Franklin Goza

Brazilian Immigration to North America

This article is a comparative study of Brazilian immigration to Canada and the United States. Analysis of recently collected data in Toronto, Ontario and in a medium-size U.S. community facilitated the examination of the adaptation and adjustment experiences of a new group of immigrants to North America. This article begins with a discussion of the origins of this recent immigrant group and its rapid expansion. Next, it focuses on the labor force activities of Brazilian immigrants and compares and contrasts their experiences in the United States and Canada. A final section examines social adaptation in North America by exploring linguistic and cultural dimensions. This article closes with a section on the future aspirations of these immigrants.

Racial differences in the relationship between infant mortality and socioeconomic status.

This study presents an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status by race in metropolitan Ohio, using census data on mothers residence and economic status determined by the percentage of low-income families living in each area. The analysis updates previous studies as white-non-white comparisons for total infant mortality are examined for the US censuses of 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990 and 2000; and more detailed period- and broad cause-specific rates are presented for 2000. A pronounced inverse association is consistently found between income status and infant mortality for whites, while for non-whites this pattern first emerges in 1979-81, disappears during the 1980s and then returns more strongly during the 1990s. Similarly, the 2000 data reveal a consistent inverse pattern between income status and infant mortality for white and non-white neonatal and postneonatal death rates, as well as exogenous cause-specific death rates. It is concluded that low-income whites and non-whites have infant mortality rates substantially higher than the overall rate for the population. Policy implications are discussed.

The relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in a metropolitan aggregate, 1989–1991

This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in a metropolitan aggregate comprised of seven of the larger cities in Ohio during the three years centering on the 1990 census. Using a summary income score derived for the census tract of mothers usual residence, the census tracts in the seven metropolitan centers were divided into broad income groupings and three-year average infant mortality rates were computed for each area, by age, sex, race, and selected causes of death. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the data is that in spite of some remarkable declines in overall levels of infant mortality during the past few decades, there continues to be a very clear and pronounced inverse association between income status and infant mortality. The general inverse association is observed for both sexes, for whites and nonwhites, and for all major causes of infant death. At the same time, the data reveal notable differences in the magnitude of the relationship by sex, and especially by age at death, race, and cause of death. Explanations of these differences are suggested, and a conclusion notes some of the difficulties encountered in developing programs aimed at closing the infant mortality gap between the richest and poorest segments of the society.

Brazilian Immigration to Ontario

Immigration to Canada from non-traditional donor nations has increased in recent years and is likely to continue to increase in the long-term. This article examines one flow of “new” immigrants: from Brazil to Toronto, Ontario. Their adaptation experiences are analysed from primary data collected from 205 Brazilians interviewed during 1991. A large proportion of the immigrants who arrived after 1987, the year a visa requirement was initiated for Brazilians, gained entry by claiming to be “refugees”. Because of numerous court system delays, this strategy permitted them to work, study and collect social benefits until all their appeals, no matter how spurious, were exhausted. Meantime, many acquired English skills and on-the-job training which enabled them to score high enough on the Canadian immigrant point scale to become legal permanent residents. Results also demonstrate that immigrants from Brazil are relatively well educated and highly motivated to succeed. Although the group included some target earners who will return to Brazil, many have become well integrated into Canadian society and desire to remain permanently.

Brazilian frontier settlement: The case of Rondônia

The case study of the frontier settlement of Rondonia in Brazil reveals that no theoretical model appropriately captures the complexity of recent rural developments. If settlement in Rondonia is to act as a siphon for rural outmigration then development in Rondonia is a failure for several reasons. There is overcrowding due to limits on carrying capacity in Rondonia; rural-urban migration flows were not stemmed. Settlement in Rondonia does not provide a poverty alternative. Government does not provide support for small scale agriculturalists. The settlement of Rondonia serves to secure this region for the nation. The author recommends improved data collection on migration into Rondonia and Mato Grosso on settlement along the only transportation route into the interior (the BR-364) and settlement at government posts. The posts should be funded and run 24 hours a day throughout the year. Registration of in and out migration and sociodemographic data collection would then dispel unfounded speculations. Theoretical models are inadequate and tend to explain remote rather than frontier areas. Fowerakers model in 1981 of Rondonia describes the most important elements of the current state of Rondonia according to the overlapping and non-mutually exclusive states of noncapitalist precapitalist and capitalist conditions. In Rondonia government involvement after World War II marked two distinct periods of development. The earlier period was characterized by frontier movements and the later by conscious government interventions to settle the region. In 1960 population was 69792 persons and population density was very low. Population increased to 111064 in 1970 when massive resettlement and migration began. By 1980 population increased to 491069 persons or a growth rate of 16% over the 10 years. Migration is motivated by the lure of free or low cost land the search for better opportunities and the chance to become self-sufficient producers. Survey data in 1984 and 1985 revealed landlessness in the adjoining states of Parana Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul and displacement of agricultural workers due to federal action to rapidly expand industrialization and economic growth in a modern mechanized agricultural sector.

