With globalization the phenomenon of scientists, engineers,
and other professionals migrating from one country to another is growing
worldwide. For instance, the NSF reports that since 1997 '…the
cadre of foreign born [researchers] has swelled as the number of their
US counterparts have contracted… India is the largest exporter
of scientific talent to the US, and China is the second largest.'
In this paper I deal with three professional groups-- scientists, engineers,
and physicians -- that migrated to Israel from the Commonwealth of Independent
States (CIS) in the early 90s. The number of immigrants from the former
Soviet Union between 1989 and 1993 was approximately seven hundred thousands.
At that time Israel's population numbered about five million. This influx
in the early 1990s included about ten thousand scientists and many more
engineers, and it almost doubled the number of physicians in Israel.
Immigrant professionals and scientists from the Soviet Union in the
1970s, and the CIS in the 1990s have been recognized as possessing highly
valued human capital and being able to contribute greatly to the development
of the country. Their occupational integration has always been a major
concern of government policy, combining ideological and practical aspects,
that is - the absorption of Jewish immigrants on the one hand and the
diversification of research institutes on the other. It was nevertheless
realized that, in practice, it is not easy for these immigrants to find
employment in their professional specialties and their integration into
the new environment is not a simple process (Toren 1995).
According to the Government's policy to enhance the absorption of immigrant
professionals and academics, in particular the so-called Russians, much
planning and money are invested in their occupational integration. A
variety of work-settings in industry, government, and academia are encouraged
and supported to employ newcomers; for example, the universities are
compensated for employing recent immigrant academics, and a special
unit in the Ministry of Immigration pays their salary for the first
two years. After that period, it is hoped that some will stay as regular
faculty or research staff in the universities and affiliated R&D
institutes. Other organizations, such as business-incubators sponsored
by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, industrial plants and government
agencies employ professional immigrants under similar conditions.
Problem and Purpose
Immigrant scientists usually encounter a situation in which their ties
to peers in the country of origin are severed or weakened and new associations
in the country of destination have not yet been formed. Indeed, the
lack of personal and professional connections that would link them to
the local scientific and professional communities, and establish access
to resources necessary for their work, was one of the most difficult
problems reported by scientists and engineers from the Soviet Union
that I studied in the mid-1970s (Toren 1988).
For understanding this situation of highly educated immigrants, the
distinction between human, social, and cultural capital can be usefully
employed. Although these migrants have high human capital --education,
knowledge, skills, and experience-- they lack social capital, namely
the needed social contacts and relationships that would provide them
with similar opportunities accorded to local professionals. In network
analysis terminology we can say that the nodes of a network represent
human capital while the lines connecting them represent social capital,
that is social ties. Only when this occurs, will human and social capital
be transformed into cultural capital (Bourdieu).
[Figure]
Studying the configurations of immigrants' collegial networks
is therefore of practical and theoretical importance. Collegial networks
are patterned informal communication ties among colleagues through which
pertinent information is exchanged (Burt 1984; Marsden 1990). Network
linkages provide access to important and scarce resources, such as information,
new skills, money and power. A basic tenet of the network perspective
is that the web of relationships in which individuals are embedded shapes
their attitudes and behavior. For example, studies show that scientists
who are part of a diversified and dense collegial network are more productive
than isolates (Price and Beaver 1966; Crane (1972).
Two types of networks that were distinguished in a previous study on
immigrant scientists (Toren 1988 in Simon) were applied in the present
study:
The intellectual-influence network and the professional-support network
.
a. The intellectual-influence network is comprised of colleagues who
influence a professional's work intellectually (according to his/her
own report). The resources exchanged through the ties connecting network
members are mainly cognitive - information, ideas, models, methods etc.
b. The professional-support network is composed of colleagues who contribute
to a professional's adjustment by helping, teaching or training, and
providing connections to other professionals and institutions.
These types of collegial networks of engineers, scientists, and physicians
will be analyzed and compared first in terms of their structural properties,
such as size, range and density, and second as regards the substance
or contents of what is transmitted through network ties.
Sample
The sample of this study was drawn from the Russian scientists who came
to Israel in the second large wave of this immigration, mostly during
1990 and 1991, who were employed in all the institutions of higher education
in Israel (composed of seven research universities). Of the total relevant
population (N=515) a sample of 123 persons was randomly drawn from the
names' lists of immigrants employed in each university. The sample includes
81 scientists with a Ph.D. or equivalent degree in physics, chemistry,
mathematics, and biology; 28 engineers (with a Ph.D. or Diploma); and
14 physicians (medical doctors). Eighty-two percent of the sample are
men and 18% women; the median age is 46 years.
At the time the study was conducted in 1993, ninety-five percent of
the professionals investigated were employed in off-ladder temporary
positions; only two persons had a tenure-track appointment. Over seventy
per cent were in the lower ranks of lecturer or researcher that are
not part of the tenure-track, 16% held the higher rank of senior lecturer\researcher,
9 % were associate and full professors .
Questionnaire
The questionnaire used in this study for interviewing immigrant scientists
and professionals is based on a questionnaire for scientists designed
and validated by Schott (1992). Several additions and changes were made
in order to investigate problems relevant to the particular population
studied here. Respondents were personally interviewed usually at their
place of work.
