CHAPTER 3: UNDERSTANDING NETWORKS
4.3. Networks and factors that enable the formation of ties
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total network population) (Dominguez and Maya-Jariego 2008: 15). These Latin-American immigrants are not just composites of her networks but constitute part of her state type ties.
The resident’s strong ties network was divided into four groups, family, work, friendship and household; immigrants were part of her household, work and friendship ties (Dominguez and Maya-Jariego 2008: 14). Dominguez and Maya-Jariego (2008) thus showed that host individuals interact with immigrants and provide support which enables their integration.
This interaction leads to the development of different types of ties depending on the nature and duration of the contact. More importantly, they argue that immigrants are not the only group who experience a change in culture; individuals within the host community are also influenced by this interaction which translates to a change in their values, lifestyles, cultures and even their personal networks, a process they refer to as acculturation.
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These ties were the foundation for interaction and later, the integration of these migrants into Spain. The authors assert that the reception of migrants into the host country was feasible in certain cases due to the existence of various forms of interaction and links between them and the Spaniards. They assert that, “ties from immigrants to Spaniards help to build bridges that diversify the access to resources, and help immigrants to integrate into the Spanish population in both a psychological and an instrumental way…” (Miguel and Tranmer 2009:
3). They also explored the factors that facilitated the interaction and accommodation of immigrants. A very important factor that influenced immigrants’ integration into the host society was their demographic attributes. The study showed that “the relative socio- demographic characteristics of the ego to those of the alter will best determine the probability of a tie between an immigrant and an alter that is a Spaniard” (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 5).
Certain immigrants were less integrated into the Spanish community due to their country of origin. Immigrants from Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America were least favoured and were least likely to develop ties with Spaniards (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 5). Furthermore, in exploring the composition of the immigrant networks, the study revealed that immigrants from Africa fared worst as they rarely had Spaniards as members of their network. They (African immigrants) therefore did not have much interaction and relations with Spaniards.
“Immigrants from Maghreb and the rest of Africa hardly ever mention any Spaniards in their networks, and, when they do they do not mention many of them” (Miguel and Tranmer 2009:
12).
Another important factor that enabled the development of networks between immigrants and Spaniards was migrants’ academic qualifications and skills. For instance, the Spaniards were more likely to accommodate and support migrants with certain academic qualifications and skills, and a similar language of communication (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 5). This suggests that, aside from cultural and perhaps racial background, education and by extension, class also affected the development of relations between the immigrants and Spaniards. The study showed that migrants with high academic qualifications counted more Spaniards in their networks (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 5). Therefore, ties were formed more easily between migrants and Spaniards when there was cultural similarity between them and the acceptance of migrants was also easier if they had high academic qualifications. This is
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consistent with the principle of segmented assimilation which states that there are different paths5 through which migrants become integrated into the host community.
Another interesting dimension revealed in the study was how gender influenced relations between the immigrants and Spaniards. Miguel and Tranmer (2009: 11) state that Spaniards were more present in female immigrants’ social networks. They explain that this is usually the case because of the nature of the geography and space of meeting. They note that
regarding gender, Spanish alters are slightly more likely to be female than male, maybe indicating the more straightforward chances of contacting them in informal or casual scenarios, such as that of the neighbourhood, school of their children, shops they frequent, etc., while male Spaniards are more likely to be known through their work environment, which is often quite segregated and restricts the real opportunities of an exchange of support (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 13).
This implies that the informal geographic setting where women meet enabled the formation of network ties between the female migrants and female Spaniards. This is due to women’s social and domestic responsibilities like shopping or taking children to school, which connects migrant women to Spanish women and influences the formation of ties. The informal environment where they meet also influences the type of ties they develop. These ties are usually more friendly, relaxed and accommodating of diversity than those of men which are more formal, restricted and business-like. The study explains that these informal settings influence female Spaniards’ attitudes and make them more accommodating to female immigrants. While female settings encourage the formation of friendly ties, male settings do not provide opportunities for interaction on such levels.
In terms of support, the study illustrated that network ties extended beyond the accommodation of immigrants to the provision of material support. However, it only investigated economic assistance and not emotional or social support that is found in relationships, marriages and friendship (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 7). The authors describe the dynamic roles of the immigrants and Spaniards in the network. According to de Miguel- Luken, in terms of support and assistance within the networks of the two groups, “Spaniards
5 See Chapter two
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more often act as help providers instead of receivers, and an ego is more susceptible when he or she first immigrates to Spain, and hence usually assumes the position of beneficiary”
(cited in Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 10). This implies that the immigrants were more vulnerable during the initial stage of their arrival as they had not integrated into the host community and needed certain kinds of support like employment, shelter and information. As a result, Spaniards offered such social support to the immigrants. The study revealed that Spaniards were present in the networks and ties of immigrants and that, to some extent, they supported the migrants. Miguel and Tranmer (2009: 10) contend that “the presence of at least one Spanish alter is quite common in the personal support networks of the interviewed immigrants. Almost 70% of them mentioned at least one Spaniard with whom some kind of assistance is exchanged in terms of accommodation, job search, information or material help”. However, due to certain factors noted previously, such as country of origin, the support granted to immigrants was selective. The authors reiterate that
prejudices are operating beyond the limits of the general discourse, and that the interactions in terms of support exchanges between immigrants and Spaniards are not the same across nationalities. It is interesting to note the advantage of Portuguese immigrants, whose more intense communication with Spaniards can be understood partially as a consequence of the traditional frontier relationship that exists between the two countries in some of the sampled geographical areas (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 17).
In short, the study shows that social networks are important in the integration of migrants. It argues that support networks composed of members of the host community foster integration.
In the authors words,
social network composition is found to be important when assessing the degree of adaptation of immigrants to the new milieu in Spain. The number of Spaniards or, at least, the presence of Spaniards in the support network has a positive effect on the immigrant’s ecological transition and social integration (Miguel and Tranmer 2009: 23).
However, the network composition and degree of integration is influenced by various social factors such as class, gender, culture and country of origin. Not all migrants were accommodated in the Spanish host society and social features such as class, nationality and culture were key to creating ties with the host community.
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