Summary

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the relationship between immigration and poverty in the eight-state region that comprises the ‘Northwest Area,’ and to make recommendations for poverty alleviation. The states are Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the relationship between immigration and poverty in the eight-state region that comprises the ‘Northwest Area,’ and to make recommendations for poverty alleviation. The states are Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and Washington. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This study of 100 Latina immigrants and 58 social service providers in four central Minnesota towns contributes to the growing literature on Latinos in Minnesota by providing a demographic profile of Latina immigrants in greater Minnesota and offering insights into their social needs and the barriers to obtaining social services. It also identifies assets or skills of Latinas as well as communication issues relevant to their interactions with service providers in the public service and non-profit arenas. The report’s focus on Latinas helps to close a gap in the emerging literature that ignores the gender-specific experiences and assets of Latinas. Another main goal of research is to present data that may inform future public service procedures, policies and practices through improved communications. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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Racial oppression and conflict have been pervasive and significant features of the American society since the formation of the United States. Indeed, they were critical to the formation of the United States and, in part, remain responsible for its present-day global stature (Bonilla-Silva, 2001; Bonacich, 2000). They also have worked as agents to stratify life within the United States (Hacker, 1992; Massey & Denton, 1993; Feagin, 2000). Presently, few scholars would dispute that racial stratification remains an unfortunate reality in the U.S. However, the tendency and rationale for social science literature to treat race and racism in the United States as solely and uniquely an historic relation between white and black Americans is a contentious argument among some scholars who study non-black communities of color. Proponents of the black-white paradigm defend their approach with historical arguments. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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High achieving Puerto Rican high school students are largely missing not only from urban high schools, but also from the educational research. The purpose of this article, then, is to describe the five success factors that ten low-income urban high school students from this ethnic group attributed to their high academic achievement. These success factors are 1) the acquisition of social capital and academic motivation through religiosity and participation in school and community-based extracurricular activities; 2) student affirmation of Puerto Rican identity; 3) the influence of mothers; 4) the potential for caring teachers to influence high academic achievement; and 5) membership in multicultural/multilingual peer networks. Additionally, these success factors and their implications for Latina/o education are discussed. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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Some health researchers use the concept of acculturation to try to explain health behaviors or illnesses prevalent among Hispanic people. In this research “Hispanic culture” has often been represented as being associated with inadequate health beliefs and behaviors and poor health. In much of this research, Hispanic culture is viewed as hindering healthy practices. At the same time, other acculturation studies find that Hispanic culture provides health-enhancing elements, such as less permissive sexual behavior, better birth outcomes, or less smoking and substance use. The effect of Hispanic culture on individual health could prove to be an important social element to scrutinize. But we believe that acculturation studies are seriously limited by several basic conceptual and methodological problems that need to be addressed before such knowledge can be achieved. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In this paper the authors argue that the diversification of rural Minnesota is largely the result of the restructuring of the food processing industry, and the subsequent recruitment of low wage laborers. They begin with a brief discussion of demographic changes in the state as a whole, and in rural Minnesota. This is followed by an analysis of the relationship between the location of food processing industries and the diversity of the population, using different measures of diversity. They conclude with a discussion of the benefits and challenges that “new diversity” poses for rural communities. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Increased divorce rates and out-of-wedlock births have precipitated much national conversation about the well-being of children raised in single family households. Commonly evoked is the image of a single mother who is struggling to raise children without the help of her children’s biological father, or a “deadbeat dad.” However, realistically, she has a good chance of remarrying a man whose ex-wife and children are being primarily supported and raised by yet another man (Coleman, Ganong & Fine, 2000). If the mother is poor and young, the image quickly becomes that of a Black or brown woman who is perpetuating her condition by irresponsibly becoming pregnant repeatedly, by multiple men, most often in her teens, without regard or need for establishing a traditional family; she is replacing familial support: economic, social, emotional and psychological, with that of the state. The Black or brown father(s) are seen as irresponsible, incorrigible, highly oversexed, sometimes depraved, boys or men who derive their self worth from irresponsibly fathering as many children as possible and who have no regard for society’s existing mores for civility. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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Recent studies and personal narratives suggest a connection between the low academic achievement of Latina/o students in the United States to the lack of care they experience in schools. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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The views of farmworkers and their employers continue to dominate what constitutes the farm labor problem, but a community perspective is emerging that emphasizes the impact of agricultural labor on rural areas. Although studies linking the farm labor population to local communities are more common these days, few studies have described the role that migrant and seasonal farmworkers (MSFWs) play in the local economy of a receiving community. In the rural areas where they work, seldom has migrant and seasonal farm labor been treated as a community economic development event, a form of economic change that contributes to the local economy. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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A survey of residents of farm labor camps in Michigan shows that they bring different kinds of knowledge to bear on issues of pesticide safety. A survey of 188 migrant agricultural workers shows that those who are the most knowledgeable are specialists in farm work, favor Spanish over English, and participate in out-of-state migration to jobs in Florida and Texas. Those who know less about pesticide safety had worked outside agriculture as well as on farms in Michigan. Education and gender were not related to knowledge of pesticide safety, but they were dimensions of variation in different parts of the migrant stream. Statistical analysis and ethnographic information suggest that both formal and practical knowledge create the differences among workers in their levels of knowledge of pesticide safety. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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America’s agribusiness employs 1.6 million migrant and seasonal farmworkers who toil for low wages under high risk conditions. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers face high health risks due to labor, geographic, economic, as well as cultural, and sociological factors. For these reasons, many migrant workers rely on federal, state, and community agencies not only for medical and health related assistance but also for benefits necessary for their maintenance in daily affairs. However, recent welfare reforms (passed by the 104th Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on Aug. 22, 1996) placed new restrictions on the types of benefits available to both legal and undocumented immigrants. Since a significant percentage of migrant workers are not United States citizens, many are affected by the new law. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This study investigates Latino farmworkers in Michigan in regard to “occupational cycles,” defined as changes in types of jobs during the year. Data for this study came from a survey of 350 residents of farm labor camps in 12 counties in Michigan. Of labor camp residents, 99% were Latinos (mostly Mexican Americans) and 67% wintered in regions to the south, mostly Texas and Florida. Nearly all women and two-thirds of men lived with family members in households in the labor camps. Statistical tests included cluster analysis and tests of difference of means and proportions including partitioning of chi square and a post hoc test for chi square equality of proportion. Over one-third of study participants had nonagricultural jobs during the preceding year. An unexpectedly high percentage of women had off-farm jobs (42%). The percentage did not differ statistically from that of men (35%). All the jobs were low-paying, but the status of women’s off-farm jobs was higher than that of men’s. Women with off-farm jobs had worked in significantly more states than other women, typically including Texas rather than Florida, in contrast to men with nonagricultural jobs, who tended to have worked in Florida. Education was not related to women’s employment patterns although men with off-farm jobs had significantly more education than others. These findings show that workers in the migrant streams reaching the Midwest are more diverse in employment than expected, and that this complexity characterizes women working in the nonfarm sector as well as men. Furthermore, the position of women migrant workers in generating income for their households is more important than expected. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This study compares the causes and consequences of employment instability among Mexican-origin women, White women, and White men. Data for the analysis comes from the work experience supplement in the March 1995 file of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The supplement documents the respondent’s year-long labor force activity. Respondents who had an interruption in employment, or involuntarily worked part-time during the entire year, are said to have experienced employment instability. Using logistic regression, results show that Mexican-origin women with low levels of schooling, immigrants, and those employed in the periphery services sector are highly vulnerable to employment instability. Earnings determination models revealed that employment instability exerts a heavier penalty on Mexican-origin women,compared to their White counterparts, net of human capital endowments and economic sector location. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Latino youth face challenges which have heretofore been ignored. Their issues transcend the usual minority problems of adolescence, family crisis, education, poverty, promiscuity, and drugs. Their challenges extend to being part of an increasingly diverse, fast growing population that is expanding across the United States. Their challenges emanate in part from being perceived and treated as foreign-born immigrants in a society with growing xenophobia. Their challenges are also exacerbated by widespread ignorance about who they are and general confusion with identity in terms of labels that are prescribed and utilized: Hispanic, Latino, Chicano, Boricua, raza, etc. These labels of identity are also interspersed with stereotypical depictions of Latino youth as gang-bangers, graffiti artists, and (oddly enough) migrant children who work the fields of agriculture. To a degree these labels describe the predicament of Latino youth. They are heterogeneous with many identities, but mostly covered under the rubric of “Hispanic.” They are growing so quickly that Latinos themselves are often not connected to each other by common themes and issues. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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The following study examines the teaching behaviors of Mexican-American mothers using an "everyday" and "school related" task. The study focuses on 1) What are the differences in teaching behaviors among Mexican Americans across tasks, 2) instruction changes over time, 3) changes in teaching behavior relate to children's performance and the influence of maternal education on instruction. The sample consisted of 37 Mexican-American mother-child dyads. The children's mean age was 50.8 months (SD = 6.1). The results indicate that Mexican-American mothers alter their instruction across time and according to the task at hand. Under everyday conditions, the mothers' relied primarily on the use of various verbal utterances such as commands, labeling, directives and verbal corrections to guide and maneuver children's activity. Under the school task condition, the mothers relied on the use of non-verbal behaviors, particularly visual cues and physical corrections. The mothers also instruct their children in a "complementary" fashion, altering their general strategy with respect to the demand on the child. Regardless of the task, however, mothers tended to follow an overall instructional pattern that is consistent with that proposed by a Vygotskian framework. Finally, the study found the mothers' education level was associated with her teaching behaviors under the everyday task, but not the school task. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This working paper addresses the unprecedented growth of the foreign and U.S.-born Mexican-descent population in non-metropolitan and agricultural areas in the United States. It is organized into four sections. This first part of the paper is a general discussion of immigration from Guanajuato, Mexico, to these areas of the country. The concentration of Mexicans in non-metropolitan and agricultural areas is examined in the second section. The third part describes examples of this concentration in two communities in southeastern Pennsylvania. In the fourth and last section, it is suggested that peasants from Guanajuato and other compatriots not only immigrate to these areas, many migrate in order to continue practicing subsistence agriculture in their homeland. Migration allows them to pursue this important traditional economic activity. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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In the mid-1990’s, the congressional Republican majority and Gov. Pete Wilson of California placed the blame for a falling standard of living on Latino immigrants, urban African-Americans, and so-called “welfare abuse.” Although a booming economy and low unemployment rates lessened the political pressure to blame immigrants and the working poor for social problems, it remains unlikely that the benefits of economic expansion will accrue to lower income households in the long term. This working paper examines income, education, and household/family organization for 1980 to 1990, with special focus on Latinos and African-Americans in Chicago and Kansas City. It suggests areas for further research when comparing how ethnic groups fare in “World Cities” such as Chicago in relation to smaller, less “globalized” towns and cities in the Midwest. The paper also provides ample bibliographical references regarding Latinos in the Midwest, an increasingly important research area where much work remains undone about past, present, and future Latino communities and neighborhoods. Once the U.S. Census for 2000 has been completed and published, will we find that a strong economy and “welfare reform” has improved conditions for African-Americans and Latinos? The authors believe that a better understanding of the insertion of each group into its specific urban socioeconomic context is crucial to developing collaborative strategies and policies to unite, rather than divide, the African-American and Latino communities of Midwestern cities. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

