Every year, an increasing number of displaced people arrive at the United States of America's border to request asylum. Several groups are working to help migrants by providing them with essential items and services, housing, and legal advice. Drawing on ethnographic findings, this work presents a situated perspective of how citizen responders utilize technological systems to provide relief to those affected by the immigration crisis. Often, these citizens with common goals come together to form organizations. This study investigates how social media and technology support on-the-ground work, advocacy work, care-work, and invisible work of these organizations. Further, I highlight how technological systems fail organizations and how the emergence of care-work replaced these systems. Finally, I make design recommendations to social media and technological systems' design to boost the efficacy of collective crisis response by citizens. / Master of Science / Every year, an increasing number of displaced people arrive at the United States of America's border to request asylum. Several groups are working to help migrants by providing them with essential items and services, housing, and legal advice. Drawing on ethnographic findings, this work presents a situated perspective of how citizen responders utilize technological systems to provide relief to those affected by the immigration crisis. Often, these citizens with common goals come together to form organizations. This study investigates how social media and technology support on-the-ground work, advocacy work, care-work, and invisible work of these organizations. Further, I highlight how technological systems fail organizations and how the emergence of care-work replaced these systems. Finally, I make design recommendations to social media and technological systems' design to boost the efficacy of collective crisis response by citizens.

This thesis presents three case studies in which comic-based digital storytelling is adopted as a means to support the reflection on particular situations involving conflicts. The potential of digital storytelling combined with the comic’s genre has been identified in previous works. Anyway, there is a need of empirical evidence on the advantages and disadvantages on which this approach can be based. Moreover, in most of the research, it has to be noted that digital comics have been identified, in the majority of the research, as a medium to access content, not to create them. Consequently, this thesis contributes to the investigation of employing digital storytelling based on comics informed by previous practices to narratives’ use. Therefore, the case studies are conducted to deeply explore how comic-based digital storytelling can support the reflection of significant troubling experiences. Quantitative and qualitative methods, related to both the user experience and the comics’ construction, are used, which show the benefits and drawbacks when adopting digital torytelling in the form of comics. Finally, the strengths and weaknesses of this approach are described in the conclusion. As a matter of fact, in the conclusion, we report a final reflection on the engagement, stakeholder involvement, collaboration, technology, comics, and reflection concepts while considering possible future works on the research topic.

This paper examined the complex factors involved in China's Three Gorges Dam (TGD) project from a political ecological perspective, focusing on the social and environmental impacts of the project, as well as national ambitions and local realities, within 20 years after its completion.  This study fills in the gap in understanding socio-political implications of large water conservancy facilities in the context of non-Western capitalism in China, especially under its centralized system. It offers TGD as an important case for the study of political ecology in Asia. The paper mainly analyzes the impact of TGD project ecologically and socially over the 20 years following the construction, from both the perspectives of the state and the migrants. Furthermore, in the context of the larger historical evolution, the dynamic relationship between the role and power of the government in China as a hydraulic society in the 21st century is examined.   To achieve this goal, the study employed qualitative research methods, including semi-structured interviews, context analysis, and social impact assessments. The main findings are reflected in a twofold narrative: the state highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of the TGD project, which has boosted the country's development. However, the displaced migrants have faced material and spiritual challenges for 20 years. The whole process has also revealed the imbalance between central decision-making and local implementation, resulting in corruption and credibility problems for governments, as well as economic losses for migrants.  In general, this paper offers a detail understanding of the government role and resource management strategies in China, by applying political ecology and hydraulic society theory in TGD project. At the same time, it contributes to the global discussion on the development-induced displacement and resettlement (DIDR). It also provides a new discussion on the complex relationship between the social background and the natural environment of large-scale water conservancy facilities. Ultimately, the article enriches the field of political ecology with an in-depth case study of TGD, highlighting the unique aspects of dam construction within China’s political framework. / Detta examensarbete analyserar Kinas största vattendamsprojekt Three Gorges Dam (TGD). Genom att kombinera ett politiskt-ekologiskt perspektiv med kvalitativa forskningsmetoder så bidrar examensarbetet till forskning