Given the urgent need to integrate newcomers into organizations quickly in the age of globalization, it becomes essential to enhance knowledge on how to facilitate newcomer adjustment in the workplace. In the literature, organizational socialization tactics and newcomer information seeking are widely investigated in the western context as two critical factors influencing socialization outcomes. However, since most existing findings are based on western experience, the first purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of organizational socialization tactics and newcomer information seeking on socialization outcomes in an Asian context, specifically in China. Further, given that many existing studies have discussed the overall influence of organizational socialization tactics, but failed to explore in detail how specific socialization tactics affect newcomer adjustment, the second purpose of this research is to address this omission by taking an in-depth look. Additionally, in spite of the recognition of the practical value of perceived organizational support (POS) for newcomer adjustment, no research to date has been conducted to explain how to develop newcomers’ POS. Therefore, the third purpose of the research is to explore this issue through the discussion of the influence of organizational socialization tactics. Finally, although the significance of information seeking has been widely recognized, given that studies have found only weak or neutral relationships between information seeking and socialization outcomes, there are some research calls for unveiling such relationships through a discussion of potential moderators. Therefore, the last purpose of this research is to clarify the conditions under which newcomer information seeking really matters to socialization outcomes through the involvement of a moderating factor, leader-member exchange (LMX).The proposed hypotheses are examined through two studies in China following a pilot study. In the first study, data were collected through 177 newly hired insurance agents in a leading insurance organization in south China. In the second study, data were collected from 245 newly appointed doctors/nurses in southeast China. Results from hierarchical multiple regression indicate that of the three aspects of organizational socialization tactics, the social aspect is the strongest influential factor on socialization outcomes as against the context and content aspects. Moreover, the results signal a message that under collective, formal, fixed, sequential, serial and investiture organizational socialization tactics, newcomers are more likely to develop POS. The results also confirm the significance of information seeking on newcomer adjustment in China and go further to indicate that the influence of information seeking on socialization outcomes is weaker at a high quality of LMX than at a low quality of LMX. The implications of findings on theory and managerial practices are then discussed, followed by the research directions, strengths and limitations.

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Domestic abuse against women has been a concern among feminist theorists, scholars, and activists. Although the issue of domestic abuse is a popular research topic, what is often neglected is an analysis of how the experiences of newcomer women differ from other women who experience partner abuse. While domestic abuse is inflicted upon women of all cultures and from all economic classes, the experiences of newcomer women are unique. While there are many research initiatives that investigate the complexities of domestic abuse, one area that is less researched is that of domestic abuse as experienced by newcomer women. Examining the data collected from semi-structured interviews with Winnipeg police officers, social service providers, and survivors of intimate partner violence, this study explores the questions: ‘What layers of vulnerability do newcomer women face when trying to extricate themselves from abusive partnerships, and how may Canadian laws and social policies exacerbate their susceptibility?’

This research looks at the dynamics of identity formation in a higher education organisation during a strategic branding project, the arrival of a newcomer and my role as the dean of a school of art and design. Most branding literature focuses on the key stages of how a brand proposition is formed and assumes the straightforward roll out of the identity for the organisation. In this research I focus on what goes on around me as ideas are formed and presented back to the organisation, rather than on the idealised process of what should go on. The method takes a “withness” approach to the narrative rather than a synoptic case study approach, focusing on my experience and practice. This highlights the social context of organisational life – the context of human power relationships in which people enable and constrain each other on the basis of human attributes such as identities, anxieties, values, emotions, fear, expectations, motives and interests. The research shows that intention is only a part of the narratives about strategy and identity in organisations. I argue that notions of certainty that are inherent in intentional brand strategies are often based on arbitrary inferences and that by nature brand propositions are abstractions and therefore only representative of a partial reality. To present them in a rigid sense and develop vigilant strategies for identity preservation seems artificially limiting and devoid of context. Branding has played an important role in the world of objects and transactions. It has indicated a sense of ownership, a promise of quality and performance, and more recently an indication of self-image and identity. Yet when branding is applied to organisations it is problematic. Taking principles from a context of objects and applying them to social life has led to branding often being about the preservation of a specific concept of identity and not about the ongoing dynamic process of identity formation in organisations. It is frequently seen as manipulative and controlling, yet is also seen as an important indicator of personality, differentiation, togetherness and is linked to notions of loyalty and trust. Paralleling Mead’s notion of the “I-me” dialectic, an organization can also be seen to be emerging in the context in terms of its presentation in everyday life. The notion of certainty in this sense of organizational identity denies the dynamics of the situation and one could argue that vagueness is present in all aspects of social life and essential for creative action as it allows space for newness. Any articulation of identity is a simplification of an identity that is constantly evolving. But at what level are these simplifications and abstractions useful and not debilitating? This is not to argue that intention and strategy are not essential parts of joint action. The process of negotiating is an essential part of working together towards joint action. It is a process in which we reveal our intent and discover important aspects about each other and ourselves as we emerge in the social; it is about intention and attention. However we cannot really know how people will respond to our gestures and actions, and it is in the actions that we reveal the sincerity of our intent. Managers and strategies do not solely determine organisational identity, and neither are employees free to choose their identities, attitudes, expectations and actions. We are both enabled and constrained by our own pasts and social relationships. We inform the organisational identity as well as being informed by it in an on going process of relating. This way of thinking has implications for the way that we think about brand strategy in organisations – it is not a deterministic process of control, and neither is it a process of anarchic behavior, of open resistance to management intention. Branding is a social act and is performed by human agents who are inherently complex, individual and collective at the same time. The role of the practitioner is to make sense of what is going on between us and pay attention to what emerges – after all, it is not what a brand is but what a brand does.

