Language-related criteria as determinants of ethnicity : Goals and results of a feasibility study in the Netherlands
This paper addresses the potential value of language-related criteria for use in identifying ethnic minorities in the Netherlands. A description of the way the Dutch government defines ethnic minority groups is followed by a comparative outline of the use of language-related criteria in countries with a longer tradition of immigration (Australia, Canada, the United States, Great Britain, and Sweden). A study carried out in 1991 in the Netherlands explored both the feasibility.of collecting data on home language use of school children (a survey study) and the value of home language-related criteria as possible determinants of ethnicity (a validation study). The survey study yielded questionnaire data on the ethnicity of 5,788 primary school students. Subject groups were identified as Mediterranean (Moroccan and Turkish children) and ex-colonial (Surinamese, Antillean, and Moloccuan children) for the validation study, in which they were interviewed in Turkish, Arabic, or Berber and were given a bilingual receptive vocabulary test. The results of the survey support the usefulness of five criteria (home language use, language proficiency, language choice, language dominance, and language preference) in the identification of children belonging to different ethnic groups. The validation study showed a high stability and consistency of home language use, language proficiency, and language choice. (Contains 24 references.) (JP) ********************************************************************* * Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** YYlot.: c...,0L ci ALA. NitluAL...-oto t c3(3-1 LANGUAGE-RELATED CRITERIA AS DETERMINANTS OF ETHNICITY. GOALS AND RESULTS OF A FEASIBILITY STUDY IN THE NETHERLANDS Peter Broeder, Guus Extra and Roeland van Hout Research Group on Language and Minorities Tilburg University The Netherlands 1. Introducdon The concept of ethnic minorities commonly refers to group-hound characteristics in terms of language, culture or religion. For identifying ethnic minorities in the Netherlands language-related criteria are not applied in official statistics. In this contribution we want to discuss the potential value of language-related criteria. We start out with a description of the way the Dutch government defmes ethnic minority groups (Section 2), followed by a comparative outline of the use of language-related criteria in countries with a longer tradition of immigration (Section 3). In Section 4, the design of a feasibility study we have carried out in the Dutch town of Den Bosch is presented. The main aim of this home language survey (HLS) was twofold: (a) to investigate the feasibility of collecting data on home language use in an efficient way with a minimal burden on children and teachers at schools; (b) to investigate whether the collected data are reliable and useful, that is, to establish the (surplus) value of language-related criteria as possible determivants of ethnicity. The results are reported in Section 5. The main conclusions are summarized and discussed in Section 6. 2. Ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands In Dutch governmental policy, a strong reluctance can in fact be observed to dcfme ethnic minority groups. Traditionally, these groups have been listed rather than defmed. Since the Minderhedennota (1983) of the Ministry of the Interior, the following groups have officially been taken into account Moluccans; Surinamese and Antilleans; foreign workers and their families from Greece, Italy, former Yugoslavia, Cape Verdeans, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunesia, or Turkey; gipsies; refugees. A decisive factor in this list is socio-economic status. The Chinese community is explicitly excluded with the argument that it has not been shown that the Chinese have a comparably iow socio-economic status. The focus on socio-economic status in determining ethnic minorities has led to an obvious underestimation of relevant ethnic parameters like language and culture. In spite 'PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." U II DEPAATMENT OP EDUCATION Onc a Educanonsi Fleamleth ono Impeovvnenr E DUCA TIONAL Fh....)URCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) Ns (10Cucint 1,011 Wan r*Of0OuCed an oloCenlIO Mu, the person Or 0,01...tabon (wnst(ng .1 r Mtnor cnanges neva Moen mule to (rnprone ralPoductoon otnoty Poffits of vow or oornona mated (nuns Om, nttnf do not nrwmanno rOrsent OntOtAI OERI posthon 0. nottd 2 1 of the rhetorics on the Netherlands as a multicultural and multilingual society, minority policy is in fact equalized to a policy on disadvantages and deficits. The above-mentioned list of ethnic minority groups is not based on ethno-cultural norms or values, nor does it take into account intergenerational processes that affect these norms and