för att förstå sociopolitiska implikationer av storskaliga vattenkraftsprojekt och bidrar mer specifikt med en fallstudie från Kina som ett icke-västligt land med centraliserat beslutssystem. Fokus var på TGDs sociala och miljömässiga effekter 20 år efter det att det slutförts och inkluderade analyser av statliga ambitioner, lokala realiteter, samt erfarenheter från de miljontals migranter som projektet gav upphov till. Regeringens roll och makt i Kina tolkas dessutom baserat på teorin kring ”hydrauliska samhällen” för att fånga in statens roll i att kontrollera vatten och studien bidrar därmed till att placera TGD som central inom Kinas bredare historiska och moderna utveckling. Studien använde kvalitativa forskningsmetoder, inklusive (i) kontextanalys av dokument från staten, kommunistpartiet, nyhetsmedia och organisationer; (ii) metoder från social konsekvensbedömning av stora projekt; samt (iii) semistrukturerade intervjuer av migranter. De viktigaste resultaten återspeglas i en dubbel berättelse: staten lyfte fram de miljömässiga och ekonomiska fördelarna med TGD-projektet som den menar har stärkt landets utveckling. De fördrivna migranterna har dock stått in förmateriella och personliga utmaningar under de 20 år som gått vilket inte uppmärksammats inom staten eller knappt i media. Hela processen, från planering till idag, avslöjar obalansen mellan centralt beslutsfattande och lokalt genomförande, vilket resulterat i korruption och trovärdighetsproblem för staten, såväl som ekonomiska förluster för migranter. Baserat på politisk ekologi och teorier kring hydrauliska samhällen, så ger examensarbetet således en detaljerad förståelse av regeringens roll och resursförvaltningsstrategier i Kina. Samtidigt bidrar det till internationella diskussioner kring hur storskaliga projekt bidrar till vad vissa kallar ”utvecklingsinducerad migration” (Eng. development-induced displacement and resettlement, DIDR). Arbetet bidrar också till diskussioner kring hur samhälle och miljö sammanflätas på komplexa sätt genom storskaliga dammar och vattenkraftsanläggningar. Examensarbetet berikar fältet politisk ekologi med en djupgående fallstudie av TGD och lyfter fram Kinas unika aspekter som land och politisk ekonomi.

Particulièrement touchées par la pénurie de main-d'œuvre, les territoires régionaux du Québec voient une tendance à la hausse du nombre de travailleur.se.s temporaires qualifié.e.s qui s'y installent avec les membres de leur famille. Lorsqu'elles s'établissent en région, ces familles font face à des défis particuliers liés à la précarité de leur statut migratoire et au contexte géographique particulier. Dans l'optique d'explorer la migration temporaire sous les angles de la famille et du territoire, cette recherche se focalise sur le cas des migrant.e.s temporaires en emploi qui s'installent avec leur famille dans la région rurale de la municipalité régionale de comté (MRC) de Lotbinière. Plus précisément, nous mobilisons le concept de capital spatial pour analyser l'espace de vie et les pratiques territoriales de ces familles. À partir d'un ensemble de 15 entretiens menés en 2022, nos analyses suggèrent que la présence de la cellule familiale est bénéfique pour user des ressources du territoire, mais qu'elle engendre des défis, notamment liés à la mobilité. En outre, notre étude révèle l'influence du genre et de l'âge sur l'expérience territoriale, mettant en évidence les avantages et les enjeux du territoire de Lotbinière, vécus de manière distincte par les différents membres de la famille. Également, notre étude souligne qu'au-delà des caractéristiques intrinsèques du territoire de Lotbinière, le statut temporaire, accompagné du permis de travail fermé, entraînent des répercussions sur l'ensemble des membres de la cellule familiale et sur les dynamiques de rétention de l'immigration en région. En bref, cette étude offre une perspective qui considère les travailleur.se.s temporaires non seulement comme une source de main-d'œuvre, mais comme des individus appartenant à une famille, permettant ainsi une meilleure compréhension des enjeux liés à la migration familiale sous statut temporaire en région. / Particularly hard hit by labour shortage, Quebec's regions are seeing a significant increase in the number of skilled temporary workers migrating with family members. When they settle in regional areas, these temporary migrant families face particular challenges related to the precariousness of their migratory status and their geographical context. In order to explore temporary migration from a family perspective, this research focuses on the case of temporary migrants who settle as a family in the regional area of Lotbinière. Using the concept of spatial capital, this research analyzes family practices, spatial opportunities and strategies employed to benefit from the inhabited territory. Based on a set of 15 qualitative interviews conducted in 2022, our study reveals the influence of gender and age on migrants' families' territorial experience, highlighting the opportunities and constraints of the Lotbinière territory, experienced in distinct ways by different family members. Our analyses suggest that the presence of the family is beneficial for making use of the territory's resources, but that it also generates mobility-related challenges. In addition, our study highlights that, beyond the characteristics of the Lotbinière region, temporary status and closed work permits have repercussions on the family as a whole, and on the dynamics of immigration retention in rural areas. In short, this study offers a perspective that considers temporary workers not just as a source of labour, but as individuals belonging to a family, thus enabling a better understanding of the issues associated with family migration under temporary status in rural areas.

