Ralph R. Sell

Toward a motivational theory of migration decision making

Within the context of the hypothesized transition to a post industrial society, this paper reviews several current approaches to migration decision making. Several problematic areas are identified with the most important being the lack of a consistent theory of decision making. Borrowing from the motivational theory of decision making articulated by John Atkinson and his associates, a motivational approach to the migration decision process is presented which consists of the multiplicative interaction of four variables: (1) avail ability, (2) motive, (3) expectancy, and (4) incentive. Previous migra tion research is evaluated from the perspective of motivational de cision theory. We conclude that concepts used in previous migration decision making research are similar and that this model provides a valuable theoretical integration. One remaining problem is the recon ciliation of the household unit of analysis most often used in migration research with the individual unit of analysis implied by the motiva tional decision theory.

Analyzing migration decisions: the first step--whose decisions?

Many theories of geographic mobility assume that the change-of-residence process includes a substantial degree of choice. This paper classifies stated reasons for moving from the 1973 through 1977 Annual Housing Survey into forced, imposed, and preference-dominated categories. About 25 percent of residential mobility and 40 percent of migration occurred under conditions of substantial constraint. Mobility was most often constrained by family dynamics; for migration, occupational relocations frequently imposed the decision-to-move process and determined destinations. The volume of constrained movement indicates that its impact upon individuals, population dynamics, and voluntaristic theories of mobility deserves greater consideration.

Transferred jobs: a neglected aspect of migration and occupational change.

Migration and occupational change in the contemporary United States are often explained as reflecting an impersonal market process whereby geographic differences in wages and salaries motivate persons to overcome a reluctance to change both jobs and place of residence. Little is known about job-related migration in which employers directly control this process by linking employment and opportunity structures at origin and destination locations. Based on the 1973 to 1977 Annual Housing Surveys of the United States, about 800,000 household heads were relocated annually by their employers. This suggests that the rate of relocations has doubled since the early 1960s. The income and education levels associated with relocated household heads indicated that job transfers are most likely to occur among the higher socioeconomic status occupations but nonetheless appear to be frequent at all levels. The increasing frequency of job transfers suggests the increasing use of direct labor allocation and corporate management through socialization and selection. Further research on corporate relocation practices and policies is suggested.

Egyptian international labor migration and social processes: toward regional integration.

This article reviews evidence that contemporary Egyptian international labor migration to oil-rich Arab countries has followed a classic social process which starts with a homo economicus phase, advances into a goal reorientation phase, and ends with the establishment of diaspora communities in destination societies. The history of Egyptian migration, current estimates of migration, the role of Egyptians in selected Arab countries, and emergent processes all were found to support the predictions of the social process model. Particularly important support comes from the finding that all social classes participated in this migration. Conclusions suggest the likelihood that Egyptian migration processes will promote economic and perhaps social integration in the region.

Attitudes toward abortion and prenatal diagnosis of fetal abnormalities: Implications for educational programs

Abstract Genetic counseling, second trimester amniocentesis, reliable techniques for analyzing fetal amniotic fluid and selective abortion together have the potential to prevent a variety of serious birth defects. Advances in technique and/or changing patterns of childbearing may place a large number of women in age groups where genetic counseling programs are recommended. However, attitudes toward abortion may be a critical variable in ascertaining the potential of genetic counseling programs to reduce birth defects. If opposition to abortion is based on a moral commitment, greater awareness of genetic counseling programs will lead to opposition to these programs. If attitudes toward abortion are based upon an evaluative process, such opposition is less likely to occur. Using a sample of women from the Rochester, New York, area (N = 1,616) whose attitudes toward abortion match U.S. estimates, we find that the greater the knowledge about prenatal screening, the less prevalent are attitudes opposed to abor...

The selective utilization of prenatal genetic diagnosis. Experiences of a regional program in upstate New York during the 1970s.

