Migrants from non-English speaking countries are less likely to be volunteers than Australian-born people or migrants from English-speaking nations, a new study shows.
The study, by Ernest Healy, senior research fellow at the Centre for Population and Urban Research at Monash University, challenges the notion that ethnic diversity leads to a stronger, more cohesive society.
Using levels of volunteering as an indicator of social cohesion, the study shows that suburbs with a high degree of ethnic diversity have markedly lower rates of volunteering than more homogenous localities.
Freaking ridiculous! Let's use a Western tradition like "volunteering" as an indicator for social cohesion across any community. Even communities who probably think volunteering is an odd way of spending time with people. Having been a volunteer for many years I would attest that it is thoroughly strange, but better than not spending time with people at all.
Isn't it possible that volunteering is the West's totally flawed response to our failure to build community organically? We need managers to tell us how to help people, because we're not sufficiently in touch with community to just go and help them. Volunteering is really the corporatisation of social cohesion. I'm not convinced it even serves as a good measure of cohesion even in Western societies.
I reckon a much better indicator of cohesion would be to measure the number of times you have had tea with your neighbours grandparents in the last few days. Then we'll really know who cares the most.
Yeah that’s a good thought.
Andrew / 6:41am / 11 February 2008
Well the poor man is using census data. It’s not exactly designed to measure social cohesion. Most stock standard Social Capital surveys ask a broad selection of questions which include both volunteering ones together with how many people they’ve talked to over the phone or in person and how often they eat with other people in the neighborhood and things like that. However social cohesion is super hard to measure, everybody still argues on how to do it and if some people’s results actually mean anything. SMH just picked up on one study from a huge body of literature.
Miles / 6:25pm / 12 February 2008
Crap the distance between me and my neighbours grandma is an awfully long way. What does one do about that? hhmmm. Yeah I have been a volunteer for years and it brings a touch of social cohesion around the place but if social cohesion generally is relying on volunteering then a touch of cohesion rather than a great big hug of cohesion is probably all society is going to get it.
gem / 9:14pm / 14 February 2008
I hope that one day we have the sort of society where nobody needs to volunteer again.
Ryan / 6:58am / 15 February 2008