A sense of place: Sikh identity in Great Britain and Hong Kong
Although evidence points to Sikhs being present on the day that Hong Kong became a British territory, Sikhs in Hong Kong remain a relatively unexamined group. Based on data gathered as part of a wider study of processes of religious transmission among young British Sikhs and on fieldwork carried out among the Sikh community in Hong Kong, this article follows Dusenbery's (2008) studies of Sikhs around the world to focus on a) how Sikhs understand their place in their social world and b) how they respond to being a minority in every country in which they are resident. Examining the literature on Hong Kong Sikhs in relation to their status and position within wider Hong Kong society, I compare the contexts, issues and challenges faced by Sikhs in Hong Kong with those in Great Britain. The article demonstrates that although many Sikhs have links to the Punjab, local context and local imaginings impact on religious identity and citizenship.
Mediated sense of place: Effects of mediation and mobility on the place perception of German professionals in Singapore
This article examines the differences that digital media (Internet and mobile communications) and mobility create for sense of place. Based on in-depth interviews with 30 German professionals in Singapore, it analyses digital media choices and use during the relocation and settlement process in the destination of migration and the effect of these practices on migrants’ perception of place. It demonstrates how the primary reason to use digital media conversed from individual interests and needs in relation to the relocation and/or initial exploration of the city to the social and emotional ramifications of their use the longer the interviewees stayed in Singapore. It makes a theoretical contribution to the understanding of how digital and offline places combine in the construction of sense of place, how the digital sphere affects engagements with place, attachment to it and sensuous experiences of it.
Testing the Core Empirical Implications of Gottfredson and Hirschi's General Theory of Crime
In A General Theory of Crime, Gottfredson and Hirschi propose that low self-control, in interaction with criminal opportunity, is the major cause of crime. The research reported in this article attempts to test this argument while closely following the nominal definitions presented by Gottfredson and Hirschi. A factor analysis of items designed to measure low self-control is consistent with their contention that the trait is unidimensional. Further, the proposed interaction effect is found for self-reported acts of both fraud and force (their definition of crime). Inconsistent with the theory are (a) the finding that criminal opportunity has a significant main effect, beyond its interaction with low self-control, on self-reported crime and (b) the substantial proportion of variance in crime left unexplained by the theoretical variables. Suggestions are offered for modifying and expanding the theory.