The centrality of the thesis is the impact upon the individual Greek migrant who chose to leave his place of birth by emigrating, repatriating, and subsequently re-emigrating, and how the surreptitious nature of acculturation alters perceptions and thoughts. The causes of such migratory translocations will be analyzed within the sociocultural and historicoeconomic conditions that appertained at the time the decisions were taken to deracinate oneself. The study will provide an analysis of diachronic Hellenic migration and Australian immigration policies (since its inception as a federated state). There will also be an analysis of Australia�s diachronic and dedicated immigration control mechanisms since federation, its various post-immigration integration policies of immigrants, the mass immigration program activated in the post-WWII period, and the adoption and incorporation of multiculturalism as the guiding force in migrant selection and integration. Australia�s history, its cultural inheritance, its socioeconomic development, and its attraction as a receiving country of immigrants are analyzed, as are Australia�s xenophobia and racism at its inception, and how these twin social factors influenced its immigration program. The study examines limitations placed upon social intercourse, employment opportunities, and other hindrances to Greek (and other non-British migrants) immigrants because of Australia�s adoption of restrictive, racially-based immigration policies. The study focuses upon the under-development of Hellas in the first half of the twentieth century, its high unemployment and under-employment rates, and the multiple other reasons, aside form unemployment, which forced thousands of Hellenes to seek an alternative (for a better life) through internal or external migration. Particular emphasis will be placed upon historic occasions in Greece�s history and the influence of foreign powers upon internal Greek politics. The motivations for each distinct stage of translocation, in the lives of the respondents, will be examined within the ambit of social, cultural, economic, and historical context, which will place emphasis on the socioeconomic development of Hellas, the development of Hellenic Diaspora, Australia�s development as a receiving immigrant country, and the effects of acculturation and nostalgia upon first-generation Greek-Australians. Given that the thesis is based upon personal recollections and detailed information that span decades of the respondents� lives, the thesis is divided into four parts for greater clarity and comprehension: the first examines respondents� lives in region of birth, their families� economic, educational, and social environment, scholastic achievements by respondents, employment status, future prospects, religiosity, hopes and aspirations, and reasons for seeking to migrate. The second part examines respondents� lives in Australia, within the contextuality of accommodation, employment, family creation, social adaptation, language acquisition, attitude towards unionism and religion, expectations about Australia, and reasons for repatriating. The third part analyzes repatriation and life in Greece through resettlement, accommodation, children�s schooling and adaptation, relatives� and friends� attitude, disappointments, and longing for things Australian, while it also examines re-emigratory causes and the disillusionment suffered through repatriation. The final part assesses resettlement in Australia, and all associated social, economic, and environmental aspects, as well as respondents� children�s readaptation to different lifestyle and educational system. The thesis concludes with recommendations for possible further studies associated with the thesis� nature.

Thèse (M.A.)--Université Laval, 2007. / Bibliogr.: f. [202]-204. Publié aussi en version électronique dans la Collection Mémoires et thèses électroniques.

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Western Sydney, 2003. / A thesis submitted in part fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Creative Arts at University of Western Sydney. Includes bibliographical references and appendices.

Thesis (M.A. (Health Social Scinece))--Mahidol University, 2006. / LICL has E-Thesis 0012 ; please contact computer services.

Thesis (doctoral)--Lund University, Sweden, 1994. / Includes bibliographical references.

This research focuses on the special considerations and reasons for Burmese migrants and refugees from Burma living in Mae Sot, Tak province, Northern Thailand to stay in Thailand or return to Burma/Myanmar. The researcher has more than three-years of experience of living and working in Northern Thailand. During the thesis process, the researcher lived and worked in Mae Sot. A multi-method approach was applied to compile the experiences, knowledge, opinions and feelings of migrants and refugees from Burma. The research presented in this thesis shows that, even though the push factors from leading a life in Thailand are increasing in terms of obtaining legal documents, the pull factors towards return or repatriation to Burma remain few for refugees and migrants. In terms of the labour situation, migrants can earn more money and get more value for their money in Thailand. In addition, access to affordable education and health care is much greater in Thailand than in Burma, mostly due to initiatives by international non-governmental actors. In Burma, poverty continues to be an endemic challenge: there are difficulties for families to sustain their livelihoods and obtain access to quality healthcare and education. The findings from the research explain that migrants from Burma, many of which represent a marginalized minority in terms of ethnicity and religion, do not consider a future in Burma for themselves or their families if not forced to leave Thailand.   In particular, the Myanmar Muslim subpopulation and those with lower education possess experiences or have perceived discrimination of a potential future in Burma, largely related to issues with identification documents and registration. In addition, lack of land ownership remains a large obstacle for migrant workers and refugees in the consideration of where to live and work in the future.

