Thesis advisor: Danielle Hedegard / There are an estimated 150,000 Brazilians currently in the state of Massachusetts living, working, and living as immigrants in the “nation of immigrants” (McDonnell and de Lourenco, 2009; p. 241). The population often goes unnoticed, lost among a sea of immigrants in the landscape of Massachusetts. Occupying sub jobs, these Brazilian immigrants very often lose their status, and voices in the process of immigration to the United States. Over time, many Brazilians are able to achieve economical and occupational success in Massachusetts and decide to make the United States their home. Guided by the research questions: “How do Brazilian immigrants’ perceptions of the American Dream change with respect to reality and their lived experiences?” and “What are the lived experience of Brazilian immigrants?” I intend to understand this transition from temporary immigrant to permanent resident, and how the American Dream plays into these shifting expectations. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2012. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Sociology Honors Program. / Discipline: Sociology.

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

Cette thèse traite de l'évolution du processus migratoire turc en Allemagne et en France, par un intérêt porté aux jeunes générations à Hambourg et à Bordeaux. Cette étude s’appuie sur une méthodologie qualitative. Elle repose sur deux monographies (Hambourg et Bordeaux), sur des situations d’observations dans les quartiers et sur des entretiens approfondis et non-directifs de quarante jeunes à Bordeaux (quartiers Palmer à Cenon, trois zones de Génicart à Lormont) et quarante jeunes à Hambourg (quartiers Altona / Sankt Pauli, Sankt Georg, Billstedt et Wilhelmsburg). Ce travail souligne qu'il existe plusieurs évolutions des dynamiques migratoires et confirme ainsi l’existence d’une assimilation segmentée au sein de la dynamique migratoire turque dans deux pays différents, la France et l’Allemagne. L’immigration turque, décrite comme transnationale, s’adapte donc aux diverses sociétés d’implantation.Le premier processus s'appuie sur la communauté et ses ressources identitaires et économiques. Ce schéma se construit aussi sur des stratégies de distinction juvéniles urbaines. Le second processus se caractérise par une marginalisation juvénile et par une mobilité sociale et symbolique descendante.Le troisième processus est un modèle plus "classique" d'intégration. Il répond davantage aux prescriptions souvent normatives des sociétés allemande et française.Dans chaque pays, ces processus sont influencés par différents contextes (national, institutionnel etlocal) produisant des résultats paradoxaux. Le contexte bordelais préserve mieux les solidarités ethniques, rend plus difficiles les réussites individuelles, en dépit de la philosophie républicaine et il active bien plus les frustrations. / This Dissertation has as topic the evolution of Turkish migratory process in Germany and inFrance, by an interest carried to the young generations in Hamburg and in Bordeaux. This study isbased on a qualitative methodology. It refers to two precise investigations (in Hambourg and Bordeaux) using observations of different neighbourhoods and indirect indepth interviews withforty youths in Bordeaux (the neighbourhoods spanning from Palmer to Cenon, covering threezones from Génicart to Lormont) and with forty youths in Hambourg (Altona/Sankt Pauli, SanktGeorg, Billstedt and Wilhelmsburg).This survey underlines that there are several patterns of migratory dynamics and confirms the existence of a segmented assimilation within the turkish migratory dynamic. Turkish immigration,described as a transnational phenomenon, therefore adapts itself according to the society itencounters.First process leans on the community and on it's economic and identitary resources. This pattern is also based upon urban youth strategies aiming for differentiation. Second process is characterised by a downward assimilation, a juvenile marginalization/dicrimination and by a failing social and symbolic mobility.The third pattern is a more "classical " model of integration. It corresponds much more to frenchand german prescriptions, which are often normative. In each country, these processes are influenced by different contexts (national, institutional and local), which produce paradoxicalresults. The current context in Bordeaux preserves ethnic solidarities very well, but it also makesindividual success harder, in spite of the republicain philosophy, constituting a source of frustration for the local population.

No description available.