The high prevalence of nutrition-related chronic conditions in children and adolescents is an emerging public health problem. Research has shown that newcomers to Canada (<5yrs) are at a greater risk of experiencing health and nutrition issues compared to the Canadian-born. The literature shows newcomers have better health upon arrival than the Canadian-born. However, as their length of stay in the country increases, their health status declines to that of Canadians or even surpasses them. To my knowledge, there has not been a comprehensive study on health and nutrition issues in newcomer children to Canada. Very few studies distinguish refugees from immigrants, even though they are two very different populations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the health and nutrition of newcomer refugee and immigrant children to Canada. Various health indices were examined. Questionnaires were administered to describe demographics, socio-economic status, physical and sedentary activity levels, and food security. Dietary assessments provided information on food group and nutrient intake and allowed us to develop scores based on Canadas Healthy Eating Index. Biomarkers of disease were also examined and included serum vitamin D, total cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, and total body bone mineral content. Immigrant and refugee children were eligible to participate if they were between the ages of 7-11 years and had been in Canada no more than five years (n=72). Descriptive analyses were conducted for all variables of interest. The prevalence of food insecurity was much higher in newcomers in this study compared to immigrant children from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2008. In this study, 66% of refugees and 39% of immigrants experienced some form of food insecurity whereas the CCHS 2008 found this value to be only 13%. Food security is directly related to income. The majority of participants in this study were classified in the lowest income category and 72% of refugee and 12% of immigrant children lived in a household where neither parent had a secondary level of education. Food insecurity has a negative impact on nutrient intake and overall health. Results from this study showed that immigrant and refugee newcomer children had a higher rate of overweight/obesity at approximately 29% compared to 26% in Canadian-born children. Participants also had lower mean scores based on Canadas Healthy Eating Index compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. Immigrants consumed a greater amount of sodium than refugees, however, still lower than Canadians. Low levels of dietary vitamin D and calcium in immigrants and refugees were consistent with a low consumption of milk and alternatives. Immigrants and refugees were also consuming lower amounts of fibre and folate (DFE) compared to Canadians. Other nutrients of concern for refugees included iron and zinc. Total body bone mineral content of newcomer children was similar to the Canadian-born. Comparing with published data, Canadian-born children had higher serum vitamin D levels than newcomer immigrant and refugee children in this study, 72.5% of whom were vitamin D deficient or had inadequate levels. Blood cholesterol was high in 40% of participants. Blood glucose was high in 7% of participants. In this study, newcomer children, particularly refugee children, were at risk of experiencing negative health outcomes such as higher levels of food insecurity, high prevalence of intake inadequacy of key nutrients, overweight and obesity, and vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy.