Physical-spatial and social configuration at neighborhood level, the Raval (Barcelona), an urban evaluation according with the Compact City Model Edwin Javier Azofeifa Valverde ABSTRACT In urban areas, economic development and efforts for improving the quality of citizens' lives, instead of complementing each other and contributing to the advancement of the city, both of them generate and accentuate the processes of physical and social fragmentation in cities. This thesis describes and evaluates the physical-spatial and social configuration in the neighbourhood of Raval in Barcelona, with a particular focus on the role played in that configuration by the immigrant population. The aim is to identify how those processes in which social inequality and a lack of access to certain services and facilities manifest themselves. In order to illustrate this reality and understand the configuration of Raval, population data and information regarding services, facilities, and urban furniture were gathered. The concept of compact urban development (the compact city model) was used in order to interpret the potential weaknesses in the neighbourhood, which hinder its functionality. The main drawbacks are the predominance of population groups occupying certain spaces hindering their potential integration in the...

Masters of Art / This thesis explores the shifting cultural identities of young Owambo migrants living in Babilon, an informal settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, Namibia. Through an investigation of their social, cultural and economic lives, I show how these young people invoke their Owambo-ness, but how they also transcend their ethnic identifications through engaging in an emerging Namibian youth culture, which cuts across rural-urban, ethnic, and socio-economic divides. I argue that young migrants from Ovamboland, who intend to escape their poverty stricken rural homes and arrive on packed busses, bringing with them few possessions and great expectations, constantly shift and resituate their cultural identities while trying to make a living in the city. These young people are eager to engage fully in a better life and hope to find employment in the urban economy. For many, however, this remains just that - hope. In their daily lives, the young migrants replicate, reproduce and represent rural Owambo within the urban space. Using the examples of 'traditional' food and small-scale urban agriculture, I explore how their ideas of Owambo-ness are imagined, enforced and lived in Babilon. I argue that although migrants identify themselves in many ways with their rural homes, and retain rural values and practices to a large extent, this does not mean that they would remain "tribesmen", as earlier, how classic studies in Southern African urban anthropology argued (Mayer 1961; Wilson and Mafeje 1963). They also appropriate "ideologies" and practices of the emerging Namibian youth culture, especially popular local music and cell phones. My study thus shows that the migrants develop multiple, fluid identities (with reference to Bank 2002); they identify concurrently with the urban and the rural and develop a synthesis of both. The thesis is based on ethnographic research, which was conducted between February and May 2008. During the fieldwork, I engaged daily in informal discussions with many residents of Babilon, and carried out life history interviews, focus group discussions, and in-depth interviews with key research participants. / South Africa

