Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 1995. / Declaration statement inserted. Photocopy of the original. Includes bibliographical references (leaf 196-208).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Available also from UMI Company.

Throughout the Western world, governments have increasingly viewed migration through the lens of economic efficiency. In the era of globalisation, they argue, migrants should be selected on the basis of their skills and qualifications. Australian governments have been strongly committed to this policy direction, and over the last two decades, have reoriented the country�s migration program from the recruitment of unskilled labour to targeting educated professionals. The current Liberal-National Coalition government claims that this policy redirection has paid off, with migrants more skilled than ever, and successfully contributing to the economy. The government bases these claims on research conducted by scholars of migrant employment, who equate high levels of human capital with successful employment outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA), these researchers show that migrants with qualifications and English language ability have higher rates of labour force participation, lower unemployment, and higher occupational attainment and incomes, compared to their less skilled counterparts. This thesis critically analyses this �success story� narrative. It argues that the focus on human capital has overshadowed exploration of other important factors shaping migrants� employment experiences, including the gender and birthplace of new arrivals. This thesis shows that male and female migrants, and migrants from English versus non-English speaking backgrounds, can have very different experiences of working in Australia, regardless of their skills or occupational histories. I highlight the importance of these factors by investigating the experiences of Chinese women in Australia today. Using in-depth interviews with women from China and Hong Kong, and quantitative data from the Australian census and LSIA, I show that Chinese women�s employment experiences in Australia do not conform neatly to the prevailing �success story� promoted by the Government and migration researchers. Migration to Australia causes a widespread reduction in Chinese women�s paid work. While it is normal for men to seek work immediately after arrival, women find that migration intensifies their domestic workloads, while depriving them of sources of domestic support, such as relatives and hired help. Consequently, for Chinese women, migration often means moving from full-time to part-time jobs, or withdrawing from the workforce entirely. In the process, they experience a �feminisation� of roles, as they shift from being �career women� to fulfilling the traditional �female� roles of wife and mother. Thus migration and settlement are highly gendered, and the household context is crucial for understanding migrants� employment experiences. Among those women who are in the labour force, employment outcomes vary substantially by birthplace, pointing to the cultural specificity of human capital. Although both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong migrant women tend to be highly educated, mainland women achieve far poorer outcomes than Hong Kong women. Hong Kong women, with their relatively good English language skills and officially-recognised qualifications, are generally able to secure comparable jobs to those they had in Hong Kong, although they often have problems advancing further in Australia. Meanwhile, mainland women tend to have poorer English skills and greater difficulty in having their qualifications recognised, and thus suffer often dramatic downward mobility, moving from highly skilled professions to unskilled, low-paid and low status jobs in Australia. Thus this thesis demonstrates that the value of human capital is context-dependent. It can only be valorised in a new labour market if it is sufficiently culturally compatible with local standards. Therefore, the experiences of Chinese migrant women complicate the �success story� that dominates discussions of migrant employment in Australia. Ultimately, the prevailing economistic approach fails to see the diversity and complexity of migrant experiences. We need to see migrants as social beings, whose settlement in a new country is crucially shaped by their gender and birthplace, and broader institutional factors, which determine how human capital is used and rewarded. This is the mission of this thesis.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Rebecca Miles, Florida State University, College of Social Sciences, Department of Urban and Regional Planning. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 8, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Sc.)--York University, 2008. Graduate Programme in Kinesiology and Health Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR45920