To delineate the intellectual influence network each respondent was
asked to name up to ten persons whose research had influenced his or
her work in recent years (since about 1985). The respondent was then
asked several questions regarding the relations with each listed influencer.
For example, whether influence has been through publications or personal
contact, whether they collaborated in research, whether the influencer
was a fellow-worker, teacher or student, and about characteristics of
the persons named such as, country of origin and institutional affiliation,
field of specialization, etc.
A similar procedure was employed in reference to the professional support
network. Here the main focus is the substance of resources and kinds
of assistance the respondent received from network members, such as
finding work, helping write a research proposal, establishing contact
to Israeli scientists and scientific institutions, and the like.
Findings
In the present study I compare immigrant scientists, engineers, and
physicians in terms of their collegial networks and the implications
for their integration into a new professional community and environment.
The comparison is according to several network attributes:
Size and Range - (the number of persons named by the responded)
Density - (the ratio of empirical ties to possible ties among colleagues
named by a respondent)
Intensity and strength (frequency of personal and impersonal contact
with network members)
Homophily respondent as composing his/her network).
(degree of similarity between respondent and network members)
Nature of resources transmitted through ties (cognitive, professional
support, information)
The results show significant (p < .05) differences in network size
between the professional groups, with engineers having the smallest
average network (3.107), next scientists (3.629), and physicians with
the largest average network ( 4.785).
In respect to frequency of contact (personal meetings) we find that
engineers meet with colleagues significantly less often than physicians
and scientists (p< .005).
[Table 1]
The professional-support networks of the immigrants studied are composed
mainly of local Israeli colleagues (38%), and Russian veteran immigrants
who came to Israel in the 1970s (42%), who help and support the new
immigrant in his/her professional work. They provide instrumental-technical
resources, such as help in writing research proposals, teaching how
to use new equipment, teaching Hebrew, sending them to retraining or
upgrading courses etc. Another kind of support is by helping find a
job, creating contacts with other colleagues in Israel and abroad, and
connection with research & development institutes. These can be
called - "ties to ties."
[Table 2]
As mentioned above, in the case of immigrant academics
and professionals, besides instrumental and technical support, help
in building bridges and creating networks of associations are a major
mechanism for their integration into the local and global professional
communities. Referring to this issue two important findings are noteworthy:
a. According to their own report immigrant professionals, in general,
receive more help with instrumental and technical matters than relational
issues.
Ii. There are consistent and significant differences between the three
groups regarding the amount of help obtained in finding work, writing
research proposals, and teaching new research techniques. In these respects
physicians receive most support, scientists are second, and engineers
receive least help according to their own report (they also have the
smallest average size network)
Three kinds of networks emerge with each characterizing
a particular professional group:
1) The communicative-informational networks of scientists
For scientists the intellectual-influence network in general is more
salient than the professional-support network. This is reflected in
the structural attributes of this type of network in which scientists
exhibit the largest size, the widest range, the highest density, and
the highest degree of personal, informal communication with colleagues.
The main resources transmitted are scientific knowledge and information.
Scientists also score highest regarding the associational (ties to ties)
resources -- getting acquainted with the employing academic institutions,
and establishing links to local Israeli and international colleagues.
2) The tightly-tied instrumental networks of physicians
Among the groups studied physicians emerge as the most tightly knit,
well connected professional group; having on the average the largest
professional support networks and the highest density of ties among
network members. Accordingly they also report receiving the largest
amounts of help, in particular as regards task- oriented instrumental
aspects. Physicians' collegial networks may be succinctly characterized
as interactive and instrumental.
A unique feature of immigrant physicians' integration process is that
they have to take a formal examination of the local medical association
in order to get licensed which may account for the relatively high degree
of professional support that they need and receive.
3) The loosely-linked low-resource networks of engineers
Engineers are relatively less integrated and connected. Their networks
are more limited in size and range, less densely woven, and they interact
with colleagues less frequently, both personally and impersonally. As
individuals they are more isolated than other professionals. This pattern
holds for professional-support as well as intellectual-influence networks.
Accordingly, engineers report having received the smallest quantities
of resources and support. The typical pattern of engineers' collegial
relationships can be described as a loosely tied low resource network.
The findings of this study suggest that engineers are the most problematic
group in these respects, and open-ended interviews with university professors
and R&D managers support this conclusion. An important question
is whether engineers would be both more satisfied and contribute more
professionally in different types of research organizations than the
institutions of higher education that have been studied here. The "natural"
milieu for physicians is the hospital and research laboratory; for scientists
it is the university and its affiliated research institutes. The comparative
analysis of the nature of engineers' collegial networks indicates that
academia might not be the most conducive environment for their well-being
and performance. Indeed, the Ministry of Industry and Commerce is developing
and supporting a new type of work units for the employment of new immigrant
engineers called "technological incubators." These organizations
are oriented to applied R&D; their purpose is to help engineers
and scientists with innovative technological ideas to develop them into
a new marketable product or process. Technological incubators are composed
of a small number of workers and emphasize both individual entrepreneurship
and teamwork; they may thus provide a more congenial work-setting particularly
for engineers. The kind of collegial networks that develop in these
work units and their effect on the professional integration of engineers
is the topic of my future research.