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This article compares the responses to globalization by a Latina entrepreneur and a Latina labor advocate in the border city of El Paso, Texas. The two cases illustrate contrasting, yet inevitably related responses to the polarization generated by the ongoing process of international economic integration. As the local economy of that city becomes more immediately linked to global markets, business opportunities for new entrepreneurs coincide with massive displacement of garment workers, most of whom are Latinas. This article, beyond rigid ideological demarcations or automatic denunciations, uses ethnographic descriptions to contextualize the two involvements in reference to the sweeping magnitude of ongoing changes. The changes concern new economic parameters, suggesting class and gender reformulations as well as new avenues for local interventions. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The present study examined Latina mothers' acculturation and education levels with respect to various sociocultural, personal, and contextual factors related to mothers' level of parental involvement. The sample consisted of 158 Latina mothers, who were the primary care providers of their first grade children. The results indicated that although less acculturated Latinas reported less knowledge about school activities and more barriers to involvement, they also report high levels of perceived efficacy relevant to parental involvement, higher educational expectations, and greater spousal support. The findings highlight the importance of examining the within-groups differences related to Latino populations and questions prevalent assumptions regarding the role of acculturation with regard to parental involvement. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The twenty-first state did not have a Hispanic* population when it added its star to the United States flag in December of 1818. Census profiles for Illinois through the decades suggest the first substantial demographic Hispanic population was not clearly defined as a category until the 1970 census. In the late 1800's and early 1900's, Hispanic settlements principally occurred in urbanized areas, particularly the Chicago area, drawn by the opportunity to work in low-paying service and manufacturing jobs. The first large-scale wave of Hispanic immigrants to Illinois took place with the onset of World War I, supported by the twin circumstances of an economic boom and a labor shortage. Mexican workers were actively recruited to work in the factories, agricultural industries, and the railroads. By 1928, the Mexican population represented 43% of the total labor force on the railroads. The steel and meat packing industries experienced the same growth in their workforce population and by 1926, Mexican workers represented 14% and 11%, respectively, of all workers in these Chicago area industries. Thus, the Mexican population rose dramatically in one decade from 1,224 in 1920 to 19,362 in 1930 (Betancur, Cordova, and Torres, 1993). The second wave of Mexican immigration was initiated by another war, World War II, and the implementation of the Bracero Program in 1941. The Bracero Program was originally created as a wartime relief program to import temporary workers, but was repeatedly renewed until 1964. Due to similar economic circumstances, over 15,000 Mexicans were brought to Chicago to work on the railroads alone from 1943-1945 (Betancur, Cordova, and Torres, 1993). As a result of this steady flow of Mexican labor into Illinois, over 35,000 Hispanics were counted in the census in the Chicago area in 1950. The category nearly doubled in size each decade thereafter, and included 55,597 persons in 1960, and 106,000 in 1970. This early flow of migrants established a basis for the more substantial migration that began in the 1980's when 255,770 of the persons counted were of Mexican descent. However, of greater significance was the almost explosive population gain of Hispanics that occurred between 1990 and 1994 when this cohort of the population accounted for 32% of the population growth in Illinois. People do not just appear without cause. There need to be forces of attraction that complement the exertion of forces causing people to leave their places of origin. In this analysis, we begin by examining the demographic pattern of the Hispanic migration to Illinois and the forces which encouraged this migration and population growth and the impact it has on societal institutions. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The first chapter analyzes the way nationalism, citizenship, and the Puerto Rican diaspora intersect with delinquency and violence, converging upon the “I” that is constructed autobiographically in Piri Thomas’s Down These Mean Streets. 2 Before focusing on the particular, one individual’s attempt to represent the self across racial and national boundaries, I turn to the history of the collective, or the attempts to collectivize, anthologize, and categorize the diverse opus that is Puerto Rican literature. In doing so, I hope to shed light on the way in which attempts at individual “self-representation” via autobiography are necessarily implicated in the way non-white ethnic outgroups are constructed and represented in dominant culture, by and through the nation. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This study investigated the influence that family and community cultures have on the teaching and learning of science in an after-school program. The Family Science Project provided an environment for third and fourth grade children to learn science with their parents, other adults, and middle school students. Sessions were held once a week for about one and half hours for 6-8 weeks in Fall and Spring semesters (1992-94.) The middle-school students, called the "Junior Scientists," assisted elementary children and at the same time learned science with them and with the other adults. The 20 participants were interviewed at the beginning of the program and at the end of one year. All the Family Science sessions were observed by the researcher taking descriptive field notes. Students' and parents' logs were also collected. Results indicated that self-esteem of children as well as their parents had gone up. The assistance given by the "Junior Scientists," and the opportunity to wear white lab coats provided a conducive environment for younger children to learn science and gain a positive image of themselves as "scientists." The interaction with the younger children helped the "Junior Scientists" develop a positive attitude toward science and meaningful science skills. The parents, who had poor images of themselves as scientists, were able to build up confidence and to develop positive images. They also believed that this intervention helped to direct their children to being more attentive in their science and math classes. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In the process of writing, I chose to make myself visible as a historian with an agenda, but also as a subject of this history, and one of the traumatized seeking to recover herself. My own work became less about creating a reconstructed historical record and more about my own relationship to history, my questions and challenges, my mapping of ignorance and contradiction, my anger, sorrow and exhilaration. To testify, through my personal responses to them, to how the official and renegade stories of the past impact Puerto Rican women. To explore by sharing how I had done so in my own life, the ways that recaptured history could be used as a tool of recovery from a multitude of blows. In writing Remedios, I made myself the site of experimentation, and engaged in a process of decolonizing my own relationship to history as one model of what was possible. As I did so, I evolved a set of understandings or instructions to myself about how to do this kind of work, a kind of curandera's handbook of historical practice. The rest of this essay is that handbook. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are an important part of agricultural production in Michigan. Although important to agriculture, as a group they continue to be one of the most disadvantaged in Michigan and in the country. This report profiles the farm labor use patterns in Michigan and the benefits of farm labor to Michigan agriculture and rural areas. The report also profiles the migrant and seasonal farmworker population in the state, identifies some of the current pressing issues and problems of the population, and suggests ways to stabilize the agricultural labor market in the state. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This interdisciplinary research project, which took place in Southwest Detroit, is grounded in educational psychology, sociolinguistics, literature, and culture. Its focus is the multiple forms of violence affecting Latino/a youth and their school performance. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper examines alternative interpretations that encompasses the realm of Lat-Crit and Critical Race Theory scholarship and its application to workers within the agricultural hierarchy.13 Representing new forms of legal jurisprudence allows examining legislation written primarily by the dominant population that continues to exclude the agricultural worker. Outside of this perspective, an examination of federal public law and its enrichment of the sector while causing the impoverishment of agricultural laborers remains largely omitted from legal directed study. From the perspective of Critical Race Theory and Lat-Crit Theory, Professor Richard Delgado provides: Unless we recognize the government's power to enrich A, while ignoring B, can cause inequality between A and B just as surely as its power to impoverish B directly we risk repeating the error of the universal story's herdsman whose goats were stolen while he attended to another danger. In contrast to the status quo, the goal of this paper seeks to engage a more productive debate on the agricultural workforce and its position in the agricultural hierarchy. Without alternative interpretations, agricultural legislation reflects skewed renditions of promulgation and application of agricultural law, with further misalignment of democratic principles which render dissimilar treatment of its citizens and as violating constitutional dictates. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