In developing countries like Ethiopia rural-urban migration affects development in both urban and rural areas. As such, this study aims at establishing the major causes and consequences of the movement of people from rural to urban areas. To achieve the objective 500 migrant household heads were selected randomly from three kebeles of the town. Both primary and secondary data were employed and were analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively. The study revealed that migrants came to Woldiya in search of employment and to utilize urban services and education. Hence, the out flow of economically active people from the rural agricultural sector has a negative effect on production in the areas of origin and the receiving area now experiences problems such as a shortage of housing, unemployment, increasing cost of living, lack of access to social services, Therefore, to mitigate the problem of rural-urban migration is launching of integrated rural development policy / Geography / M.A. (Geography)

Thesis (DPhil (Sociology))--Stellenbosch University, 2008. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of this thesis is to investigate a group of Francophone African migrants in Cape Town during the decade following the end of the apartheid era. The focus of the thesis, however, is on the reasons why French-speaking Africans leave their countries of origin, the reasons for coming to South Africa, and finally the reasons why within South Africa, they decide to settle in Cape Town, with a particular accent put on the integration of these migrants into the local society. The thesis considers legal migrants, students, refugees and extra-legals as the four categories of migrants according to theoretical frameworks. A brief overview of selected theories of international migration is considered to provide a framework for the Francophone African migration to Cape Town. The theoretical causes of Francophone African migration are viewed through both theories on the initiation of migration and theories of the perpetuation of migration. Apart from the theoretical synopsis, the data on which this study is based are derived from both qualitative and quantitative methodological approaches. Alongside secondary sources, a series of interviews, based on categories of migrants and gender, were conducted in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Pretoria in South Africa, as well as in Libreville in Gabon. In-depth interviews and focus-groups aimed at collecting information concerning the three main questions of the study. The reasons for the departure of Francophone Africans from their countries of origin are complex and mainly depend on the categories of migrants. As far as legal migrants and students are concerned, economic, political, social and academic paralysis, career prospects and the desire to pursue studies are the main reasons. As for refugees and extralegals, armed conflicts, environmental catastrophes, economic and social deterioration and social capital seem to be the main causes. Since 1994, South Africa has claimed a strong leadership role on the continent because of its economic and political strengths. Educational infrastructure, the language factor and social capital are also reasons why migrants choose South Africa as a host country. The settlement in Cape Town depends on various factors, including the consideration of the city as first choice, safety concerns in other South African cities, the inability to settle in other cities, particularly Johannesburg, and social networks. French language seems to be a common language identity linking various ethnic groups residing in Francophone Africa. However, once migrants have established themselves in Cape Town, their ethnic, religious or political identities prevail. The thesis analyses the settlement of migrants in Cape Town by pointing out the complexities of migrant life in a case study of each category considered. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Hierdie tesis het ten doel om ‘n groep Franssprekende Afrika migrante in Kaapstad, in die dekade wat direk op die einde van die apartheidsera gevolg het, te ondersoek. Die tesis fokus op die redes waarom Franssprekende Afrikane hulle land van oorsprong verlaat, die redes waarom hulle na Suid-Afrika kom en, laastens, die redes waarom hulle in Suid-Afrika besluit om in Kaapstad te bly – die klem is spesifiek op die integrasie van die migrante binne die plaaslike gemeenskap. Na aanleiding van die teoretiese raamwerke wat vir die studie oorweeg word, neem die tesis wettige migrante, studente, vlugtelinge en onwettige migrante as die vier kategorieë van migrante, in ag. ’n Bondige oorsig van uitgesoekte teorieë vir internasionale migrasie word as raamwerk vir die Franssprekende Afrikane se migrasie na Kaapstad oorweeg. Die teoretiese oorsake vir Franssprekende Afrikane se migrasie word deur beide die teorieë vir die inisiasie vir migrasie en die teorieë vir die bestendiging vir migrasie beoordeel. Naas die teoretiese sinopsis, word die data waarop hierdie studie gebaseer is, van beide kwalitatiewe en kwantitatiewe metodologiese benaderinge afgelei. Aanvullend tot die sekondêre bronne, is daar ook ‘n reeks onderhoude, gebaseer op kategorieë van migrante en geslag, in Kaapstad, Johannesburg en Pretoria in Suid-Afrika asook in Libreville in Gabon, gevoer – in diepte onderhoude en fokusgroepe met die doel om inligting rakende die drie hoofkwessies van die studie in te win. Die redes vir die emigrasie van Franssprekende Afrikane uit hulle oorsprongsland is kompleks en hang grotendeels saam met die kategorieë van migrante. Wat die wettige migrante en studente aanbetref is ekonomiese, politieke, sosiale en akademiese magteloosheid, loopbaan vooruitsigte en die begeerte vir die nastreef van studies, die hoofredes. Vir vlugtelinge en onwettige migrante blyk die hoofoorsake dié van gewapende konflik, natuurrampe, ekonomiese en sosiale agteruitgang en sosiale kapitaal te wees. Sedert 1994, het Suid-Afrika, weens haar ekonomiese en politieke vermoëns, ’n sterk leierskapsrol op die kontinent uitgeoefen. Opvoedkundige infrastrukture, die taalkwessie en sosiale kapitaal is nog redes waarom migrante Suid-Afrika as gasheerland uitsonder. Vestiging in Kaapstad hang van verskeie redes af, insluitende die inagneming van die stad as eerste keuse, veiligheidsaspekte in ander Suid-Afrikaanse stede en die onvermoë om in ander stede gevestig te word. Die klem in hierdie verband rus veral op Johannesburg en sosiale netwerke. Frans as taal skyn ‘n algemene identiteit te wees wat verskeie etniese groepe in Franssprekende Afrika met mekaar verbind. Tog is dit hulle etniese, godsdienstige en politieke identiteit wat gehandhaaf word sodra migrante hulself in Kaapstad gevestig het. Die tesis analiseer ook die vestiging van migrante in Kaapstad deur die kompleksiteite binne die leeftydsmigrasie van ’n gevallestudie vir elke kategorie in ag te neem.

Dans un contexte où l'importance croissante de la mondialisation des flux migratoires en provenance de la région caraïbéenne s'intensifie et se diversifie, une prise en compte plus détaillée de l'évolution des stratégies de migrants au sein des sociétés d'accueil et de leur impact socioéconomique et politique sur les sociétés de départ s'impose. Notre thèse déclinée en trois parties s'inscrit précisément dans une réflexion sur l'engagement associatif à distance du migrant-acteur haïtien et jamaïcain, dans un cadre institutionnel français pour l'un et britannique pour l'autre. Au cœur d'un dispositif qui lie responsables locaux du pays d'origine et élus de la société d'accueil mettant en interaction différentes formes d'intervention de l'État d'origine, comment donc ce dernier peut-il alors agir et avoir un rôle incitatif en favorisant la participation de cette communauté transnationale ou encore en coordonnant des actions des associations de migrants ? En quoi le cadre associatif transnational est-il favorable au développement dans le contexte haïtien / jamaïcain ? En considérant l'émergence puis l'évolution du tissu associatif haïtien en terre française, et celles du tissu associatif jamaïcain en terre britannique, nous avons voulu chercher à comprendre les motivations derrière l'engagement de porter des projets de développement dans le pays d'origine. Notre travail de terrain, ainsi que notre dispositif méthodologique dans une approche de terrain multi-situé, nous a permis de mieux saisir les mécanismes de solidarité collective et de mise en commun de ressources. Partant d'un fait observé, une dynamique associative, qui s'est amplifiée au lendemain du séisme en Haïti / In a context where the growing importance of the globalization of migratory flows from the Caribbean region is intensifying and diversifying, a detailed attention on the evolution of migrants' strategies within host societies as well as their socioeconomic