Tuberculosis has cast a long shadow on the history of Native-Newcomers relations in the Pacific Northwest. Malicious and deadly, it has dramatically affected the lives of thousands of Aboriginal people and become a permanent part of life in Stó:lõ communities. However, its history, especially the period 1871-1907, has been underrepresented in historical scholarship. Due to perceived scarcity of available quantitative information, scholars in general have paid little attention to tuberculosis, focusing instead on the early contact period, the sanatorium period that began in British Columbia in 1907, or on another disease altogether, usually smallpox. Moreover, when tuberculosis has been studied, it has been approached as a disease within a western bio-medical perspective.<p> In contrast to much of this historiography, this thesis examines tuberculosis more holistically as an illness best understood culturally, as it has been experienced by communities as well as by the individual. Through story and song as well as a thorough reading of familiar government records under a different lens, this thesis engages the perceptions and understandings of both Aboriginal people and Euro-Canadians, patients and government agents, to produce a more balanced, meaningful, and culturally reflexive understanding of the history of tuberculosis. Following a historiographical discussion in the introduction, chapter two explores Stó:lõ oral archival sources to engage Stó:lõ peoples perspective of tuberculosis and illness. These stories and songs, generated by Stó:lõ people themselves, demonstrate the profound influence that tuberculosis has had on Stó:lõ communities throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. With this new framework in mind, chapter three re-examines the historical record and specifically government documents created by the Department of Indian Affairs and other preceding agencies. This more holistic interpretation of tuberculosis reveals that rather than alleviating the severity and prevalence of tuberculosis in Stó:lõ communities, certain DIA initiatives likely exasperated its affects. By thus addressing the historiographical gap in tuberculosis literature and by generating a more meaningful, balanced, and culturally reflexive analysis of the history of tuberculosis among the Stó:lõ, this thesis contributes to Canadian medical history, the history of Native-Newcomer relations, and the history of the Stó:lõ people.

The high prevalence of nutrition-related chronic conditions in children and adolescents is an emerging public health problem. Research has shown that newcomers to Canada (<5yrs) are at a greater risk of experiencing health and nutrition issues compared to the Canadian-born. The literature shows newcomers have better health upon arrival than the Canadian-born. However, as their length of stay in the country increases, their health status declines to that of Canadians or even surpasses them. To my knowledge, there has not been a comprehensive study on health and nutrition issues in newcomer children to Canada. Very few studies distinguish refugees from immigrants, even though they are two very different populations. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the health and nutrition of newcomer refugee and immigrant children to Canada. Various health indices were examined. Questionnaires were administered to describe demographics, socio-economic status, physical and sedentary activity levels, and food security. Dietary assessments provided information on food group and nutrient intake and allowed us to develop scores based on Canadas Healthy Eating Index. Biomarkers of disease were also examined and included serum vitamin D, total cholesterol, blood glucose, blood pressure, and total body bone mineral content. Immigrant and refugee children were eligible to participate if they were between the ages of 7-11 years and had been in Canada no more than five years (n=72). Descriptive analyses were conducted for all variables of interest. The prevalence of food insecurity was much higher in newcomers in this study compared to immigrant children from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) 2008. In this study, 66% of refugees and 39% of immigrants experienced some form of food insecurity whereas the CCHS 2008 found this value to be only 13%. Food security is directly related to income. The majority of participants in this study were classified in the lowest income category and 72% of refugee and 12% of immigrant children lived in a household where neither parent had a secondary level of education. Food insecurity has a negative impact on nutrient intake and overall health. Results from this study showed that immigrant and refugee newcomer children had a higher rate of overweight/obesity at approximately 29% compared to 26% in Canadian-born children. Participants also had lower mean scores based on Canadas Healthy Eating Index compared to their Canadian-born counterparts. Immigrants consumed a greater amount of sodium than refugees, however, still lower than Canadians. Low levels of dietary vitamin D and calcium in immigrants and refugees were consistent with a low consumption of milk and alternatives. Immigrants and refugees were also consuming lower amounts of fibre and folate (DFE) compared to Canadians. Other nutrients of concern for refugees included iron and zinc. Total body bone mineral content of newcomer children was similar to the Canadian-born. Comparing with published data, Canadian-born children had higher serum vitamin D levels than newcomer immigrant and refugee children in this study, 72.5% of whom were vitamin D deficient or had inadequate levels. Blood cholesterol was high in 40% of participants. Blood glucose was high in 7% of participants. In this study, newcomer children, particularly refugee children, were at risk of experiencing negative health outcomes such as higher levels of food insecurity, high prevalence of intake inadequacy of key nutrients, overweight and obesity, and vitamin D deficiency and inadequacy.