It is estimated that 1.5 million people in the United States are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. According to the 1996 CDC HIV/AIDS Survelliance report, the Center's for Disease Control reported 501,310 cases of AIDS in the United States as of October 1995. This number grew to 525,050 by December 1995. Fifty-one percent of the reported AIDS cases were among African-Americans and Hispanics/Latinos. These figures become more significant when compared to the national population breakdown. African-Americans represent 12.1% of the population while Hispanics/Latinos represent 9% of the population (CDC, 1995). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that approximately 120,000 women in United States are infected with HIV, making women the fastest growing group of people with AIDS in the United States. From this growing group of victims, African-American and Hispanic/Latino women are disproportionately represented among those with HIV/AIDS, and the disease is expected to spread at much higher rates among these groups in the coming decade (CDC HIV/AIDS Surveillance Report, 1996). The best know prevention against AIDS at present is education, so men and women should be educated about how to protect themselves. The primary routes of transmission of HIV infection in the United States are culturally structured social behaviors, particularly the sharing of intravenous drug injection equipment and sexual acts involving the exchange of body fluids. The dangers of unprotected sex with multiple partners, anal sex, and violent sex should be explained in detail. The use of condoms and alternate forms of sexual experience should also be openly discussed. AIDS preventive education must include education about drug use as well, including the provision of clean needles or a means of cleaning them. Moreover, the government, at all levels, must also be held accountable for acceptable levels of commitment to and intervention in minority communities. This includes the provision of HIV/AIDS education programs that focus on minority issues, medical services within minority communities for those infected with the virus, and allocation of funds for research into treatment and prevention of AIDS for minorities. Additionally, we need to be sure AIDS education and services are available in minority communities, culturally sensitive, and accessible to all people. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Despite the recent proliferation of research on homicide, scholars have neglected to examine killings among the Latino population (Martinez 1996). While the "long history and large numbers of Latinos in the United States" are well recognized within the social science literature (Moore and Pinderhughes 1993:xix), researchers have shown little concern about the extent and seriousness of the Latino homicide problem. Although prominent public health agencies identify homicide as a major contributor to death among Latinos (Baker 1996; Mercy 1987), few criminological studies are focused on murder among Latinos (Zahn 1987). The result is an incomplete understanding of Latino homicides (Martinez 1996). Not only is the extent of Latino homicide unknown, the determinants of Latino homicide are also unknown. The purpose of this paper is to enhance our knowledge on the killings of Latinos in the United States. I propose that the impact of immigration and economic deprivation on Latino communities creates a social milieu that varies substantially from the experiences of most other ethnic groups (e.g., Anglo and Black) and that, in turn, influences violence. Also, I compare and contrast the small number of Latino homicide studies, paying special attention to the context within which Latino homicides occur. Finally, I propose future directions in research on Latino-specific links to homicide. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Hispanic perceptions of colleges and educational institutions are often shaped by both flexible and fixed standards of measurement. Affordability of a college education is one such measure that can vary significantly for Hispanic/Latino students. Costs can vary considerably depending on whether students attend a public or private institution, pay in-state or out-of-state tuition, or live within or outside the campus community. Issues of affordability are also raised when one considers the amount of time necessary to complete an undergraduate education. Past observations on experimentation of time to degree have led institutions to begin focusing their policies and objectives on the individual needs of the students. One population that needs institutional evaluation is Hispanic/Latino* students who are significantly underrepresented throughout the entire educational system. Although they comprise the fastest growing minority population in the United States, Hispanic college attendance is the lowest among all minority groups. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Many studies have analyzed income differentials among different population segments and evaluated their impact on socioeconomic development. More than 40 years ago, Simon Kuznets formulated his famous hypothesis which suggests that, at low levels of per capita income, inequality increases with rising per capita income and decreases only in the later stages of development, resulting in an inverted U-shaped relationship between per capita income and income inequality. This hypothesis is based on a model in which individuals migrate from a low-wage rural sector with little inequality to an urban sector characterized by high income inequality and high average income. Recent research has also identified a negative relationship between initial inequality and subsequent growth (Deininger and Squire, 1996). Another recent study shows how income inequality is negatively correlated with socio-economic indicator variables of family cohesiveness and community well-being (Robison and Siles, 1997). View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The purpose of this study was to identify the major influences of poverty or financial well-being among Puerto Ricans in the United States. Selected variables that measure personal/ psychological influences, family influences, and socioeconomic influences were included in a multivariate analysis. The dependent variable was a computed poverty index to measure economic well-being. The data for this study come from the Hispanic Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1982-84 (HHANES). The Puerto Rican sample used for the analyses consists of 1,684 observations from the New York City area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. The variables that had the strongest impact on the poverty index were: health, locus of control, acculturation, family structure, public assistance, employment status, and type of worker. Through multiple regression analyses, some determinants of Puerto Rican poverty were identified. The findings of this and previous quantitative and qualitative studies provide empirical evidence for public policy recommendations. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Educational researchers have become increasingly interested in what is commonly referred to as the “school-to-work” transition. Most often, it is the high school which presents the focus for study of this transition. Nevertheless, it is appropriate to assume that the links between future career aspirations and establishing an educational pathway for attaining those goals begins at a much earlier stage. Social scientists who study identity suggest that one’s identity consists of the presentation of several different selves (e.g., Goffman, 1959). Moreover, it is during adolescence when persons attempt to integrate various selves into a single identity (Erickson, 1963). This process of “self” selection and integration is social as well as internal, with validation of these selves by significant others a salient experience in the development of identity. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The island of Puerto Rico is at the eastern end of the Greater Antilles. The island is shaped like a rectangle with a maximum length from east to west of 178 kilometers with a width from north to south of 68 kilometers. The total area of Puerto Rico (including the islands of Vieques, Culebra, and Mona Island) is 8,897 square kilometers. The population is predominantly of Spanish and African ancestry, mainly bilingual; with Spanish being the official language (Cevallos, 1985). Puerto Rico has been filled with controversy (due to conflict over status of the island as well as conflict between those living on the mainland and those remaining on the island) long before United States occupation in 1898. Controversies and conflicts continue and may never cease, however, it is imperative that attention be given to the difficulties which confront the Puerto Rican of today. As the turn of the century quickly approaches and another election year draws near, the issues of empowerment and greater understanding of this population become crucial to their self-actualization. It is with this in mind that the references in this annotated bibliography have been chosen. They were compiled over a four year period which began while I was a doctoral student at Iowa State University. I chose to include references which cover a broad range of topics and cover as many aspects of the Puerto Rican experience as possible, both historical and present day. The topics included are from the social sciences, economics, and politics. A great effort was made to include both scholarly research as well as general interest information for those desiring to become better informed about Puerto Rico and its people. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This annotated bibliography is based on my doctoral dissertation entitled "Low Birthweight, Infant Mortality, Acculturation, and Nutrition: A Explanation of Between Group Differences Among Latinos." In reviewing the literature, it became clear to me that the subject was "distended. Sources ranged from the fields of medicine, sociology, psychology, anthropology, health, and nutrition. There was no comprehensive article that addressed low birthweight in the context of Latinos. This work seeks to provide that source. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

