Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154).

Tez (Yüksek Lisans) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü, Uluslararası İlişkiler Anabilim Dalı, 2007. / Bibliyografya var.

Thesis (Diplomarbeit)--Universität Wien, 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 121-126).

South Africa has over the years and particularly since the enactment of our new Constitution, attracted an increasing number of foreigners. One of the main problems associated with the large number of illegal immigrants in this country is that they are placing strain on South Africa‟s already scare resources such as housing and healthcare. A further problem is that these illegal immigrants are competing with South Africans for jobs which are already scarce, and thus aggravating the unemployment situation. Nevertheless, these illegal immigrants are being employed and by virtue of their circumstances are easily exploited and often the victims of cheap labour, corruption, eviction and assault. Given that these workers are illegal immigrants not in possession of the required work permits, their employment is prohibited by the Immigration Act 13 of 2002. They are thus illegal workers. Another category of illegal workers are those, predominantly women, who are employed in an industry which offers easy income with no contractual obligations – the prostitution industry. Despite the prohibition of prostitution by the Sexual Offences Act 23 of 1957, the prostitution industry throughout South Africa continues to exist. These workers are also particularly vulnerable and easily exploited and abused by their employers. Illegal immigrants and sex workers in South Africa have until recently been denied access to the protection of our labour legislation, by virtue of the illegality of their employment contracts. However two recent controversial decisions, that of the Labour Court in the Discovery Health case, and that of the Labour Appeal Court in the Kylie case, have changed this position.

The purpose of the study is to explore the life experiences, identities, and self-esteem of a group of Mexican women who attend Even Start, a family literacy program. The study also focuses on the effect that the program has on the women's self-identities. I chose qualitative research considering I was interested in their phenomenological experience. In order to gather data I interviewed ten women, conducted a focus group with the women who were not interviewed, and did participant observation while the women were in class. The Mexican women I interviewed came to this country hoping to improve their socioeconomic status. Most of them had relatives in the US and the support that they gave them made it easier for them to come and get established. As a result of being away from their people and their culture, they had a hard time, particularly at the beginning. Their illegal status and the fact that they didn't speak English complicated things even more. In spite of the many difficulties they had to face, their experiences in this country have allowed them to improve their socioeconomic situation and to achieve greater levels of independence. In regards to their self-esteem, most of my informants have positive self-images. The few that have lower levels of self-esteem were often mistreated by caregivers and their families were dysfunctional in some way. Even though a few have lower levels of self-esteem, all my informants felt loved by their parents and other family members. Because of this and because they were raised in social environments that fostered interdependence, my informants have generally developed into responsible and reliable people who work towards their goals. Their identities mirror their society and in particular their social network. At the core of 'who they are' are traits of the identities of caregivers that through active choices (Blumstein 1991) they came to internalize. Even Start plays a crucial role in their self-identities for two main reasons. First, in the program the women are taught English which is the basic tool they need in order to communicate and move around in this country. Second, the women are around people from their country. By feeling they belong to a larger community, the women feel supported and find strategies to cope with their reality. At the same time, being around other Mexicans strengthens their Hispanic identity. The following are recommendations that could be used by Even Start to enhance the women's self-esteem. (1) Incorporate more one-on-one activities to enable students to learn at their own pace and to help participants with special needs to work without feeling a sense of pressure. (2) Provide the women with the opportunity to improve their literacy skills in Spanish and to strengthen their knowledge in basic areas. (3) Include activities that would allow the participants to release stress and thus to improve their ability to concentrate. (4) Provide the students with skills that will enable them to find jobs or get promoted. Although the literature on self-identities was useful to conducting this research, the fact that scholars have approached the topic mainly from an intellectual perspective has resulted in an understanding of the self often disconnected from reality. Among the main contributions of this research is the realization that adult experiences such as migration and participation in a literacy program play a crucial role in people's self-esteem and identities. / Graduation date: 2004