In past decades historians have become increasingly focussed on Native political activism in Canada. This has brought greater understanding to Native political issues and a degree of legitimization to Native political activism. Despite historians interest in Native politics, however, some general weaknesses remain within the historiography. In particular, there has been a general tendency to document the political actions only of eras known to be politically prominent. This practice has led to an abundance of studies focussed on the Riel Uprisings and the surge of Native activism in the 1960s but has left other periods such as the interwar era significantly underrepresented. When the interwar era is mentioned, it is generally done in order to frame such political activities as context for other issues. These tendencies have created the impression that Native political activism was sporadic and reactionary, and therefore, not an established and legitimate response to longstanding grievances. This thesis attempts to rectify this gap within the historiography of Native political activism in Saskatchewan by illustrating the extent to which Native peoples during the interwar era were politically active. In establishing that Saskatchewan Native political activism was a force throughout the interwar era, this thesis elucidates the reasons for the rise in political activism within Saskatchewan Native communities, tracing the development of First Nations and Métis political organizations which began in the early 1920s and 1930s. This work then draws attention to the political strategies developed by Natives to achieve their political goals. Highlighting the period between 1922 and 1946 as a politically significant era for Natives in Saskatchewan, this work fundamentally demonstrates that the challenges facing Native political actions did not result in a failure of Native political identities as one might expect, but rather forced adaptation and growth.

Tuberculosis has cast a long shadow on the history of Native-Newcomers relations in the Pacific Northwest. Malicious and deadly, it has dramatically affected the lives of thousands of Aboriginal people and become a permanent part of life in Stó:lõ communities. However, its history, especially the period 1871-1907, has been underrepresented in historical scholarship. Due to perceived scarcity of available quantitative information, scholars in general have paid little attention to tuberculosis, focusing instead on the early contact period, the sanatorium period that began in British Columbia in 1907, or on another disease altogether, usually smallpox. Moreover, when tuberculosis has been studied, it has been approached as a disease within a western bio-medical perspective.<p> In contrast to much of this historiography, this thesis examines tuberculosis more holistically as an illness best understood culturally, as it has been experienced by communities as well as by the individual. Through story and song as well as a thorough reading of familiar government records under a different lens, this thesis engages the perceptions and understandings of both Aboriginal people and Euro-Canadians, patients and government agents, to produce a more balanced, meaningful, and culturally reflexive understanding of the history of tuberculosis. Following a historiographical discussion in the introduction, chapter two explores Stó:lõ oral archival sources to engage Stó:lõ peoples perspective of tuberculosis and illness. These stories and songs, generated by Stó:lõ people themselves, demonstrate the profound influence that tuberculosis has had on Stó:lõ communities throughout the latter part of the nineteenth century. With this new framework in mind, chapter three re-examines the historical record and specifically government documents created by the Department of Indian Affairs and other preceding agencies. This more holistic interpretation of tuberculosis reveals that rather than alleviating the severity and prevalence of tuberculosis in Stó:lõ communities, certain DIA initiatives likely exasperated its affects. By thus addressing the historiographical gap in tuberculosis literature and by generating a more meaningful, balanced, and culturally reflexive analysis of the history of tuberculosis among the Stó:lõ, this thesis contributes to Canadian medical history, the history of Native-Newcomer relations, and the history of the Stó:lõ people.

The need to belong is a fundamental human motivation. Individuals dedicate substantial time and effort into developing and maintaining interpersonal relationships with others, yet the structures and mechanisms through which individuals satisfy their need for belongingness has changed. Subjugated to the periphery of communal life are the geographically based communities and traditional forms of interest-based communities so popular among earlier generations (Putnam, 2000). In their place, modern individuals have created and joined new types of communities consistent with the wants and demands of the modern economy and lifestyle. Based on looseness and flexibility (Wuthnow, 1998), these modern communities are marked by fluidity of membership where individuals are free to enter and leave at their own peril. Yet, we know very little about the experiences of newcomers entering communities and the underlying processes through which newcomers join communities. Utilizing a longitudinal qualitative approach, the first goal of this dissertation was to develop a substantive theory explaining the underlying processes through which newcomers join communities, resulting in the creation of the Newcomer-to-Member model. In the second half of this dissertation, the focus shifts towards the impact of sport fanship as a mechanism to assist in the tumultuous newcomer adjustment process. Based on the experiences of 31 incoming college freshmen over a two-year period, four themes are presented that illustrate how sport fanship can positively affect the experiences of community newcomers: 1) Offering an early and flexible form of involvement; 2) Creating meaningful individual connections; 3) Promoting community ambassadors; and 4) Stimulating the identity negotiation process. Sport fanship is conceptualized in this dissertation not as a predictor of consumer behavior, but rather as a mechanism that can be specifically structured and designed to enhance the experiences and lives of individuals. The implications of the Newcomer-to-Member model and the four themes related to sport fanship are discussed in terms of theoretical implications for higher education, organizational socialization, and sport management. Moreover, practical implications for both higher education and sport management are also discussed. / text