It is frustrating for me to write about this topic because it is emotionally charged. As a state consultant, I have had to travel around the state school systems to monitor and provide technical assistance to the 55 plus migrant education programs. During all these years I have observed the classrooms, talked to teachers, administrators, parents, farmworkers, health and social service providers. This experience has provided me with certain data that is of great importance. I can only speak as a member of a Hispanic group and from this perspective I may sound hurt and offended by the expressions I use to report what I have seen. While some may hold my credentials questionable, I can only affirm that they should try going to another country and work on a Ph.D. in another language that is not their native tongue. I guess I have been one of the lucky ones that got out of the barrio and made it regardless of the gangs, drugs, violence, and limited economic family conditions. As a consultant, I have made an effort to continue reading and educating myself. Unless an education consultant reads the latest research, teaches at a school, and works on problem solving in the area of expertise, write research papers, and actively participate as an advocate for the migrant children, he or she are prone to vegetate in this field. Sorry to be insulting to some who fit the description but this is a plain and simple fact. Just by looking at the students fail in the classroom, walking the school hallways, talking with frustrated teachers, parents and administrators, and having lunch and dinner with politicians does not qualify any person for recommending any significant changes in curriculum or educational approaches?. Just because a person is of Hispanic heritage, looks Hispanic or speaks Spanish doesn't mean that he or she has a license to say what is right or wrong for all Hispanic children in their school district or state?. I personally would not even attempt to recommend anything unless I study each situation thoroughly. I do not use my ethnicity as a flag or diploma to make me capable of providing expert advise. It takes more than being Hispanic or having a Spanish surname. It takes hard work and constant learning to effectively do such activities. Enough of setting the record straight. The purpose of this paper is to point to challenges and solutions for educating migrant students for the next five(5) years. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