There is an increasing number of international migrants worldwide and in Canada. The majority of migrants arrive with a health status higher than the average of their host country. This advantage is often lost within ten years of migration due to various reasons, most notably through the social determinants of health. These determinants are the conditions in which individuals live and work and the most relevant to migrant health include racialization, education, employment, housing, social capital, and gender. Health impact assessment (HIA) is a process with the capacity to address changes in health due to the social determinants of health by assessing the intended and unintended impacts on health that a policy, program, or project might have and recommend ways to promote positive and mitigate negative impacts. For this reason, HIA has the potential to address the observed decrease in health experienced by migrants. Various frameworks have been developed to guide the undertaking of HIA including frameworks explicitly aiming at addressing health inequities by considering particular socially disadvantaged population groups. One such example is the Health Equity Impact Assessment (HEIA) tool developed by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care. Although there have been a few studies addressing the inclusion of inequities in HIA in general, there has been no previous assessment of the inclusion of migrants in HIA. This doctoral thesis sought to assess the degree and way in which migrants are included in HIAs globally and across various types of HIAs and contexts. It also sought to assess the degree to which migrants were considered in local initiatives through an examination of the implementation of the Ontario HEIA tool in public health units. A scoping review of the international literature including 117 HIAs and two HIA evaluations found that only 14% of hand-searched HIAs mentioned migrants, 5% analysed migrants and only 2% included them in their recommendations. Although migrant groups were sometimes included in the process, this was seldom the case for citizens. The main reported barriers to considering migrants were a lack of available data and the significant additional resources needed. In order to undertake an evaluation throughout the province, it was first necessary to assess the way in which the Ontario HEIA had been implemented and used by public health units across the province. The scan found that nearly half of public health units had used the HEIA tool either in its original form or modified to the needs of the unit. The use of the tool was found to be influenced by the following factors: the available inputs or resources, the nature of the HIA tool, the actors and stakeholders involved, the decision-making processes within the unit or team involved, the context of the social, economic, and political environments, the nature of the project, program, or policy being assessed, and lastly, the various outputs of completing the HEIA process. Lastly, a Process and Impact evaluation assessed the way in which PHUs with a high proportion of migrants considered these migrants in their HEIAs. This study found that although migrants had been included in HEIAs, this tended to be done when the impact on migrants was anticipated. Additionally, there remains an incoherent terminology accompanied by a confounding of the concepts of migration, racialization, and ethnicity, which are reflected in the type of recommendations developed. These recommendations often focused on translation of documents into various languages and the acquiring of greater information through community partnerships. The process and capacity to include migrants in HEIAs were influenced by the availability of resources and evidence, the prioritisation of recommendations relating to migrants, and the overall impressions the staff had on the HEIA process. Nonetheless, the HEIA process was beneficial in that it strengthened relationships with migrant community organisations. This thesis work also resulted in the development of a HIA-specific theoretical framework based on the literature and empirical findings of this work. This framework is conducive to adopting a tactical approach to HIA by considering the various contextual factors influencing the completion of an HIA and implementation of its recommendations. In conclusion, although migrants are understood to be an important group often facing circumstances of disadvantage, they are only sometimes considered in HIAs. Several procedural and contextual barriers are encountered which influence their consideration. Significant guidance is still required to facilitate their adequate consideration and ensure the development of optimal recommendations. HIA frameworks should explicitly mention migrants as a potentially disadvantaged group and guidance documents could be developed to address the current gaps in understanding migrant issues.

Despite the plethora of research on migration, little is known about behaviours and experiences of older working age migrants. This thesis focuses on Polish migrants aged 45-65, who have arrived in the UK since 2004 looking for work and better opportunities. The purpose of the study is to explore links between age and migration by investigating older migrants who are still economically active. Thirty five interviews were carried out across the UK using an oral history qualitative approach. These migrants were particularly affected by redundancy during the transitional period from socialism to capitalism in Poland; they then found it almost impossible to find other work because of their age. The decision to migrate may have been influenced by an early exposure to Western influences; however, it was the impact of unemployment and debt that led to a re-evaluation of their lives. Although they may be at different family stages, these older migrants' shared background and perception of their lack of value has shaped their migration experience. They represent parents, grandparents, sons, daughters, married couples, widows and single persons; this age group gives a more complete and nuanced picture of family life and relationships. The emotional costs are high when families are separated through migration, especially when elderly parents are involved. Despite the wide age range, family experiences are often very similar, with preferences for staying at home and watching Polish television. However, the opportunity of employment in the UK has given them an economic and social value no longer available to them in their homeland. As so much of their life course has been invested in Poland, many see no need to learn English; it is not a priority as they have virtual social interactions with family and friends in Poland and continue to inhabit a Polish-speaking world. This age group are also more likely to be pioneer migrants, accessing new destinations.