and political impact on the origin societies is required. Our thesis in three parts inscribes itself in a reflection on long-distance associative engagement of the Haitian and Jamaican migrant-actor, in a French institutional framework as well as a British one. At the heart of a model between local officials of the country of origin and elected officials of the host society, how can it act in an incentive capacity to foster or to better coordinate the actions taken by migrants' associations? How can a transnational associative framework be beneficiary to the development in the Haitian/Jamaican context? In considering the emergence and evolution of the Haitian associative landscape (France) and Jamaican (the United Kingdom), we wanted to understand the motivations behind the long-distance commitment to bring about development projects in the country of origin. Our fieldwork as well as our methodological approach in a multi-sited terrain helped us better grasp some of the mechanisms of bounded solidarity and of shared resources.Starting from an observed fact, an associative dynamic, which grew significantly in the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti in January 2010, our study highlights three key elements: the relevance of the sense of belonging of migrants associations, the paramount importance of the relationship between the origin State and the its citizens abroad, and the growing, diverse and complex evolution

Cette thèse s’intéresse aux effets de l’opposition entre les dynamiques migratoires et les dynamiques de contrôle frontalier. L’étude se centre sur le flux de migrants centraméricains à destination des États-Unis. Ce flux transite par un système de frontières formé d’une zone tampon sur l’ensemble du territoire mexicain et d’une frange érigée en rempart high-tech à la frontière sud des États-Unis. Dans cet immense espace, la frontière a créé des marges par où les migrants tentent la contourner en traversant par une économie souterraine structurée autour de l’abus aux migrants clandestins en transit. L’analyse du système migratoire d’un village des hautes terres du Guatemala montre comment le flux persiste malgré la frontière par l’action en réseau de migrants. La comparaison entre une trentaine d’expériences d’hommes et de femmes en mobilité clandestine sur la route de transit révèle que la frontière s’abat sur les acteurs dans des modalités spécifiques selon leur genre et leurs ressources sociales, économiques et de mobilité. Les migrants éprouvent la frontière comme un espace d’adversité auquel ils doivent s’adapter en permanence en l’assumant intégralement afin de pouvoir continuer leur voyage vers le lieu qu’ils imaginent au nord. Ce travail, fondé sur des enquêtes de terrain réalisées entre 2005 et 2012 dans des lieux d’origine, de transit et de destination disséminés dans l’espace migratoire, cherche à illustrer comment un flux migratoire et ses acteurs réagissent à un système frontalier contemporain. / This thesis addresses the effects of the conflict between migration dynamics and the dynamics of border enforcement. The study focuses on the flow of Central American migrants heading to the United States. This flow follows a system of borders formed by a buffer zone throughout Mexican territory and a strip of land erected as a high-tech rampart on the southern border of the United States. Across this immense space, the border has created margins that migrants try to circumvent by entering an underground economy structured around the abuse on clandestine migrants in transit. The analysis of the migratory system of a village in Guatemalan highlands shows how the migration flow persists, despite the border, through the action in network of migrants. The comparison of about thirty experiences of men and women in clandestine movements reveals that the border affects the various actors in specific ways, depending on their gender as well as their social, economic and mobility resources. Migrants experience the border as a space of adversity to which they must constantly adapt to, by assuming it integrally, in order to be able to continue their journey to the place they imagine northward. This work, based on field investigations conducted between 2005 and 20012 during different stages of the migratory process (e.g. in places of origin, transit and destination) seeks to illustrate how a migration flow and its actors react to a contemporary system of borders.