International migration to the United States experienced a dramatice change over the last two decades. The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act that abolished the national origins quota system established in 1924, gave rise to a more diversified pool of legal immigrants. Unlike past immigration coming from Europe, most immigrants now come from developing countries mainly from Asia and Latin America. For example, between 1971 and 1990, while legal immigration from Europe decreased five percent, immigration increased rapidly from Central America (248 percent), Mexico (159 percent) and Asia (72 percent) (INS, 1992). Due to the operation of social networks it is likely that undocumented migration followed a similiar pattern. In this context, some contend that the arrival of new immigrants is accelerating the conentration of poverty in certain regions in the United States. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The primary focus of this conference is to examine the impacts and policy consequences of international migration to rural communities of California. Our assignment is to identify and discuss the immediate or eventual effects of the transformation of many rural communities into binational migration nodes on urban centers such as Fresno. We attempt to accomplish this assignment by first examining available secondary data on social and economic changes that have occured in Fresno during the past two decades. Included in this discussion are analyses of the growth and composition of population and employment, demographic changes and an assesment of potential effects of immigration-induced changes on public services, education and other socioeconomic indicators. At this point, we can only indentify potential rather than actual causality between immigration and socioeconomic changes. Within the context of rapid community change forged by numerous factors, it is also impossible to quantify the importance of these relationships. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Among the key selling points of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was the notion that the economic benefits of treaty's passage would slow Mexico-US migration. Whatever the ultimate extent of NAFTA's economic consequences, it is argued here that the treaty's implementation will stimulate more migration than it will stem. This is because neither the quality nor the quantity of the NAFTA-induced jobs on the Mexican side, the key ingredient in the migration-supression hypothesis, will be sufficient to deter many northern bound labor migrants. In addition, the economic integration process itself will entail job-losses in Mexico that will stimulate increased migration. On balance, therefore, outmigration will increase, rather than decrease. Despite this prediction, it is also argued here that Michigan, while sure to remain among the states most actively involved in financial dealings with Mexico, is not likely to be among the major receivers of the enhanced migration streams. Michigan will host little increased migration because most such migrants are likely to enter via existing trajectories which currently funnel large numbers of migrants. The best data available suggest that very little direct immigration from Mexico is currently steered toward Michigan. For example, the Mexican-origin population in the state grew at a very low rate during the 1980s, a decade of record Mexican immigration, and only a portion of this growth could have been due to migration. Indeed, in absolute terms, the state's Mexican-origin population grew faster in the 1970s than the 1980s, and it is likely that the portion of the growth due to migration came largely from other parts of the US, rather than from Mexico. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Between 1900 and 1930, slightly more than one million Mexicans, repsrestning about ten percent of Mexico's population, moved north into the lands the United States had wrested from Mexico during the nineteenth century. any went beyond the southwest into the Mid-West and other regions of the country. The immigrants were drawn north primarily by the lure of securing well-paying jobs in America's burgeoning industries and developing agribusiness empires. The immigrants left for other reasons as well; most notably, as a means to cope with the political instability and economic dislocations unleashed by the Mexican Revolution (roughly 1910-1917) and with the civil unrest and economic hardships that followed in the 1920s. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This article is based on a study of the work experience of production workers at MaikroTek's (a pseudonym) computer manufacturing division in California's Silicon Valley. The majority of the labor force was composed of men and women of color and white women, groups that presently are the fastest growing (Johnston and Packer 1987) populations in the workforce. At the time of this study, participatory management policies were being implemented in major corporations throughout the country; MaikroTek was at the forefront of companies with such policies. This study will show that men and women of color and white men and women hold different places in the firm's internal labor market, and that participatory management policies pose new problems for these workers. On the surface, such policies appear to provide more participation for all employees. However, this study reveals a differential effect on workers depending on structural and socio-demographic factors. Second, different groups of women workers responded differently to participatory management policies and to management's actions during the economy-wide recession of 1982-1983. Third, the present study confirms that working conditions in the primary sector of the industry are much better than secondary sector jobs. At MaikroTek workers have stable employment, relatively high wages, and fringe benefits on the job. At MaikroTek however, the heterogeneity within and among women and workers of color is such that workers' responses to management policies vary. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Having worked and interacted with the Litno community in a Mid-Michigan city for the past six years, there have been many opportunities to observe the unique characteristics of the Latino elderly in this community. They are fascinating individuals with diverse experiences of life and they are all survivors. They have met the challenges of life as a minority in a majority society. Yet, they maintain a cultural identity that is rooted in a solid fountain of pride. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

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The Julian Samora Research Institute (JSRI) in conjunction with Michigan State University (MSU) Cooperative Extension conducted a survey of Hispanic Community Based Organizations (CBOs) during the summer of 1994.

