This thesis consists of three studies on the role of social capital on the economic performance of recent immigrants to Canada in terms of employment probability, wages and time taken to access to the first job in intended occupation. The first study addresses literature gaps by performing an empirical analysis of the relationship between social capital and employment entry of recent immigrants using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Canada (LSIC). The research builds indicators of social capital based on a network-based concept using information unique to the LSIC, considering the types of networks (kinship, friendship, organization) and their content (size, diversity, density, quality). The study further explores the relationship between those indicators and employment likelihood of immigrants, using panel logit models including fixed-effects, random-effects and generalized estimating equations (GEE) population-averaged models to control for unobserved individual heterogeneity. The analysis reveals significant variability in the social capital stock across immigration classes and ethnic groups; furthermore, social capital stock, as measured by various indicators, influences the probability of employment in the initial four years. Possibly through a more ethnically diverse network, social capital plays an important role in facilitating the economic assimilation of recent immigrants in terms of a higher probability of getting employment. The second study of the thesis investigates the interactions between social capital and immigrants' wages, attempting to deal with some of the difficulties faced by previous studies on returns to social capital. The suspected correlation between social capital and unobserved individual ability motivates the study to treat social capital as endogenous. The estimator proposed by Hausman and Taylor (1981) is used to take into account this endogeneity. This estimator is then shown to be efficient and consistent and is favoured over other panel data estimators. The results indicate that social capital adds to human capital and has important effects on immigrant wages during their first years in Canada. Strong ties such as family networks and friends dominate weak ties such as organizations in helping immigrants get higher wages during their first four years in Canada. This is true especially for those who are disadvantaged with respect to their human capital. Meanwhile, the ethnic diversity of the workplace network is the most influential factor within social capital that affects wages for both male and female immigrants. Using detailed information on employment trajectory and intended occupation provided by the LSIC, the third study of the thesis examines the occupational outcomes of recent immigrants in terms of duration of access to the first job in intended occupation. The matching between actual and intended occupations is obtained from the first two digits of occupational codes, considering both occupation type and skill level. Using a Cox proportional hazard model framework, the study investigates the roles of both human capital and social capital in speeding up the matching process of actual and intended occupations. It finds that the initial year in Canada is critical for an immigrant to land a job in intended field and after this period the hazards of finding employment in intended occupation flatten down for both genders. The results confirm the hypothesis that while human capital such as education and language ability, especially English proficiency and Canadian work experience, facilitates an immigrant's employment access to his or her intended occupation, social capital, mainly friend networks, also plays a role in hastening access to employment in desired occupational fields for both genders.

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.

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Mexico's outreach policy toward the Mexican diaspora in the United States is an innovative aspect of its contemporary foreign policy. This dissertation focuses upon this theme. The literature on policy design provides a set of concepts that permit certain conclusions regarding the blueprint of the policy design. Various studies on Chicano-Mexico relations and Mexico's foreign policy provide specific propositions that serve as guidelines in the examination of three case-studies. Both primary and secondary sources are used in this study, including governmental reports and documents, speeches and other written statements. Important pieces of information are obtained by elite interviewing of high-ranking Mexican officials, Mexican and Chicano scholars and certain Chicano political leaders. This study is divided into eight parts. After the List of Tables and Introduction of the subject matter, Chapter 2 reviews various bodies of literature that shed light on the contemporary links between the Mexican government and the Mexican diaspora in the United States. Chapter 3 provides an overview of the antecedents of the Mexican outreach policy prior to the late-1980s. Chapter 4 examines the educations and cultural ties that the Mexican government sponsored vis-a-vis the Chicano community. Chapter 5 focuses on immigration issues, especially on the links between the Mexican government and Chicanos with reference to Proposition 187. Chapter 6 discusses the business links toward Chicanos in the framework of the North American Free Trade Agreement. Chapter 7 compares and contrast in detail the three case-studies examined. Reference is made to the major characteristics of the policy content, including: the multiple number of goals enunciated, the web of governmental agencies involved in outreach programs, the specific segments of the Mexican diaspora that were selected, and the wide array of tools employed by the Mexican government to pursue its goals. As a concluding note, Chapter 8 critically underscores the impact of the evolution of Chicano politics, the transformations of Mexico's domestic policy and the changes of U.S.-Mexican relations in the design of Mexico's outreach policy toward the Mexican diaspora in the United States. Lastly, included is a list of references used in this study.

I investigate the influence of race upon high school student's approaches to education, sports participation, and high school test scores. The theoretical perspective employed suggest that the effect of race upon these items will vary across schools. To explain this school level variation, I employ two theories of race relations: competition theory and the cultural division of labor perspective. Using the National Longitudinal and Educational Study of 1988 (NELS: 88) and multilevel model statistical procedures, support for both theories is found. I conclude that race relations in schools impact student's cultural activities and test scores.

<p> Critical research on the intersections of gender, race and class on women faculty of color largely addresses the experience of those in 4-year universities. In addition, the available research on community college faculty namely addresses the perceptions of culture and climate by those of White women faculty. To date, the scholarship on the experiences of women faculty of color (WFofC) in community colleges is nearly nonexistent. This study offers in-depth insight into the experiences of WFofC at 2-year institutions, contributing to the emerging body of critical research. Bringing the perspectives of WFofC at 2-year institutions to the forefront validates not only their presence in academe, but also acknowledges and celebrates their work as committed educators. </p><p> Semi-structured interviews were collected from 37 participants who represented 11 different community colleges in the urban/suburban regions of Los Angeles and Orange Counties in southern California.</p><p> Findings revealed that WFofC experience multiple forms of marginalization, as well as agency. The intersections of gender, race and class manifested themselves in the findings and confirmed that the experiences of WFofC can be unified as a collective minority experience to contrast dominant groups. They are simultaneously diversified because of the unique differences in ethnic identity and lived experience amongst each other.</p><p> For many, the institutional culture and climate perceived by WFofC in community colleges validated that it was &ldquo;chilly&rdquo; and not as &ldquo;warm&rdquo; as those from research findings that sampled White women faculty. The type of the community college district, department culture and status in the faculty hierarchy were factors that influenced their experience of climate. Despite many expressing the culture of their institutions as being &ldquo;hostile,&rdquo; these women of color were overwhelmingly satisfied in their faculty work. Their commitment to serving underrepresented students, and sense of responsibility to the community at large, mediated the chilliness.</p><p> Recommendations for future research include further analyses of the rich data collected from this study. Recommendations for policy and practice include institutionalizing the hiring of diverse administrators and faculty to reach critical mass. Furthermore, community college leaders should provide formal support for WFofC through ongoing structured mentoring opportunities and faculty learning communities.</p>