This thesis examines labour migration as an outcome of the interaction between the state and the informal economy, by considering the trends of contemporary labour migration from Ukraine to Southern Europe. It contends that in both the sending and receiving countries, migration policies either disregard or severely limit labour migration, while their informal economies facilitate the development of migration. This basic contradiction sustains migration flows over time. The main argument of the thesis is that migration develops within the system of interacting informal economies. I demonstrate the embeddedness of migration in the informal economy by using the case of Ukrainian migration to Italy. / The role of the informal economy in the development of migration is examined across several dimensions. First, I argue that the recent labour migration from Ukraine emerged as a strategy of the informal economy, continuing the previous strategies of cross-border trading and short-term migration to Central Europe. These economic practices were the innovative responses of the population to the decline of the state economy and to the absence of economic reforms. Migration developed in the space between the state and the market economy. / Second, the flows of labour migration were 'invisible' to states, and developed outside state control and regulation. This thesis demonstrates that the migration policies of the Ukrainian state disregarded the process of out-migration of Ukrainian citizens. Similarly, Italian immigration policies did not recognise the existing flows of labour migration. The informal economy of the receiving state resolved the contradiction between the economic demand for migrant workers and restrictive migration policies and enabled access to the receiving economy. / However, access to the receiving labour market through the informal economy contributed to the disadvantaged incorporation of migrants and prevented their integration into the receiving society. The analysis of economic incorporation demonstrates that the informal economy channelled Ukrainian migrants to the secondary labour market with low earnings, a lack of benefits, and no possibility of professional advancement. The mode of access to the receiving economy and the resulting illegality heavily influenced the position of Ukrainian migrants in the labour market. / Finally, the analysis of Ukrainian labour migration to Italy demonstrates that alternative migration-facilitating institutions were developed in the absence of the state recognition of labour migration. These institutions paralleled the institutions of the official labour markets and allowed migrants to implement income-generating projects. In addition, migration was facilitated by the supporting institutions of the receiving society, which counteracted the restrictive immigration laws and political controls on migration. The migration-supporting institutions were predicated on the strategies of circumventing state control which developed from participation in the informal economy of the sending country. Labour migration from the former Soviet Union would not be possible without these informal practices and the culture of avoiding state control in economic activities. / The proposed analysis answers the challenge posed by the recent Ukrainian labour migration to conventional theories on migration, whose approaches usually omit references to the meso-level of migration processes, and consider either the structural-economic or the micro- determinants of migration. This thesis presents the informal economy both as a structural factor which enables migration and as a characteristic of the migrant agency that facilitates it. / By doing that, the thesis also complements the literature on migration to Southern Europe and argues that migrations are not simply encouraged by the informal economies of the receiving countries, but they emerge from, and are facilitated by, the informal economies of the sending countries. To perpetuate migration migrants creatively use the resources of the informal economy in conjunction with strategies of circumventing the state. This argument holds for a number of ex-Soviet countries, which suffered severe economic crises during the disintegration of the state-controlled socialist economies, and consequently produced significant labour migrations to Western Europe.

Thesis (D. Min.)--Northern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2007. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 146-154).

Human migration in the world is an old and on-going phenomenon. Humans move from place to place across local and international boundaries for various reasons. International migration requires documentation such as visas, passports, resident and work permits that are required for one to legally migrate to, and settle in an area. However, there are people who enter countries without documentation, and such people are referred to as undocumented migrants. This research investigates undocumented immigration in Zambia, with reference to Lusaka City. The theoretical framework that underpinned the research comprised four theories of international migration. These were the neoclassical economics theory of migration, new economics of labour migration theory, dual labour market theory of migration, and Kunz’s refugee migration theory. This researcher adopted the intensive research design and used the case study method, where Lusaka City (Zambia) constituted the case study area. The researcher gathered primary data from the Lusaka City Council, the Zambian immigration department headquarters, and from the informal settlements of Chibolya, Mandevu and Matero. Questionnaires were administered to the sampled immigration officers and Lusaka City Council officers, and interviews were conducted with Zambians and undocumented immigrants in the informal settlements. The research findings showed that undocumented immigrant interviewees came from the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) region. The undocumented immigrant interviewees entered Zambia due to the peace and economic opportunities found in the country, as well as joining their relatives, spouses and friends who were already in Zambia. Once in Zambia, the undocumented immigrant interviewees migrated to Lusaka City mainly for economic reasons. The major economic activity that undocumented immigrant interviewees were engaged in, was trade. Others were employed in the informal sector. Cooperation and complaints (challenges) characterised the co-existence between the interviewed Zambians and undocumented immigrants. Furthermore, undocumented immigrants in the case study areas brought about socio-economic and cultural benefits to the Zambians. Undocumented immigrants also contributed to socio-economic and environmental challenges in the case study areas. The Zambian government worked towards addressing the challenges of undocumented immigration in Lusaka City and above all, reducing the phenomenon. Much literature and research on undocumented immigration focussed on the phenomenon at the national level, and not the local urban spatial scales. The research therefore aimed at investigating undocumented immigration in Zambia with specific reference to the urban locality of Lusaka City / Geography / M. Sc. (Geography)

Municipal unauthorized immigration policy, as an area of study, is underexplored. The literature is in the early stages of development, and little specific theory to guide research exists. To advance this emerging field, my study addresses two questions. First, what unauthorized immigration policies do local governments pursue, under what circumstances, and for what reasons? Second, what explains city-to-city variation in municipal responsiveness to the policy preferences and interests of residents without legal status? The dissertation also presents a typology of municipal responsiveness to unauthorized immigrants, based on my exploratory research. To explain intercity differences in the policy processes and choices of local government, I explore three possible explanations--Hero's (1998) social diversity thesis, urban regime theory, and political culture and policy entrepreneurship. My study engages these theoretical ideas with the findings of a comparative case study of three mid-size, reemerging gateway cities: Sacramento, California; Denver, Colorado; and Portland, Oregon. I explore whether associations between local factors and municipal unauthorized immigration policy emerge in the recent history of the three case cities. Analysis of data gleaned from document study suggests that political culture, as expressed through entrepreneurial political leaders, has been important in shaping regime development and subsequent policy action on unauthorized immigration, while differences in the ethnoracial structure of cities accounts for variation in policy approach.

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