This dissertation examines the adaptation of Christian refugees from Southern Sudan—primarily Dinkas and mostly educated—to living in Ottawa, Canada, not historically a gateway immigrant city. The discussion is based on sustained observation, documentation and analysis of South Sudanese refugees between 2005 and 2009, including 32 recorded interviews of adults, as well as a focus group held with young adults. It examines the findings through the lenses of social capital, with its focus on trust and reciprocity, and segmented assimilation to study the South Sudanese refugees’ integration through their most important groupings: ethnic, gendered, racial and religious. The study also focuses on the cultural, gender and language dynamics of a nascent South Sudanese-focused congregation and a related East African congregation. The experiences of Anglican and Catholic congregations with Christian Sudanese refugees were also examined. The research suggests that inter-culturally competent ethnic and religious leadership is central to the ability of migrant groups in the Global North to have enough bonding social capital to mediate the adaptation process and to bridge or link to other groups. First-wave, mostly male, educated refugees often have the inter-cultural skills and agency to set up effective organizations, but a continued focus on their region of origin, facilitated by the Internet and cell phones, makes a sustained emphasis on organizational-supported living in Canada difficult. While the values of many Sudanese-born women and their children converge with those of mainstream Canadian society, men living within patriarchal value systems, supported by literal interpretations of Holy Scriptures, face challenges, and the resulting conflicts threaten family cohesion. Both the denominational and the ethnic churches, in supporting new migrants spiritually and socially, are caught between denominational parameters and goals of ethnic identity, culture and values maintenance, made more difficult by the Sudanese not having a common language. The dissertation also begins to analyze the impact for recent African Christian immigrants of a culture that emphasizes individual rights, including the effects of the increasing presence of openly gay leaders in the Canadian but not in the African Church. / Cette dissertation se penche sur l’adaptation des réfugiés chrétiens originaires du Sud du Soudan, en majorité d’ethnie Dinka et scolarisés, vivant à Ottawa, Canada. Les résultats de la recherche sur 5 ans suggèrent qu’une gestion adéquate des dynamiques ethniques et religieuses au niveau interculturel est capitale dans la capacité des groupes de migrants dans les pays développés pour générer suffisamment de capital social et faciliter le processus d’adaptation pour se lier à d’autres groupes. Les églises confessionnelles et les églises ethniques, en aidant les immigrants spirituellement et socialement, sont coincées entre des paramètres confessionnels et des objectifs d’identification ethnique, de maintien de valeurs et de culture, compliqués par l’absence d’une langue commune parmi les Soudanais. Cette dissertation tente aussi d’analyser l’impact pour les immigrants africains de fraîche date, d’une culture qui valorise les droits individuels, y compris l’émergence de chefs de file ouvertement homosexuels dans les églises canadiennes mais non dans les églises africaines. / University of Ottawa

The focus of this paper is second-generation immigrants and their labor market performance. With increased immigration from a more diverse ethnic background during the latest decades, it has become apparent that there is a difference between immigrant ethnic groups in labor market performance, in which some groups are more disadvantaged. Now more of these children have grown up, and research shows that the difficulties their parents had, affects the second generation. It is therefore of interest to understand what causes problems and generates opportunities for the second generation and try to understand the division between groups. One theory regarding the integration over generations and the differences between groups is segmented assimilation theory, proposed by Portes and Zhous (1993). According to this theory, both individual characteristics, and the context of immigrant lives are important. Starting with this theory, this paper looks deeper into individual characteristics and context, with special attention towards the implication of the context and the labor market. The thesis does this by testing if “local context,” a concept by Ellis & Almgren (2009) branched to understand the local geographical dimension at a smaller scale than national matter, in the shape of regions. The focus toward context and labor market is due to a small degree of research that attempts to explain how well the second-generation succeeds, depending on the labor market. The method for this is quantitative and builds on comparisons between regressions. A measurement called International Socioeconomic Index (ISEI) is used to explain the impact of the differences between ethnic groups. First are ordinary least square regressions with only ethnic groups, individual characteristics and no spatial aspect compared to a multilevel model based on labor market regions. Further are the spatial characteristics (whether a region is a big city or not), and the degree to which a region is knowledge-based. These factors are added in a multilevel regression to see if these spatial aspects can explain what it is about the regions that have an impact. The result shows a difference between both ethnic groups and regions, and that regions do explain some of the difference between the ethnic groups. The data also show that some non-European groups have higher status occupation than previous research has indicated. Other factors affecting immigrant groups are whether they live in a big city region or not, and how knowledge-based a region is, there it is an advantage living in regions with these factors. However, there is still an unexplained difference between ethnic groups, due to unknown factors. The result are also influenced of sample selection, it is therefore important to be aware that this result only show people with occupation and not labor market performance overall, as unemployment is not taken into account.

No description available.

This exploratory descriptive study looks at the characteristics of immigrant children in the greater metropolitan Los Angeles area who participate in organizations associated with their parents' country of origin. By drawing on the 2004 Immigration and Intergenerational Mobility in Metropolitan Los Angeles (IIMMLA) survey dataset, I bring together aspects of the participation and assimilation literatures in order to better understand who participates in ethnic organizations. Results provide evidence that ethnic organization participants differ from the full sample and from respondents who participate in community organizations; they exhibit more ethnic resource characteristics. Significant determinants of participation in ethnic organizations include having a larger numbers of close relatives in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, literacy in their parents' native language, higher education levels, and being married. These findings indicate that ethnic resources are more important to immigrant children who participate in ethnic organizations than attaining dominant characteristics or straight-line assimilation in society.