 

The survey had several goals: 1) to identify and compile a list of community organizations offering services of interest to the Hispanic community of Michigan; 2) to assess the focus, scope, attributes, contributions and common concerns of these organizations; and 3) to collect information concerning current operating budgets and sources of funds.

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Summary

The purpose of this report is to present an analysis of the results of the survey and comments made by participants at the "Building Partnerships: Growers, Farmworkers and Agencies United" conference. This event was the Governor's Interagency Migrant Services Committee 1994 Annual Conference. It was organized "to cultivate partnerships among growers, farmworkers, and agencies that deal with farm labor sector concerns". The survey covered 51 growers and grower associations, 35 seasonal farmworkers, and 74 migrant farmworkers. The report evaluates the parallels and disparities of interest among workers and growers as well as outlining the future challenges facing the Committee. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The phenomenon of Chicanos/Latinos settling out of the migrant stream in Minnesota is not a new one. St. Paul's West Side and Minneapolis' North Side were built by Chicanos/Mexicanos who settled out during the off-season or came to find jobs in the rail or meatpacking industries. Although the process is not new, the places migrants now settle are. The fastest growing Chicano/ Latino population in Minnesota is no longer in the Twin Cities metropolitan area; it is in rural Minnesota. Willmar Minnesota is now the home to the third largest Chicano/Latino community in Minnesota. The Chicano/Latino population has grown 750% over the past 10 years. The vast majority of these new residents are migrants who have put down roots in Willmar and in the larger community of Kandiyohi County, located in West Central Minnesota. Ninety percent of Willmar's Chicano/Latino population consists of Tejanos, or of people who migrated directly from Texas. The majority of residents came from the Rio Grand Valley. Green conducts a case study on Willmar, Wisconsin, in order to better understand the settlement patterns of Chicano/Latino migrants. The author discusses major economic and social conditions that encouraged this settlement. Also addressed are changes that this settlement necessitated as well as the issues it raised and continues to raise. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Agriculture is one of the most hazardous industries in the United States, especially for those who perform agricultural labor. Migrant and seasonal farmworkers[1] experience risks to their health from exposure to allergenic elements, improperly operated and/or inadequately maintained farm machinery, poor sanitation in the camps and fields, sub-standard and/or crowded housing, and the stress and long hours of work. These conditions lower resistence to common ailments and infectious disease (Coye, 1985; Dever 1991; Spielberg Benitez, 1983), and they increase the likelihood of musculoskeletal problems (Wilk, 1986) and stress-related disorders (Dever, 1991), such as adult-onset diabetes (Scheder, 1988). Along with these problems, public health officials recently have become aware that there also is a risk of HIV infection among farmworkers, that has the potential to increase, since AIDS cases are no less prevalent among migrant and seasonal farmworkers than among the general population (Castro, & Narkunas, 1989). It is noteworthy that in at least one state having large numbers of farmworkers prevalence rates for seropositivity are higher among migrant workers than other populations (Frees, Polkowski et al., 1992). View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Consciously or not, those of us involved in Border Studies operate within a generally agreed parameter about what constitutes the U.S.-Mexico Border and its study. Today, representatives of various disciplines, as well as proponents of different perspectives and individuals in both countries, increasingly refer to a basic group of assumptions when discussing the region. Although much disagreement surrounds Border studies, some of it heated, research mostly departs from the same nucleus of premises. We mostly agree, for instance, that the Border that joins Mexico and the United States comprises far more than the strip of land contiguous to the international boundary. Most concur that it is a region whose identity, economic activities, cultural life, etc., supersedes its binational nature to be integrated in many respects. Although it appears to be a straightforward and self-evident concept from our vantage point, many years of convoluted research trails through parched deserts were necessary to reach that point. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This bibliography focuses on the inter-institutional linkage that shapes the education experiences of racial ethnic students in the United States. Though we are especially concerned with presenting the citations on Latinos as the highest at-risk population, the bibliography nevertheless contains material on how varied race and class connections between families and schools produce different educational experiences, and unequal outcomes for minorities. The bibliography is organized into five subject headings. General work on racial inequality in higher education. Cultural approaches and their critiques. Structural approaches and social connections. The interlocking of families and schools. Programs and policies for bridging families and schools. The authors discuss the United States' increasing diversity and its relation to intensified global economic competition. Current issues and trends in minority education are addressed, as well as predictions of the economic future of minorities. The authors discuss the relevance of this issue for both minorities and society at large. Also addressed is the body of research on student academic success as well as an annotated bibliography of these materials. The bibliography includes specific information on five areas: general work on racial inequality in higher education; cultural approaches and their critiques; structural approaches and social connections; the interlocking of families and schools; and programs and policies for bridging families and schools. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In the wake of worldwide economic and political restructuring, migrations have both accelerated and have a growing presence in national labor markets. To a large extent, the role this labor takes within different economies reflects state policies toward achieving competitiveness. As illustration, this paper pursues two questions: what meaning can be attributed to the economic purpose of immigrant labor in diverse socio-economic systems; and accordingly, what implications can be drawn about the fluidity of borders as a result. Distinctions are made among liberal, corportist, and authoritarian governments using examples from the United States, Japan, Germany, and Kuwait. The conclusion is made that the redefinition of borders, and hence national sovereignty, is inextricably tied to the demarcation of internal and external labor markets, and to the leverage the state maintains in reconciling the two. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Poverty has been an issue that has been fought against for decades. In this paper, the author discusses the levels of poverty within the Hispanic community. The poverty rates among the different Hispanic groups vary considerably, even among the two major, and most impoverished of the groups, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans. Associated with these indicators of deprivation among urban minorities have been other signs of potential distress. Within recent years, the rate of joblessness, female headship, and welfare receipt has risen among minorities. The patterning of these trends gives rise to numerous questions, such as why minorities fare so poorly on these indicators relative to whites, including those whites with whom they share urban space and common labor markets. In addition, what explains the sizable differences in how the different minority groups compare among themselves on such indicators of distress as poverty and joblessness. Although a complete consensus has yet to emerge on the basic underlying causes of these phenomena, a number of theoretical explanations have emerged in the literature to explain some of these problems. The results of this work ultimately raise as many questions as they answer, a number of important shortcomings of the contemporary perspectives on poverty are suggested as well as a number of clear directions for further research. Aponte explores the reasons behind the persistence of poverty among inner city minorities. He engages in a historical and statistical analysis of various cities, analyzing an array of theories and findings on Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Blacks. Many existing theories, Aponte argues, do not account for the variation in problems encountered by the different groups. Aponte finally attributes this "urban dilemma" of minority poverty to the structure of opportunities within the cities. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In this paper we present two case studies based on an analysis of interviews conducted during their participation in two distinct field placement experiences. The case studies illustrate how personal beliefs about instruction, contrasting field placements, and opportunities for reflection on those experiences influenced the thinking of the two elementary education students. The case studies highlight the difficulties pre-service teachers face in recognizing biases and misconceptions they have about children with whom they do not share a culture. In addition, the studies provide direction for thinking more clearly about the opportunities that can be fostered by community field placements. These community field placements could help pre-service teachers and other educators to confront and adjust assumptions regarding (a) learning and knowledge in non-school contexts, and (b) the abilities of children from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Finally, the studies challenge and modify assumptions regarding appropriate classroom roles for teachers and students. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Northwest Ohio is one of several areas in the Great Lakes region specializing in a variety of cash crops that historically requires great influxes of migratory labor for brief periods of cultivation and harvesting. Bad economic conditions of migrant tomato pickers in northwest Ohio gave rise to their unionization between 1967-69. Baldemar Velasquez and the Farm Labor Organizing Committee (FLOC) made strong effort at organizing them and succeeded in negotiating 21 contracts in 1968 and an additional 11 contracts in 1969. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Wisconsin is one of several states in the Great Lakes region specializing in a variety of cash crops that historically require great influxes of migratory labor for brief periods of cultivation, harvesting, and processing. Successful organizing of migrant pickle workers by Jesus Salas in 1967 led to the certification of his union, Obreros Unidos United Workers, as the workers exclusive bargaining representative. Despite the successful organizing efforts however, the end result of the collective bargaining efforts was the elimination of bargaining unit employee jobs by mechanical harvesting before a contract was ever signed. The theoretical frame of reference developed by Craypo (1986) is used to explain the union's organizing success and failed collective bargaining. The model shows that the sources of union bargaining strength were established initially, but because of the changing bargaining environment they were not maintained long enough to successfully negotiate a single contract. The shirking of farm-worker collective bargaining occurred through changes in the company's organizational structure, technology, and the policy of the state's legal apparatus. All combined to erode the union's bargaining power and caused the union's eventual demise, The analysis also shows that agricultural production via contract farming is a significant determinant of migrant field labor collective bargaining structures and outcomes. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper examines how the changing economy of the Midwest region has affected and is expected to affect Latinos' health based on a review of the literature on the region's "deindustrialization" process, the participation of Latinos in the region's economy, and the effect of worker displacement, unemployment and poverty on health status. Due to lack of information specific to Latinos, the assessment on the effect of worker displacement on Latino health status is made by extrapolating from studies performed on other non-Latino populations which share, at least, some of the Latino socioeconomic experiences and characteristics. Based on the available evidence, the most plausible scenario is that the structural changes in the Midwest economy are contributing to a deterioration of Latinos' health status. The implications for policy-making and implementation are discussed. About the author: Dr. Roberto E. Torres is King/Chavez/Parks Visiting Lecturer at the Eastern Michigan University Health Administration Program and Research Associate with the Julian Samora Research Institute at Michigan State University. Dr. Torres holds a Ph.D. in SocioTechnological Planning with a specialization in health-care planning and administration. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