Cette recherche examine les pratiques politiques médiatisées des migrants marocains. En mobilisant une double approche diachronique et synchronique, on montre dans un premier temps que ces pratiques ne datent pas d’aujourd’hui mais qu’elles sont concomitantes aux premières vagues migratoires marocaines. A travers l’analyse d’un corpus de « presse militante », on approche la façon dont se manifestent les appartenances, les différentes stratégies de représentation d’un soi collectif ainsi que les formes d’expression des identités politiques de ces migrants, pendant la période coloniale et durant le processus de démocratisation du Maroc. On étudie dans un deuxième temps les pratiques politiques qui se construisent, circulent et se donnent à voir dans différents espaces en ligne pour comprendre comment elles participent à la construction et à la réécriture de la marocanité. Toutes ces pratiques politiques médiatisées ne se déroulent pas dans un vide social. Il est primordial de prendre en compte, pour leur appréhension, du cadre sociopolitique dans lequel elles se déroulent mais aussi de la question de la stratification sociale. Au delà de la question de la technique, c’est l’action symbolique d’écriture de la politique qui réunit l’ensemble des acteurs migrants engagés dans ce type de pratiques depuis les années 1930 et jusqu’à nos jours. Le geste d’écriture, comme action performative promettant d’obtenir une existence et une visibilité, est toujours accompagné par cet espoir de reconquérir une parole confisquée par un pouvoir politique dominant. A travers la médiation de l’écriture, ces pratiques médiatisées sont l’expression d’une volonté d’action de quelques groupes de migrants, déterritorialisés et non investis d’autorité, mais qui veulent prendre la parole pour s’exprimer sur ce qui se passe là-Bas, dans leur pays d’origine. / This research examines the mediatized political practices of Moroccan migrants. By mobilizing a double diachronic and synchronic approaches, this paper shows firstly that these practices are not new but concomitant with the first Moroccan migration waves. Through the analysis of an “activist press” corpus, this research shows how memberships, the different strategies of representation of collective, and political identities of these migrants during the colonial period and during the process of democratization in Morocco, are manifested. Secondly, this paper studied political practices, which circulate in different online spaces, to understand how they contribute to the construction and rewriting of the “Moroccaness”. For a better understanding, it is essential to take into account the socio-Political context in which these mediatized political practices are developed, in addition to issues of social stratification. Beyond the question of technology, it is the symbolic action of writing the policy that gathers all migrant actors who have been engaged in such practices since the 1930s until today. The act of writing as a performative action, which holds the promise of achieving existence and visibility, is always accompanied by the hope of regaining a voice, which has been cloaked by the dominant political power. Through the mediation of writing, these practices are the expression of the action of some migrant groups, who are deterritorialized and not invested with any authority, but who want to take the floor to articulate about what is happening in their homeland.

L’influence montante de la Chine en Afrique est souvent analysée comme la simple exprsssion d’unevolonté étatique chinoise. Le rôle des migrants et diasporas contribue pourtant de manière primordialeau dynamisme des échanges. C’est notamment le cas des Chinois au Nigér ia. Entre la Chine et leNigéria, les relations inter-étatiques sont peu significatives, contrairement aux échanges initiés par laprésence de migrants et entrepreneurs chinois. Implantées solidement dans les tissus économiques duNigéria, les communautés chinoises créent une dynamique forte qui associe affaires et politique. Lathèse met en lumière et analyse à partir d’observations participantes et d’entretiens (formels etinformels) , le rôle d’impulsion joué par une « diaspora économique » largement autonome par rapportaux relations officielles. Elle décrypte les stratégies du quotidien et l'importance de ces individusordinaires et leurs actions, entretenus essentiellement par les réseaux de toute nature, dans l’animationdes relations sino-nigérianes. / The rising influence of China in Africa is often considered as the mere expression of the will theChinese state. The role of migrants and Diasporas contributes decisively to the dynamism of theseinteractions. This is notably the case of the Chinese in Nigeria. Between China and Nigeria, inter-staterelations carry little significance, unlike the interactions associated with the presence of Chinesemigrants and entrepreneurs. The Chinese communities are solidly anchored in the Nigerian economicissue, and they create a momentum that combines business with politics. The thesis highlights anddiscusses, through observer-participant observations and interviews (both formally and informallyconducted) the impulse given by an 'economic Diaspora' that remains largely autonomous vis a visofficial relations. We analyze daily strategies and contrast these with official relations. In doing so, thethesis decrypts the daily strategies and the importance of ordinary individuals and their networks in thedevelopment of a diversity of networks that contribute, in their own way, to deepen Sino-Nigerianinteractions.