdam and The Hague

Introduction: In a range of Dutch cities, in recent years a policy has been developed which is specifically directed to knowledge workers or expatriates – often simply called expats. Special expat information centers were opened in, among other cities, The Hague, Amsterdam, Nijmegen, Leiden and Eindhoven. Rotterdam, the city which forms the central focus of this research, established an Expat Desk at the end of 2008. Although differences exist regarding the exact design of such expat desks, they share the objective of giving expats a ‘red carpet welcome’ to make their stay more comfortable and to make them feel at home in the city. The expat desks’ services vary from offering help with the application for a residence permit to providing practical information about housing, health care and education. The establishment of specific expat desks in the Netherlands reflects an international trend of countries and urban regions competing for international human capital (Ewers 2007: 120). National and local governments increasingly try to create favorable living and working conditions for expats. In contrast with other types of migrants, expats experience an enabling policy environment, rather than a restrictive one. The German sociologist Thomas Faist (2008) argues regarding highly skilled migrants that there has been a shift from a ‘red card’ to a ‘red carpet’ strategy. Despite the increased attention to expats in national and urban policy, up until now not much is known about the experiences of these ‘welcome guests’ themselves. Are they attached to the city they live in? And what do expats think should be done to make the city a more attractive living environment? To answer these and other questions, we conducted research among more than one hundred expats in Rotterdam and The Hague

Institutional work in changing public service organizations: the interplay between professionalization strategies of non-elite actors

It is often argued that increased volunteer participation in public service organizations will lead to de-professionalization of established professionals. Adopting a relational approach, this article shows that professionalization of new actors can actually initiate and reinforce the professionalization of others. This article focuses on the interplay between nonelite actors in social care that carry out institutional work aimed at pursuing three strategies: classic professionalization of volunteer coordinators, proto-professionalization of volunteers, and advanced professionalization of social care practitioners. Potential negative implications of these professionalization strategies are the hollowing out of paid social care work and the exclusion of vulnerable volunteers

Broadening the scope of live-in migrant care research: How care networks shape the experience of precarious work

Live-in migrant care work is increasing across welfare states. In the context of ageing populations and changing healthcare systems, live-in care enables ageing in place without overburdening family caregivers. However, research has shown that live-in care often puts migrant care workers and their recipients in precarious positions. While the outcome of precarious work has gained attention, it is not self-evident. Based on interviews with migrant care workers in the Netherlands, as well as formal and informal caregivers, and the staff of intermediary organisations, this study shows that besides client conditions, the interactions of actors in the care network shape the circumstances and experience of migrant live-in care work. The findings suggest that managing the care networks to which migrant care workers belong makes it possible to mitigate the associated precariousness

Disruptive life event or reflexive instrument? On the regulation of hospital mergers from a quality of care perspective

Purpose – Despite the continuation of hospital mergers in many western countries, it is uncertain if and how hospital mergers impact the quality of care. This poses challenges for the regulation of mergers. The purpose of this paper is to understand: how regulators and hospitals frame the impact of merging on the quality and safety of care and how hospital mergers might be regulated, given their uncertain impact on quality and safety of care. Design/methodology/approach –This paper studies the regulation of hospital mergers in The Netherlands. In a qualitative study design, it draws on 30 semi-structured interviews with inspectors from the Dutch Health and Youth Care Inspectorate (Inspectorate) and respondents from three hospitals that merged between 2013 and 2015. This paper draws from literature on process-based regulation to understand how regulators can monitor hospital mergers. Findings – This paper finds that inspectors and hospital respondents frame the process of merging as potentially disruptive to daily care practices. While inspectors emphasise the dangers of merging, hospital respondents report how merging stimulated them to reflect on their care practices and how it afforded learning between hospitals. Although the Inspectorate considers mergers a risk to quality of care, their regulatory practices are hesitant. Originality/value – This qualitative study sheds light on how merging might affect key hospital processes and daily care practices. It offers opportunities for the regulation of hospital mergers that acknowledges rather than aims to dispel the uncertain and potentially ambiguous impact of mergers on quality and safety of car