C L O S E R

Trust and Cohesion

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by .
Categories: Multiculti Issues.

In an earlier post on the Islamdebate I wrote that several forms of criticism towards Islam seem to have become mainstream now instead of being used only by extremists. Although in the upcoming Dutch elections integration is not a real issue, the feeling that Islam is not compatible with democracy or European values is still prevalent among many non-Muslims. One of things that plays a role is that many people think that if Muslims become a powerful force in society (in many do believe they already are), they will be intolerant. In other words, these people do not trust Muslims in general.

Via Amir on Austrolabe I came across this interesting research about ‘Trust and Ethno-Linguistic Heterogenity‘(PDF) by Andrew Leigh (also on Andrew Norton’s blog):

Using a large Australian social survey, combined with precise data on neighbourhood characteristics, I explore the factors that a ffect trust at a local level (‘localised trust’) and at a national level (‘generalised trust’). Trust is positively associated with the respondent’s education, and negatively associated with the amount of time spent commuting.
At a neighbourhood level, trust is higher in affluent areas, and lower in ethnically and linguistically heterogeneous communities, with the effect being stronger for linguistic heterogeneity than ethnic heterogeneity. Linguistic heterogeneity reduces localised trust for both natives and immigrants, and reduces generalised trust only for immigrants.
Instrumental variables specifications show similar results. In contrast to the USA, there is no apparent relationship between trust and inequality across neighbourhoods in Australia.

(more…)

2 comments.

"He wanted to be famous, so he urinated in the well of Zam Zam"

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by martijn.
Categories: Misc. News.

Don’t know if the proverb really exists, but if it does this might be the appropriate way to characterise the Apple Cube incident, with many thanks to Tariq Nelson. What I’m talking about? Well via my email (on my internet pseudonym adress) I received several messages about reports in the Dutch media about the Apple Mecca:

This building supposedly looks like the Ka’aba and is the new Apple Store. (more…)

1 comment.

“He wanted to be famous, so he urinated in the well of Zam Zam”

Posted on October 14th, 2006 by .
Categories: Misc. News.

Don’t know if the proverb really exists, but if it does this might be the appropriate way to characterise the Apple Cube incident, with many thanks to Tariq Nelson. What I’m talking about? Well via my email (on my internet pseudonym adress) I received several messages about reports in the Dutch media about the Apple Mecca:

This building supposedly looks like the Ka’aba and is the new Apple Store. (more…)

1 comment.