In recent years, Winnipeg’s ethnocultural profile has been diversifying due to historic levels of international immigration, especially from Asian, Middle Eastern and African places of origin. In spite of these changes, little is known about the ways in which the City's planning processes are addressing the needs of people living the experience of being new to the city, or how the needs and preferences of these emerging ethnic groups are affected by planning decisions. This research examines the City's response to ethnocultural difference by analyzing municipal planning policy, and by conducting focus groups with City of Winnipeg planners and with key informants from organizations that serve newcomers. This research explores what Winnipeg’s Planning and Land Use Division, and organizations that serve newcomers, each hope to accomplish with respect to planning for ethnocultural difference, compiles their aims and methods with those suggested in the literature, and develops recommendations for change.

With the global trend of transnational migration, a huge influx of highly skilled immigrants has been influencing Canadian society and economy. However, there is little literature that illuminates highly skilled migrants’ workplace experiences and their identities in terms of second language acquisition. This multiple case study explores three highly skilled Korean immigrants’ experiences, focusing on the interplay of their language learning, identity, and workplace communities. Grounded in the notion of “imagined communities” (Kano & Norton, 2003) and the theory of “communities of practice” (Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study analyzes the process of how highly skilled migrants have constructed their imagined workplace communities. By revealing the multiple dynamic negotiations co-constructed by the workplace contexts and the individuals, this study shows the interlocked relationship between second language learning, identity, and the given community. This study also argues the importance of membership and positive social arrangements in a community for language learning.

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive analysis was to increase the knowledge base on an under-researched topic and population. The study population was comprised of first- and second-generation Canadian, visible-minority, immigrant/refugee women. Nine women of different visible-minority, ethno-racial backgrounds participated in the study. The interviews were in-depth and conducted one on one. The women reflected on how they created their sexuality as youth into adulthood, based on their experiences of Canadian culture as well as their particular culture of origin. The ingenuity they demonstrated in their successful integration into Canadian society as well as in their current status as adult women and mothers will be explored in the study findings. The recommendations these women offered the next generation, with a hope for a better future for all Canadians, will also be discussed.

This dissertation investigated the relations between values-based acculturation and conceptualizations of internalized distress among immigrant Chinese Canadian families with adolescents. Parents and adolescents were classified into one of three primary acculturation profiles (separated, integrated, or assimilated), according to Berry's (1997) model of acculturation based on their endorsement of Chinese and Western cultural values. Confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine if the factor structure of measures of internalized distress (e.g., the CES-D) differed according to individual's acculturation profile. Next, multivariate analyses of variance were used to compare the proportion of various symptom types (somatic, affective, interpersonal, low positive affect) across acculturation profiles, as well as with a comparison sample of non-immigrant families. Finally, hierarchical regression analyses were used to assess the relations between the proportion of somatic symptoms reported and both cultural and demographic variables believed to increase one's susceptibility to experience stigma related to mental health symptoms. As hypothesized, the traditional Western four-factor model of the CES-D fit best for participants who endorsed high levels of Canadian values and low levels of Chinese values (i.e., those classified as assimilated). Both the Western four-factor and more holistic three-factor models showed acceptable model fit for individuals who endorsed both Canadian and Chinese values highly (i.e., those classified as integrated), and neither model fit the data among participants who endorsed low levels of Canadian values and high levels of Chinese values (i.e., those classified as separated). Contrary to hypotheses, parents and adolescents from non-immigrant families endorsed higher proportions of somatic symptoms compared to their immigrant counterparts. Furthermore, among immigrant Chinese Canadians, factors believed to lead to less reporting of somatic symptoms because of less perceived stigma (e.g., greater endorsement of Canadian values, younger age, longer time in Canada) were instead related to higher proportions of somatic symptoms. These unexpected findings were understood in the context of the cultural appropriateness of the specific somatic symptoms assessed by the CES-D. The expected pattern of group differences in the proportion of positive affect was found. Females reported a higher proportion of affective symptoms compared to males, and no acculturation-based or gender differences were found with respect to interpersonal symptoms. Several key implications emerged from the results of this dissertation. The value in grouping participants by cultural value endorsement rather than cultural background was demonstrated, in terms of both research and clinical practice. Future research could employ qualitative methods for a more nuanced understanding of how individuals conceptualize the various cultures that influence their perceptions of health, illness, and stigma. In terms of clinical practice, the importance of assessing cultural values in relation to symptom reporting was discussed, as well as the importance of ensuring front line health care professionals have the training needed to identify cultural variations in the reporting of distress. / Graduate