values. Moreover, the list may change, depending on particular areas of governmental policy. For example, in the field of primary education, home language instruction can be offered to the following target groups: children who have at least one parent of Moluccan origin; children of foreign workers from the Mediterranean countries mentioned above; children of refugees. However, Antillean and Surinamese children (the official language in their country of origin being Dutch) and Chinese children are excluded from horne language instruction. Moreover, instruction is limited to children whose parents came from abroad. Apart from the definition of ethnic minority groups, their identification is a problematic areaas well. On a yearly basis, official statistics are collected on those ethnic minority groups in the Netherlands which are the target groups of govenunental policy. The trend studies carried out by the Rotterdam Institute of Socio-Economic Research and the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) include information on size, composition and spread. The traditional criteria applied are nationality and country of birth. However, there is growing evidence (cf. Roelandt et al. 1991) that there are serious problems with the applicability of these criteria in the identification of ethnic minorities. Firstly, nationality is not a useful criterion for those groups which possess the Dutch nationality due to the Dutch colonial past (e.g., Antilleans and part of the Surinamese) or due to processes of naturalization (e.g., part of the Moroccans and Turks). Secondly, country of birth is obviously no longer a useful criterion for descendants of immigrants who were born in the Netherlands. Confronted with an increasing erosion of basic statistics, the Ministry of the Interior made a proposal for municipal data collection on ethnic minority groups based on the following list of questions (cf. Fernandes Mendes 1991): la Wat is uw nationaliteit? (What is your nationality?) lb Was dit ook uw nationaliteit op I januari van dit jaar? (Was this also your nationality on January 1 of this year?') 2 In welk land bent u geboren? (In which country were you born?') 3 In welk land is uw vader geboren? (In which country was your father born?') 4 In welk land is uw moeder geboren? (In which country was your mother bom?') 5 Tot welke bevolkingsgroep rekent u zich? ("To which population group do you consider yourself to belong?') Question 1 relates to a purely legally based type of identification. In combination, questions 2-4 would lead to identification of first and second generation immigrants, whereas question 5 would lead to identification based on self-defmition. The latter question, however, met with serious objections from a variety of majority and minority organizations in the Netherlands, due to its subjective loading, the possibility of multiple self-categorization, and the potential misuse of the collected data.
Language as a Core Value of Culture
Core values can be regarded as forming one of the most fundamental components of a group’s culture. They generally represent its very heartland and act as identifying values which are symbolic of the group and its membership. Rejection of core values carries with it the threat of exclusion from the group. Indeed, the deviant individual may himself feel unable to continue as a member. Core values are singled out for special attention because they provide the indispensable link between the group’s cultural and social systems; in their absence both systems would suffer eventual disintegration. Indeed, it is through core values that social groups can be identified as distinctive ethnic, religious, scientific or other cultural communities.
Linear Programming in the Allocation of Milk Resources for Cheese Making
Abstract To use linear programming, the cheese making process can be modeled as a resource conversion process. The relationship between input milk resources and output products can be analyzed using mass balance assumptions. The variables used in the linear programming model will represent the pounds of each milk resource chosen to formulate a vat of cheese milk. Additional variables will be used to represent the pounds of cream to be removed from a milk resource that has the potential to have cream removed. Three objectives that could be considered are 1) maximize net returns, 2) maximize cheese yield, or 3) minimize cost. A hypothetical example is used to illustrate how the cheese making process can be modeled. This linear programming model depends on formulas that relate ratio of casein to fat of milk to the fat on the dry basis of the cheese. Sensitivity analysis is performed to determine at what cost a milk resource not in the optimal formulation will replace a milk resource currently in the optimal formulation. The linear programming model can be an effective management tool in the allocation of milk resources for cheese making.