Infectious disease mortality among adults by race and socioeconomic status: Metropolitan Ohio, 1989–1991

The data presented here are part of an on-going longitudinal study of the relationship between socioeconomic status and mortality in the major metropolitan centers of Ohio. Using a Standardized Mortality Ratio, we find that mortality in the seven-city urban aggregate exceeds that of the rest of the state by 39 per cent for the nonwhite population and only 1 per cent for the white population. Further, for the nonwhite population, living in a high income area has no discernible health benefit for nonwhites as compared to whites. On the other hand, for the AIDS virus, there is a clear inverse association between economic status and mortality from AIDS. It is clear that the interrelationship among race, economic status, and health continues to be a complex one on which further research is needed.

Rural, suburban and urban differences in the self-diagnosis of coronary heart disease in the United States.

This study explores rural, suburban and urban differences in coronary heart disease (CHD) using the 2005 Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey conducted in the United States. Although areal context is not often considered in morbidity studies, this study evaluates the importance of place of residence given that areas offer differential access to health infrastructures and different contextual factors that could affect health. Also examined is the role of geographic heterogeneity on the recent racial divergence in CHD in the United States. Results indicate that area of residence is associated with CHD diagnosis, net of health and demographic variables. The area-stratified analysis documents that rural residents are most impacted by exercise and smoking, while being male or above age 50 are most detrimental for suburban residents. In addition, the racial divergence in CHD is driven by differences in rural locales. These findings indicate a disparate impact of geography on CHD and highlight the need for health research to take into account areal context.

Trends in the relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in metropolitan Ohio, 1960–1990

This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in metropolitan Ohio at four points in time centering on the censuses of 1960, 1970, 1980 and 1990. The basic unit of analysis is the census tract of mothers usual residence, with economic status being determined by the percentage of low income families living in each tract. For each period, the census tracts were aggregated into broad income groups and three-year average infant mortality rates were computed for each area, by age, sex, race and exogenous-endogenous causes of death. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the data is that in spite of some very remarkable declines in infant mortality for all socioeconomic groups since 1960, there continues to be a very clear and pronounced inverse association between income status and infant mortality. Indeed, there is some evidence to suggest that it is stronger in 1990 than it was three decades earlier. The general inverse association is observed for both sexes, for whites and nonwhites, and for all major causes of death. At the same time, the data reveal notable variations in the pattern of the relationship over time, as well as several differences between whites and nonwhites in the nature and magnitude of the relationship. Some macro-economic hypotheses are offered to explain these temporal and racial differences in the pattern of the relationship between economic status and infant mortality.

The relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in metropolitan Ohio, 1999-2001.

Abstract Empirical evidence has consistently documented the direct relationship between infant mortality and socioeconomic inequality in the United States and numerous other countries. While the majority of these studies reveal an inverse relationship between socioeconomic level and infant mortality, not even this finding is free from disagreement. Furthermore, the specific nature and magnitude of this relationship has varied over time. This study will examine the relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in metropolitan Ohio by using birth and infant death data centered on the 2000 Census. The analyses presented herein will describe and analyze the relationship between infant mortality and socioeconomic status in metropolitan Ohio in the year 2000. The key finding is that in spite of remarkable declines in infant mortality during the past several decades, most notably in neonatal mortality, there continues to be a pronounced inverse association between the infant death rate and the economic status of a population.

Sudden infant death syndrome and the age‐cause proxy relationship in infancy

Evidence from a longitudinal study of the relationship between socioeconomic status and infant mortality in metropolitan Ohio is presented in an effort to throw additional light on the continuing debate over the validity of the age-cause proxy relationship in infancy. The results indicate that while there is a fairly strong and consistent association between neonatal mortality and endogenous causes of death that is little affected by the classification of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, the nature of the association between postneonatal mortality and exogenous causes of death varies from weak to moderate depending upon where this cause is included. Additional evidence pertaining to the role of SIDS in contributing to the long-standing inverse association between infant mortality and socioeconomic status is presented, thus further emphasizing the need for continued research to clarify the etiologic mechanisms of this poorly understood condition.