Thesis (M.A.)--York University, 2004. Graduate Programme in Theoretical and Applied Linguistics. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 143-150). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: LINK NOT YET AVAILABLE.

published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Social Work / Master / Master of Social Work

A Research Report submitted to the Faculty of Humanities, School of Social Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts, Johannesburg, 2017. / Migrant social networks and their effects have dominated international migration discourse over the past few decades. The importance of social networks and social capital in migration decision-making is underscored by large volumes of research across many disciplines. There are however few comparative analyses of the refugee experience across disparate geographical spaces particularly cities in the so-called global ‘South’. Drawing on original survey data collected from refugees in Pakistan, Turkey and Nairobi in mid-2016, this paper argues that access to social networks and the value of the social capital embedded in these networks, is strongly dependent on the pre-migration social, political, cultural and economic contexts of migrants and refugees. Social networks generate positive social capital in some contexts and negative social capital in others. Logistic regression and correlational tests of association were used to analyse the relationship between social networks, employment, and well-being of refugees in the three cities mentioned. The findings speak of the complex economic and social environments refugees often find themselves, and networks of personal relations either hamper or facilitate the ability of refugees to secure employment. / XL2018

Between 2001 and 2011, a total of 509,809 new immigrants have migrated from Mainland China to Hong Kong on the One-way Permit for family reunification, in which 69.7% were female who are typically wives of Hong Kong permanent residents. How these marriage migrants integrate into Hong Kong society and the assessment of their impact to Hong Kong is becoming a pivotal issue. Many studies and surveys indicated that these marriage migrants have encountered tremendous difficulties during their course of immigration adaptation, and many have resulted in severe psychological stress. Extensive literature has empirically documented that social support facilitates immigrants’ ability to make use of relationships to buffer their adaptation challenges and to promote their integration into the new environment. Yet hardly any studies have examined the determinants and changes of social support among these marriage migrants within a longitudinal framework. The purpose of this study is to investigate the determinants of social support, including the structural, functional and the perception of social support. The “Social Support Mobilization Model” suggests that perceived stress leads to an increase in social support. On the contrary, the “Social Support Deterioration Model” suggests that persistent high level of stress erodes social support over time. This study test the Deterioration Model by examining the impact of lingering of stress levels on social support. Using a random sample of 211 Chinese marriage migrants from a two-year longitudinal secondary data, bivariate and multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the associations of social support with acculturation stress, persistent stress, psychological well-being, optimism and perceived neighborhood disorder. Findings indicated that marriage migrants have difficulties in re-establishing their social network outside their own community. Acculturation stress and psychological well-being were found to be the two most crucial factors affecting social support. Acculturation stress predicted both the structural and functional aspects of social support, but not the perceived social support. The psychological well-being, on the other hand, exerted significant influence on both the functional and perceived social support, but not on the structural social support. Results suggested that social support interventions should focus on alleviating acculturation stress, expanding social networking opportunity outside of their own immigrant community and enhancing psychological well-being. Besides, professional counseling and psychological support services should be provided to new immigrants, especially those who have experienced high level of stress. / published_or_final_version / Social Work and Social Administration / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Asian Studies / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

published_or_final_version / Education / Master / Master of Education

Introduction. Humanity is now witnessing one of the highest rates of displacement since the beginning of its history, with an unprecedented 79.5 million people around the world being forced to leave their homes; among whom are 26 million refugees. Since 2011, the protracted Syrian war has threatened the stability and well-being of all persons affected by the war. In these complex emergencies, regular access to resources, pathways to building social ties, and utilization of existing service networks (such as education, healthcare, and protection) are disrupted. Method. Nine Syrian refugees and Lebanese host currently living in Lebanon screened positive for clinical depression and receiving interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) by Lebanese providers were recruited for the study. A novel social network assessment tool using a dynamic network framework was designed and preliminarily tested to explore social support and conflict in the sample during IPT. Changes in social support and conflict resolution were assessed pre-and post-IPT in the depressed selection. Results. To our knowledge, this is the first-of-its-kind study to adopt a dynamic, multiplex, open-system approach to identifying, classifying, and exploring temporal changes in the social network roles in both refugees and host population(s) with specific goal orientation. This is also the first to study these in the context of individuals with a mental health problem receiving IPT for depression treatment. Outcomes indicate promise of the use of the dynamic network theory’s survey approach (aka network goal analysis) among depressed participants and provides important insights about pathways through which persons activate social support and resolve conflict in a humanitarian emergency setting. Discussion. Amidst war, economic downturn, COVID-19 pandemic, and recent bomb blasts, communities have been fragmented and their social ties, severed. Increasing rates of common mental disorders have worsened peoples’ capabilities for survival. This novel dynamic network approach to the study of social support and conflict resolution brings into focus pathways and social roles among depressed individuals crucial for social support, with implications for policy makers and mental health practitioners. Keywords. Dynamic networks, Interpersonal psychotherapy, Social support, Conflict, Cohesion

published_or_final_version / abstract / toc / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Situated in a Congolese transnational 'community' in Muizenberg, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa, the thesis focuses on the lives of three middle class Congolese male informants. Their contingent acquaintance with a South African white Christian man gave them access to valuable social capital; social capital that positioned them advantageously to date and eventually marry European white women and thereby further their culturally-defmed economic/material career goals. To demonstrate the socio-economic trajectory of the three, I compare their social positioning with other Congolese men and women resident in Muizenberg. I show how these men and women, like my three main informants, activate their Congolese 'habitus' to secure access to social networks and the social capital therein. The difference between these Congolese men and women and my three main informants, however, is their strategic use of contingency, and the instrumental capitalisation of their cultural capital through the creation of a client-patron relationship with a South African in order to further their life goals. The thesis reorientates the migration literature on African migration from a focus on the implications of migrant remittances to the home country, to a focus on individual migrants' agency in the host country and the cultural influence of the society of origin. While I acknowledge that my research participants are part of a transnational social field, the focus on one locality and the relatively longitudinal approach of the study grounds the analysis both in the day-to-day lives of these migrants and in their migrant careers in and beyond Muizenberg and South Africa. With this orientation, the thesis is able to reveal that some Congolese migrants are comfortable to create a holding place for themselves in South Africa, while others - ever aware of the Congolese ambition to travel overseas - migrate beyond South African borders. For these Congolese migrants, South Africa is then a transit space. Fundamentally, all of my research participants give expression to Mobutu's edict of on se debrouille (literally, 'one fends for oneself), but some are more able to achieve the ultimate aspiration of settling in the First World -lola.