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The social sciences offer many insights into the causes of the intense ethnic conflicts that characterize the close of the twentieth century, but they also create obstacles to understanding these baffling problems, contends H. D. Forbes in this important book. Forbes takes a critical look at the "contact hypothesis"-the assumption commonly held by social scientists that increased contact between different ethnic groups gives each group more accurate information about the other and thus reduces friction. By distinguishing aggregate from individual relations, Forbes suggests a way out of the perplexities induced by current social science literature on prejudice and discrimination.Drawing on studies of the contact hypothesis in sociology and social psychology and on the literature on nationalism and ethnic conflict, this book provides the most thorough review of contact theory available. Scientific research suggests that increased contact between culturally distinct groups in some cases gives rise to more intense conflict. Yet individuals who get to know each other better generally like each other better. Can these apparently conflicting generalizations both be true? asks Forbes. They are, he argues, and he takes contemporary social science to task for failing to show how and why this is possible. The author clarifies the weaknesses of contact theory, develops an alternative "linguistic model" of ethnic conflict, and concludes with penetrating reflections on the politics and methodology of the social sciences today

The introduction by Jeffrey Reitz focuses on the evolution of Breton's distinctive institutional framework, which both extends and in some ways alters John Porter's classic analysis in The Vertical Mosaic. Reitz shows how Breton's original concept of "institutional completeness" has been extended to provide a comprehensive framework for the institutional analysis of inter-ethnic relations, creating a unified theoretical structure that has reshaped the study of inter-ethnic relations in Canada and points toward a future research agenda.

Together with the development of transformative technologies that epitomize globalization, the ongoing movements of people across borders and other socio-economic pressures are creating a fast-changing business environment that is difficult for business to understand, let alone control. Dominant social expectations that immigrants should seek to adopt an assimilationist socialization path towards the host country's mainstream are contradicted by minority ethnic group resilience. There is no evidence that these groups naturally disappear within the cultural and behavioural contexts of their adopted countries. Since ethnic minority consumers cannot be expected to assimilate, then they maintain some significant degree of unique ethnicity related consumer characteristics that convert into threats and opportunities for business. The inherent socialisation process also provides opportunities for ethnic entrepreneurship and for proliferation of ethnic minority business. Following from the extensive examination of scholarly perspectives of ethnic marketing theory, there is an acknowledged and marked divide between theoretical exhortations and what is done in practice, a relative oversight of the implications of mixed embedded markets, and a propinquity to overlook the crucial role played by ethnic entrepreneurship and ethnic networks. Opportunity valuations are difficult to enact due to a lack of intelligence about ethnic markets. Variable sentiment about the future of ethnic marketing links to different predictions on how the drivers of globalization will impact on the acculturation paths of ethnic minorities. Keeping a focus on the ethnic group as the unit of analysis, combining ethnic marketing and ethnic entrepreneurship theories provides intelligence about contemporary ethnic marketing and practice perspectives. The ultimate objective is to reduce the theory-practice divide through the development of a collaborative framework between business and scholars that converts into theory-in-use.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- Foreword -- List of contributors -- Chapter 1: Social psychological perspectives on ethnic minorities: An introduction -- Part I: Theoretical Approaches -- Chapter 2: Intergroup attribution: some implications for the study of ethnic prejudice -- Chapter 3: Patterns of differentiation within and between groups -- Chapter 4: Strategies of identity management -- Chapter 5: Ethnic attitudes and emotions -- Part II: Real Life Studies -- Chapter 6: Ethnic identity and the paradox of equality -- Chapter 7: Structures and strategies of discourse and prejudice -- Chapter 8: The development of ethnic tolerance in an inner city area with large numbers of immigrants -- Chapter 9: Ethnic stereotypes and police law enforcement practices -- Part III: Remedies -- Chapter 10: Organizational inclusion of minority groups: A social psychological analysis -- Chapter 11: Improving interethnic relationships: How effective is cooperation? -- Chapter 12: The Culture Assimilator: Is it possible to improve interethnic relations by emphasizing ethnic differences? -- Chapter 13: Towards a useful social psychology for ethnic minorities -- Bibliography -- Name index -- Subject index.