Throughout the Western world, governments have increasingly viewed migration through the lens of economic efficiency. In the era of globalisation, they argue, migrants should be selected on the basis of their skills and qualifications. Australian governments have been strongly committed to this policy direction, and over the last two decades, have reoriented the country�s migration program from the recruitment of unskilled labour to targeting educated professionals. The current Liberal-National Coalition government claims that this policy redirection has paid off, with migrants more skilled than ever, and successfully contributing to the economy. The government bases these claims on research conducted by scholars of migrant employment, who equate high levels of human capital with successful employment outcomes. Using the Longitudinal Survey of Immigrants to Australia (LSIA), these researchers show that migrants with qualifications and English language ability have higher rates of labour force participation, lower unemployment, and higher occupational attainment and incomes, compared to their less skilled counterparts. This thesis critically analyses this �success story� narrative. It argues that the focus on human capital has overshadowed exploration of other important factors shaping migrants� employment experiences, including the gender and birthplace of new arrivals. This thesis shows that male and female migrants, and migrants from English versus non-English speaking backgrounds, can have very different experiences of working in Australia, regardless of their skills or occupational histories. I highlight the importance of these factors by investigating the experiences of Chinese women in Australia today. Using in-depth interviews with women from China and Hong Kong, and quantitative data from the Australian census and LSIA, I show that Chinese women�s employment experiences in Australia do not conform neatly to the prevailing �success story� promoted by the Government and migration researchers. Migration to Australia causes a widespread reduction in Chinese women�s paid work. While it is normal for men to seek work immediately after arrival, women find that migration intensifies their domestic workloads, while depriving them of sources of domestic support, such as relatives and hired help. Consequently, for Chinese women, migration often means moving from full-time to part-time jobs, or withdrawing from the workforce entirely. In the process, they experience a �feminisation� of roles, as they shift from being �career women� to fulfilling the traditional �female� roles of wife and mother. Thus migration and settlement are highly gendered, and the household context is crucial for understanding migrants� employment experiences. Among those women who are in the labour force, employment outcomes vary substantially by birthplace, pointing to the cultural specificity of human capital. Although both mainland Chinese and Hong Kong migrant women tend to be highly educated, mainland women achieve far poorer outcomes than Hong Kong women. Hong Kong women, with their relatively good English language skills and officially-recognised qualifications, are generally able to secure comparable jobs to those they had in Hong Kong, although they often have problems advancing further in Australia. Meanwhile, mainland women tend to have poorer English skills and greater difficulty in having their qualifications recognised, and thus suffer often dramatic downward mobility, moving from highly skilled professions to unskilled, low-paid and low status jobs in Australia. Thus this thesis demonstrates that the value of human capital is context-dependent. It can only be valorised in a new labour market if it is sufficiently culturally compatible with local standards. Therefore, the experiences of Chinese migrant women complicate the �success story� that dominates discussions of migrant employment in Australia. Ultimately, the prevailing economistic approach fails to see the diversity and complexity of migrant experiences. We need to see migrants as social beings, whose settlement in a new country is crucially shaped by their gender and birthplace, and broader institutional factors, which determine how human capital is used and rewarded. This is the mission of this thesis.

No description available.

This thesis is a study of working-class women and their paid employment between the temporal limits c.1945 and c.1971. Centralising women’s experiences, three distinct methodologies – statistical analysis, archival research, and oral history – discretely delivered, explore changing patterns of women’s employment. Four case studies of northern industrial towns and cities – Glasgow, Dundee, Newcastle, and Preston – are used to test the notion of regional distinctiveness and its survival into the twentieth-century. Statistical analysis of women’s labour market participation demonstrates convergence of regional differences. Women’s participation in paid work was augmented across the country, and married women became an increasing part of the labour force. In industrial towns which historically employed large numbers of married women, such as Preston and Dundee, women’s experiences converged with those of cities, such as Newcastle and Glasgow, with strong heavy industry traditions. Economic restructuring entailed women’s concentration in service and clerical occupations, compared to manufacturing, such as textiles and ‘light’ engineering. Until 1970 at least, mothers increasingly returned to employment part-time, contrasting with previous generations of female breadwinners who worked full-time. The provision of childcare sits at the site of a series of arguments about mother’s employment, maternal deprivation, and social problems. National policy lines were rarely drawn around encouraging women into work. An archival method, exploring local authority nurseries and nursery schools, and private nurseries illustrates meagre provision. Women’s continued use of childminders and informal care evidences a demand for provision which was not adequately met by the state. Oral history interviews found few women used local authority childcare, partly because of stringent admittance criteria and the stigma attached. The fundamental argument of this thesis focuses on working-class women and situates their experiences, sense of self, and personal struggles against family and societal expectations at the core of the profound changes in women’s working lives, in contrast to government policy and market economies. Oral history is the final methodology. Original oral history research testifies to work as part of the changing nature of the female self. However, it is emphasised that despite momentous transformation in women’s lives, gendered expectations were a limiting force on women’s ability to break free from a confining domesticity and unsatisfying work.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Murdoch University, 2006. / Thesis submitted to the Division of Arts. Bibliography: leaves 333-374.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison, 1966. / eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.