0000000000026713
AUTHOR
Inta Mieriņa
UL Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research
The activities of the UL Centre for Diaspora and Migration Research are based on innovation and interdisciplinary cooperation between the UL faculties, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Latvia and other Latvian and international institutions, as well as diaspora researchers worldwide.
Getting support in polarized societies: Income, social networks, and socioeconomic context
AbstractThis paper explores how unequal resources and social and economic polarization affects the size of social networks and their use to access resources. We argue that individual resource position generates divergent expectations with regard to the impact of polarization on the size of networks on one hand, and their usefulness for accessing resources on the other. Social and economic polarization encourages reliance on informal networks, but those at the bottom of the social structure are forced to rely on more extensive networks than the wealthy to compensate for their isolated and underprivileged position. At the same time, social and economic polarization limits the resources the po…
An Integrated Approach to Surveying Emigrants Worldwide
AbstractThis chapter describes the research design applied in the research project The Emigrant Communities of Latvia: National Identity, Transnational Relations and Diaspora Politics, which forms the empirical core of this volume. It discusses this methodology in the context of other migration studies and major surveys on migration. Compared to previous studies The Emigrant Communities of Latvia is the most inclusive in terms of the target audience. All Latvians and Latvian nationals abroad were invited to participate in the survey, applying a broad and open definition of ‘Latvian diaspora’ based on personal identification with the Latvian nation and/or citizenship. Being Web-based, the su…
WHY DID THEY NEED TO COME NOW? COVID-19 CRISIS STRAINS RELATIONSHIPS WITH RETURNING AND VISITING COMPATRIOTS
One of the first areas severely hit by the Covid-19 pandemic was international travel. In March/April, with commercial flights coming to a near halt, the governments were struggling to help their stranded citizens to return home. Extra flights and ferry trips were organised, and the opportunity to return was used by many emigrants worried about the uncertainty and the possible future development of the pandemic. This paper containing both data collected through survey and in-depth interviews with people aged 50+ in Latvia, is the first to explore the reactions of the society to repatriation policy implemented by the government of Latvia, and to explore how the Covid-19 situation has affecte…
Politiskā līdzdalība un politisko attieksmju veidošanās postkomunisma valstīs
Elektroniskā versija nesatur pielikumus
Beyond ‘Left’ and ‘Right’? The Role of Culture and Context in Young People’s Understanding of Ideology
In this chapter, new comparative data from the MYPLACE survey is drawn on to explore how different ideological attitudes are linked to self-placement on the conventional 0–10 left–right political scale and, thus, shed light on what the concept of ‘left’ and ‘right’ means to young people today. It is found that the ideological beliefs most salient for young people when they place themselves on the left–right scale vary depending on the historical, political and cultural context. Although the majority are able to describe themselves in terms of ‘left’ and ‘right’, the meaning they attach to these notions differs from country to country. Accordingly, any cross-national analysis of ‘left’ and ‘…
CAN RETURN MIGRATION REVITALISE LATVIA’S REGIONS? FACILITATORS AND BARRIERS TO HUMAN CAPITAL GAINS
Migration researchers from East-Central Europe most often focus on the impact of ‘brain drain’ which is characterised by the loss of human capital from emigration. In this paper focus is placed on the assumption that migrants living abroad gain valuable experiences and education opportunities, that lead to personal growth, facilitate entrepreneurship and psychological resilience, amongst other important skills. This experience may be used for the revitalisation of the less-developed regions the migrants return to. To explore what facilitates or inhibits the fulfil potential of ‘brain circulation’ or gain, we use data from two large-scale surveys of return migrants in Latvia, in-depth interv…
OVERCOMING SOCIAL ISOLATION WITH DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES AMONG AGEING POPULATIONS DURING COVID-19
During Covid-19 social isolation has become more common worldwide, however, some groups, especially elderly people, might have experienced dramatically limited communication due to the lack of skills and access to digital technologies. In this paper, we examined if education was associated with the use of digital technologies to maintain contacts with a family, friends, other social networks and services. The survey was conducted in June-August 2020 by doing 1089 computer-assisted telephone interviews. The questions examined how people aged 50 years and older coped with socioeconomic and health-related impact of COVID-19.We used logistic regression analysis to study the association between …
Latvian Emigrants in the United States: Different Waves, Different Identities?
AbstractThis chapter studies the relationships and interaction among the Latvian emigrants from different migration waves in the United States. It specifically examines reasons for the inability of the existing and politically and culturally active Latvian diaspora community in the United States to integrate newcomers from Latvia. The diaspora community is formed mostly of migrants who left Latvia after World War II. The research is based on a mix of two sources of information and methods – qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with the ‘new’ Latvian emigrants in the United States in 2014, who began arriving there in 1991 and quantitative data analysis of The Emigrant Communities of L…
Emigrant Communities of Latvia: Diaspora of Hope
Grāmatā apkopoti 14 analītiski raksti, kuru autori ir Latvijā pazīstami sociologi, ekonomisti un komunikācijas pētnieki. Monogrāfijas zinātniskā redaktore Inta Mieriņa norāda, ka par grāmatas vadmotīvu ir izvēlēts «cerību diasporas» jēdziens, kas Latvijas kontekstā aptver ne tikai emigrantus, kuri ieradušies jaunajās mītnes zemēs, bet arī palicējus — ģimenes, draugus, abstraktākā līmenī — valsti, kur arī gruzd sapņi un gaidas attiecībā uz aizbraukušajiem. Grāmata izdota Latvijas Universitātes Filozofijas un socioloģijas institūtā. Tā izstrādāta pētnieciskajā projektā «Latvijas emigrantu kopienas: nacionālā identitāte, transnacionālās attiecības un diasporas politika», kas ilga no 2014. gada…
Is Communism to Blame for Political Disenchantment in Post-Communist Countries? Cohort Analysis of Adults' Political Attitudes
In this article, we apply a new, original technique of cohort analysis to test empirically whether political disenchantment in the post-communist countries of Central and Eastern Europe can be linked to the previous political culture. On the basis of International Social Survey Programme 1996 and 2006 data we find a surprisingly similar and unique cohort effect in all analysed post-communist countries, reflecting persistent generational differences in perceived political competence (interest and understanding of political processes). However, the communist legacy does not seem to be important for explaining low self-efficacy or distrust in political authorities and their responsiveness to c…
Exploring non-cognitive predictors of mathematics achievement among 9th grade students
Abstract This article explores the role of mathematics self-beliefs, as well as personality traits, social attitudes and well-being in students' mathematics achievement. The analysis builds on a Web survey of 9th grade students in Latvia (N = 3083). Based on a hierarchical multilevel regression analysis we find that personality, social attitudes and wellbeing variables matter more for mathematics achievement than sociodemographic variables, yet mathematics self-beliefs account for an even larger amount of variance over and above that accounted for by sociodemographic variables and personality, social attitudes and well-being. Mathematics self-beliefs, most of all mathematics self-concept, w…
Latvijas zinātnieku diaspora: sadarbības tīkli un iespējas : pētījuma rezultāti
Pētījumstiek īstenots ERAF projektāNr.: 1.1.1.5/17/I/002 “Integrētie nacionālā līmeņa pasākumi Latvijas pētniecības un attīstības interesu pārstāvības stiprināsanai Eiropas pētniecības telpā”.