The regional prenatal diagnosis program of the Finger Lakes Health Systems Area in upstate New York has been monitored since its start in 1971. By the end of 1980, more than 1,250 diagnostic procedures had been successfully completed. Based on analyses of regional vital statistics, genetic services data, repeated surveys of obstetricians, and an ongoing survey of recent mothers older than 34 years of age, the authors concluded that: 1) in the study region, most women with an indication for prenatal diagnosis because of age are aware of the possibility of prenatal diagnosis; 2) the majority of obstetricians discuss amniocentesis with their patients; 3) after a period of rapid growth the utilization rate in the study region reached about 40% in 1981; 4) nonuse of prenatal diagnosis is based mostly on a patients decision rather than system deficiencies; and 5) a community approach to increase utilization will have to focus on how to provide a supportive social climate for these services rather than on increasing awareness among potential patients or more referrals by providers

Trends in American family size diversity

How diverse is American society and are Americans becoming more or less diverse? Contemporary discussions claim high and increasing diversity, but analyze few actual trends. This paper examines completed family size diversity from 1940 to 2000 by race and across US states. For all groups, regions and the USA as a whole, family size diversity decreased significantly, produced by a combination of fewer small and large families and a general decline in regionally-based differences. Both within and across states the diversity declined in two stages, but regional clusters of states followed different paths. A cluster of Southern Mountain states showed the greatest contrast. Between the 1940s and the early 1970s, a slight baby boom rise in diversity among homogeneous states, was counterbalanced by declining diversity in more diverse states. Black women in all states and white women in Mainstream and Other states showed similar trends during the baby boom years, while white women in the Southern Mountain states failed to show a baby boom increase in large families. For childbearing completed since 1975, regional patterns disappeared and both the range and level of diversity declined further. A national and essentially homogeneous culture of childbearing, initiated during the baby boom years and now facilitated by birth control and abortion, has settled in at below-replacement levels. While the possibility always exists that childbearing pattern might change, there is no current evidence to suggest movement away from this low and homogeneous fertility.

International Affinities in Modern Egypt: Results from a Social Distance Survey of Elite Students

The historical formation, contemporary scope, and future dynamics of national identity remain important concerns in Egyptian scholarship. While many aspects of national identity and the forces that shape it in each generation have been analyzed, a more complete understanding of the results of these often antagonistic influences suffers from the lack of descriptive information. The structure of affinity toward other national groups comprises an important component of overall identity. To examine this component, in 1987 samples of Cairo students were surveyed about feelings toward other groups. Analysis of their responses suggest the following: (1) at least among a literate student population, survey research techniques can successfully measure and describe international affinities and, by implication, that component of national identity; (2) affinities cluster in identifiable and expected dimensions-Arab, socialist West, and capitalist West; and (3) although the structure was generally similar in all student groups, the strength of affinities toward these dimensions systematically varied by school context, religion, educational background, economic status, and international migration experience. Defining national identity in terms of genealogical descent or fixed personality types is rarely tenable anywhere and clearly not applicable to modern Egypt (Gellner, 1983; Moughrabi, 1978; Riggs, 1986). A more fruitful approach focuses on the structures and dynamic forces which continually reproduce more or less perfectly a continuous, but nonetheless ever-changing, identity (Snyder, 1983; White, 1985). Such forces involve complex interactions of boundary formation processes-variously geographical, sociological, and psychological-arising in conflict, competition, and, less frequently, cooperation, with other national groups or powerful segments of such groups (Francis, 1976; Park, 1934). Egyptian boundary conflicts have largely reflected the variegated and unsettled history of the insertion and partial incorporation of international forces into Egyptian society. For example, from around 350 B.C. until the final assertion of political independence in the early 1950s, Egypts ruling classes were composed of foreigners, classed as such in terms of both their heritage and their treatment

Pronatalism and fertility: the case of the military.

Abstract While there have been several conceptual analyses of pronatalist influences on fertility, a comparatively small amount of empirical work relates these forces to actual differentials in reproductive behavior. The impact of pronatalist incentives on the fertility of military couples in the United States is examined with data from the 1970 Public Use Samples. The findings failed to support the idea that such incentives lead to higher fertility. Implications of the findings for policies designed to lower fertility are discussed.