Understanding and building upon diversity in education has received national attention (AACTE, 1989; Holmes, 1986, 1990). This concern is largely in response to the increasing number of children from linguistically and culturally different backgrounds, many of whom are at risk of school failure (Trueba, 1990). The "urgency" of this situation was vividly recorded a decade ago, by the 40 and 50 percent drop-out rates among MexicanAmerican and Puerto Rican students respectively (Jusenius & Duarte, 1982). In contrast, demographic reports indicate that the racial/ethnic composition of teachers is increasingly non-minority. This striking imbalance between the student and teaching populations appears to ensure that in the near future, all teachers will be instructing students whose cultural backgrounds are different from their own (Grant and Secada, 1990). Historically, teacher education has prepared teachers to effectively instruct only one cultural group--dominant, mainstream America (Lindsey, 1985). Therefore, novices are woefully underprepared to effectively teach students from diverse backgrounds. Ironically, first year teachers are often placed in urban schools which typically serve culturally and linguistically different children (Zimpher, 1989). An especially difficult task is providing minority students with meaningful literacy instruction (Delpit, 1988; Heath, 1983; Michaels, 1981; Moll & Diaz, 1985). Although a variety of understandings about literacy and its expression have been reported (Au & Mason, 1981; Gallego & Hollingsworth, 1992; Heath, 1983; Vasquez, 1989), teachers' own culturally biased views of literacy inhibit their ability to recognize and validate alternative literacy uses and styles (Ferdman, 1990). Such discrepancies make teaching and learning difficult and position the issue of diversity as a problem rather than a resource. Diversity emerges as a paramount instructional challenge for both prospective teachers and teacher educators. For teachers, multicultural education holds promise for recognizing and reconciling divergent perspectives. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

I attempt a rhetorical reading of print on three walls or surfaces within a Latino community that is mostly Mexican in origin and living in a medium-sized Midwestern city. The three surfaces are the bedroom walls of a teenaged child whose parents are mexicano, the Spanish print on downtown storefronts, and gang graffiti on buildings close to a new strip mall. I read these surfaces in order to highlight the socioeconomic and ethnic tensions of the city. In a larger sense, however, my reading also argues that communities, particularly in modern urban settings, are woven with each others ways of being, and this means that traditional notions of cultural and ethnic identity are questionable. Another argument of the paper concerns the rhetorical nature of social science texts, particularly ethnographic texts; hence, knowledge-making is also story-making. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper seeks to look at the complex processes and discourses in the construction of identity among Mexican-Americans in St. Paul, Minn., during the post-war period of 1945-1960. The Cold War era was chosen as a pivotal period in the history of this community because of the ways in which cultural trends of conformity, consumerism, and progress shaped the formation of ethnic identity. It is the assertion of this paper that the construction of ethnicity within a group arises out of a complex interaction between external and internal influences. Thus, ethnic identity is a result of the tension between social and political contexts, arising from the desire of the group to maintain cultural traditions within a society that requires a certain degree of conformity from immigrants. Within the context of contemporary ideas about cultural pluralism, Mexican-Americans in St. Paul were significantly affected by the pressure to conform to post-war Minnesota society. However, members of the community did not desire a complete surrender of important cultural traditions and values and so constantly sought to define their distinctiveness. The formation of ethnic identity was, therefore, a process of interaction between the White communities' definition of the Mexican-American community and its own constructions of ethnicity. The category called Mexican-American and the definitions of its difference from other racially coded constructions therefore may not be assumed and essentialized, but historicized in time, place, and process. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