This thesis questions the connection between Indigenous and immigrant Prairie literature, taking six contemporary texts as a case study. Aboriginal texts include Maria Campbell’s Halfbreed, Beatrice Mosionier’s In Search of April Raintree and Marilyn Dumont’s A Really Good Brown Girl. Immigrant narratives discussed are Hiromi Goto’s Chorus of Mushrooms, Esi Edugyan’s The Second Life of Samuel Tyne, and Madeline Coopsammy’s Prairie Journey. Read alongside one another, these texts demonstrate that Indigenous and immigrant populations do express similar concerns through literature, generally having to do with Canadian multiculturalism. Specifically, this project will discuss bodily and linguistic differences from a white, English-speaking ‘norm,’ home making on the prairies, and story-telling as an alternative indicator of home. This thesis asserts the importance of studying cross-racial literary engagements as they nuance existing discussions of race and space on the prairies and in Canada.

The researcher conducted an ethnographic study looking at how employers can build more inclusive workplaces and support the adaptation of immigrants into the Canadian workplace culture. The research consisted of ethnographic interviews with 15 immigrant employees living and working in British Columbia. The focus of the research study was to investigate how the various aspects of the employer-sponsored programs influence the cross-cultural adaptation from the perspective of the immigrant employee. Results from the study support that immigrant friendly practices and initiatives facilitate the adaptation process of immigrant employees. Practical implications and recommendations for employers are also discussed in the study.

In recent years, Winnipeg’s ethnocultural profile has been diversifying due to historic levels of international immigration, especially from Asian, Middle Eastern and African places of origin. In spite of these changes, little is known about the ways in which the City's planning processes are addressing the needs of people living the experience of being new to the city, or how the needs and preferences of these emerging ethnic groups are affected by planning decisions. This research examines the City's response to ethnocultural difference by analyzing municipal planning policy, and by conducting focus groups with City of Winnipeg planners and with key informants from organizations that serve newcomers. This research explores what Winnipeg’s Planning and Land Use Division, and organizations that serve newcomers, each hope to accomplish with respect to planning for ethnocultural difference, compiles their aims and methods with those suggested in the literature, and develops recommendations for change.

With the global trend of transnational migration, a huge influx of highly skilled immigrants has been influencing Canadian society and economy. However, there is little literature that illuminates highly skilled migrants’ workplace experiences and their identities in terms of second language acquisition. This multiple case study explores three highly skilled Korean immigrants’ experiences, focusing on the interplay of their language learning, identity, and workplace communities. Grounded in the notion of “imagined communities” (Kano & Norton, 2003) and the theory of “communities of practice” (Lave & Wenger, 1991), this study analyzes the process of how highly skilled migrants have constructed their imagined workplace communities. By revealing the multiple dynamic negotiations co-constructed by the workplace contexts and the individuals, this study shows the interlocked relationship between second language learning, identity, and the given community. This study also argues the importance of membership and positive social arrangements in a community for language learning.

The purpose of this qualitative interpretive analysis was to increase the knowledge base on an under-researched topic and population. The study population was comprised of first- and second-generation Canadian, visible-minority, immigrant/refugee women. Nine women of different visible-minority, ethno-racial backgrounds participated in the study. The interviews were in-depth and conducted one on one. The women reflected on how they created their sexuality as youth into adulthood, based on their experiences of Canadian culture as well as their particular culture of origin. The ingenuity they demonstrated in their successful integration into Canadian society as well as in their current status as adult women and mothers will be explored in the study findings. The recommendations these women offered the next generation, with a hope for a better future for all Canadians, will also be discussed.

The process of creating and using participatory photonovels can empower immigrant ESL speaking women and also act as a tool to educate these women about a specific health topic. This was a qualitative case study that was conducted at an immigrant society in an urban center in British Columbia. The ESL speaking immigrant women in this study created a photonovel called From Junk Food to Healthy Eating: Tanya’s Journey to a Better Life. The findings of this research reveal some of the health experiences of ESL speaking immigrant women in Canada. The results also contribute to the growing body of knowledge that discusses effective or ineffective means to educate ESL speakers about health by improving their health literacy. Most notably, however, the photonovel project engaged the women in an educational process that raised their critical consciousness.