To sum up - migrant scientists and professionals hold human capital
that can greatly benefit the host country. The lack of social capital
could, however, lead to their closure within themselves and isolation
from the local and internatinal communities of colleagues (a situation
that we are witnessing in regard to the so-called "Russian"
immigrants in general). This kind of situation could be detrimental
to both immigrants and veterans, and to the society as a whole. Hence
it is important to encourage the development of social connections while
at the same time realizing the typical work settings and collegial network
characteristics that are conducive to different professional groups.
Scientists, engineers and physicians are potentially highly-valued human-capital
but it is also realized that their absorption entails complex economic,
occupational, social, and psychological processes.
The findings of this study suggest that engineers are the most problematic
group regarding the creation network connections, and open-ended interviews
with university professors and R&D managers support this conclusion.
An important question is whether engineers would be both more satisfied
and contribute more professionally in different types of research organizations
than the institutions of higher education that have been studied here.
The "natural" milieu for physicians is the hospital and research
laboratory; for scientists it is the university and its affiliated research
institutes. The comparative analysis of the nature of engineers' collegial
networks indicates that academia might not be the most conducive environment
for their well-being and performance. Indeed, the Ministry of Industry
and Commerce is developing and supporting a new type of work unit for
the employment of immigrant engineers called "technological incubators."
These organizations are oriented to applied R&D; their purpose is
to help engineers and scientists with innovative technological ideas
to develop them into a new marketable product or process. Technological
incubators are composed of a small number of workers and emphasize both
individual entrepreneurship and teamwork; they may thus provide a more
congenial work-setting particularly for engineers. The effect of these
work units on the professional integration of engineers is an interesting
topic for future research.
References
Bourdieu, Pierre.
1993 The Field of Cultural Production: Essays on Art and Literature.
Cambridge: Polity Press.
Burt, Ronald S.
1984 "Network items and the general social survey." Social
Networks 6: 293-339.
Crane, Diana.
1972 Invisible Colleges: The Diffusion of Scientific Knowledge in Scientific
Communities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Marsden, Peter V.
1990 "Network data and measurement." Annual Review of Sociology
16:435-463.
Price, Derek, J. de Solla and D. Beaver.
1966 "Collaboration in an invisible college." American Psychologist
21: 1011- 1018.
.
Schott, Thomas.
1992 "Soviet science in the scientific world system." Knowledge:
Creation, Diffusion, and Utilization 13:410-439.
Toren, Nina.
Science and Cultural Context: Soviet Scientists in Comparative Perspective.
1988 New York, P. Lang.
Toren, Nina.
1985 "Scientists." In R.J. Simon (ed.) New Lives: The Adjustment
of Soviet Jewish Immigrants in the United States and Israel. Lexington
Books.
Table 1: Structure of Networks
Means, Standard Deviations (in parentheses), and Differences of Means
Tests for Engineers, Scientists, and Physicians
Structural
Characteristics of Support Networks Engineers
N = 28 Scientists
N = 81 Physicians
N = 14 F - Value
Size 3.107
(1.396) 3.629
(1.996) 4.785
(1.476) 3.951*
Range 1 - 7 1 - 9 3 - 7
Density .747
(.383) .731
(.359) .831
(.227) .481
Frequency of Contact 10.736
(6.259) 16.736
(8.133) 16.020
(8.085) 6.288**
Structural Characteristics of Influence Networks
Size 2.607
(1.685) (3.765)
(2.420) 3.714
(2.267) 2.810
Range 0- 6 0 - 10 0 - 9
Density .434
(.421) .559
(.404) .489
(.402) 1.026
Type of Contact:
Impersonal 1.897
(.664) 2.248
(.614) 2.344
(.664) 3.263*
Personal 1.605
(.940) 1.771
(1.849) 1.642
(.656) .398
* p < .05
** p < .005
Table 2: Resources Received
Means, Standard Deviations (in parentheses), and Differences of Means
Tests for Engineers, Scientists, and Physicians
Resources Received Through Support Networks Engineers
N = 28 Scientists
N = 81 Physicians
N = 14 F- Value
Find Work .928
(1.152) 1.728
(1.341) 2.357
(1.598) 6.178**
Teach Research Methods and Use Equipment .928
(1.015) 1.493
(1.558) 1.928
(1.591) 2.545*
Help Write Research Proposal .964
(.792) 1.037
(.954) 1.785
(1.121) 4.189*
Help Learn Hebrew .428
(.920) .086
(3.23) 2.714
(1.540) 5.847**
Send to Re-Training Course .178
(.475) .222
(6.89) .428
(.646) .759
Familiarize with University 1.321
(1.334) 1.679
(1.603) 1.214
(.975) .988
Create Contacts with Local Colleagues 1.142
(.848) 1.567
(1.788) 1.428
(1.696) .723
Create Contacts with International Colleagues .607
(.786) .703
(1.249) .642
(1.081) .080