The following essay presents an overview of various issues concerning the high rate of poverty among urban Hispanics (Latinos) in the United States. The major contemporary theories and hypotheses relating to poverty among ethnic or racial minorities are briefly outlined with a view toward assessing how well they appear to help explain the impoverishment of urban Latinos. None of the explanations covered appears to fully explain the problem by itself, although two or three appear to account well for a substantial part of it. In part, this is likely to result from the fact that the Hispanic population of the United States consists of several subgroups with vastly different experiences in this country. Indeed, the initial and major arguments of the paper consist of emphasizing the importance of separating the Latino subgroups for individual treatment when analyzing their respective economic circumstances. In particular, it is shown that differences in the subgroups' timing and patterns of settlement can affect their relative well-being. The focus of the essay is on the two largest of the Latino subgroups, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans, who together are shown to account for over 4 out of 5 of the known Hispanic poor. The author gratefully acknowledges the helpful comments on early drafts of this paper by Julie Quiroz, of the National Council of La Raza, and Dr. Joseph Spielberg Benitez, Julian Samora Research Institute. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper examines the current health status of the Latino population in the Midwest region based on the available data. There is a critical lack of data on health status and health-related issues of Latinos in the Midwest. Statistics indicate that heart disease and cancer are the two leading causes of death in this population. There are also indications that diabetes, cirrhosis, mental illnesses, hypertension, arthritis, substance abuse, AIDS, homicide and infectious diseases represent serious threats to the health of Latinos. Maternal and child health seems to be poor in many respects. Improvements on the Latino health status will require not just health programs tailored to their particular needs but, even more important, an active participation in the labor force within the Midwest economy. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In this working paper Dr. Ruiz analyzes previously published selections of poetry written by Chicano and Puerto Rican poets from Detroit in the 1980's. The two major themes expressed and analyzed in this selection reflect two central concerns of the Latino community of this city. The first theme is that of retaining pride in their cultural heritage in spite of the pressures exerted by the dominant, hegemonic culture and society. The second theme deals with the social conditions and problems endured by Detroit's predominantly working class Latinos in their struggle for existence. The author is grateful to the poets and Casa de Unida for their kind permission to reproduce the poems included herein. About the Author: Dr. Ruiz is an associate professor of Spanish Literature in the Department of Foreign Languages at Wayne State University. A native of New Mexico, Dr. Ruiz has degrees from Kent State University, the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico. He has recently published his first novel, Encuentro con Estanislao Eckermann. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper examines the large scale trends in America's agriculture leading to larger and fewer farms and changes in the farm population and hired worker patterns. The author draws out several important implications for Latino farm laborers, especially seasonal and migrant farm workers. The overall implication of these changes is that they will lead to a greater regulation of farm labor which, in turn, could lead to fewer employment possibilities for domestic Latino farm workers and greater utilization of imported farm labor. Also laid out are several issues for research related to these trends and their implications. Dr. Rochín examines the large scale trends in America's agriculture leading to larger and fewer farms as well as changes in the farming population and hired worker patterns. Rochín then draws out several important implications for Latino farm laborers, with an emphasis on seasonal and migrant farm workers. The author argues that these changes will lead to a greater structuration and regulation of farm labor which, in turn, could lead to fewer employment possibilities for domestic Latino farm workers and a greater utilization of imported farm labor. Several research issues related to these trends and their implications are also explored. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

In 1980, a million Hispanics resided in five Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The Midwest, however, is not a region of the country generally associated with a Hispanic population. Few studies on the economic performance of Hispanics in the Midwest are available. This study examines how Midwest Hispanics have fared in the labor market during the changing economic conditions of the last decade. Using 1970 Census data, the 1976 Survey of Income and Education, and the MArch 1981 Current Population Survey, the employment status of Midwest Hispanics during the last decade is examined. Favorable employment conditions characterized the beginning of the decade; the national employment rate in April 1970 was 4.3 percent. The Midwest reported in 1970 a higher median income for Hispanics than any other region. The Hispanic population was expected to increase dramatically due to favorable economic conditions. The seventies, however, materialized as a decade of economic contraction. By 1980, unemployment rates in the region approached historic levels. With the exception of Illinois, the projected increase in the Midwest Hispanic population in 1980 did not occur. During the economic downturn, Hispanics experiences higher rates of unemployment than whites. Hispanics continues to be especially vulnerable to a decline in industrial jobs; over half of the males and two-fifths of the females attributed their employment in 1980 to manufacturing. Although Hispanics will benefit from efforts to revitalize basic industries such as steel, auto, and rubber, revitalization of industrial America will not by itself guarantee jobs for Hispanics. Many of the new industrial jobs will require advanced skills and training. Unless revitalization involves addressing the low educational attainment of Hispanics, these industrial Jobs will be beyond the grasp of Hispanic workers. Finally, discrimination against Hispanic workers continued in both the best and worst of economic times. Hispanic males earned in 1969 about one-fifth less than whites, and the gap continued throughout the decade. A prior study in 1970 showed the earnings gap remained, even after controlling for human capital characteristics. A cursory analysis of males' earnings in 1980 showed a higher rate of return for schooling for whites than Hispanics. These findings suggest the need for strong anti-discrimination efforts by the government in favorable as well as unfavorable employment conditions. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")

Summary

This paper examines 1980 patterns of spatial isolation and interaction between persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican and Cuban descent in selected U.S. metropolitan areas. Each group experiences low to moderate levels of isolation from the rest of the metropolitan population. In addition, contact between these groups is relatively low. The effects of socioeconomic status, size and growth of group population, level of suburbanization, racial composition of group, supply and demand for housing and discriminatory practices in the housing market on residential segregation were explored using regression analysis. Results suggest that overall the model is a good predictor of spatial isolation experienced by these groups. However, the model is not very strong in predicting variations in the degree of interaction between these groups except in the Puerto Rican specifications. These findings underscore the need for further scrutiny of existing theoretical assumptions as adequate explanations for prevailing patterns of interaction between Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. View PDF (to download, right click on the link and select "save link as")