This three-paper dissertation tests whether General Strain Theory (GST) can be helpful in explaining the relationship between strains experienced by refugee youth and youth’s anti-social behaviors such as delinquency and radicalization to violence and what factors mediate the relationship between strain and crime. Additionally, it uses mixed methods combining community meaning-making with quantitative research methods to provide multiple lenses to the issue of youth and negative outcomes. The first chapter presents the context in which Somali refugee youth experiences should be examined as well as relevant literature. The second chapter examines if GST can help us understand the experiences of Somali youth and delinquencies. It examines if three strains (procedural injustice, teacher punishment, and family conflict) are significantly related to crimes against people among this population and if this relationship is mediated by mental health symptoms and marginalization. The results show that both procedural justice and teacher punishment were able to predict crimes against people but the relationship between procedural injustice and crimes against people was fully mediated by mental health symptoms and by marginalization while the relationship between teacher mistreatment and crime remained significant even when mental health symptoms and marginalization were added to the equation. Surprisingly, while the family conflict was highly correlated with both marginalization and mental health symptoms, it was not significantly related to crimes against people. The third chapter applies GST to radicalization to violence among Somali youth. It examines whether three strains (procedural injustice, teacher punishment, and family conflict) predict youth radicalization to violence and whether this relationship is mediated by individual-level factors such as mental health, marginalization and gang attitudes. The analysis shows that only procedural injustice is significantly related to radicalization to violence and that both marginalization and gang attitudes fully mediated the relationship while mental health partially mediated it. The final chapter uses Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to examine community meaning making around youth radicalization. Qualitative interview results show that community members were able to identify important structural, cultural and individual level factors that led to youth radicalization and that many of the factors that they identified such as police and teacher mistreatment and gang presence where similar to the findings in the quantitative research.

This thesis examines the impact of the housing experiences of resettled refugees. It reiterates that becoming a refugee was not a matter of choice, but for those in refugee situations it was imperative to seek refugee status for their survival. This study focuses on the housing experiences of the Auckland Somali resettled refugees and seeks to identify the effect of housing policy and provision in Auckland. It also demonstrates the links of housing to employment, education and health. Refugees face considerable resettlement challenges based on differential factors such as ethnocentrism, immigration status, household composition and socio-economic conditions. These barriers are exacerbated by a lack of English language proficiency, a variety of educational backgrounds and unfamiliarity with institutional practices, especially during their early years of adaptation as relative newcomers to New Zealand.The vulnerable position of this group in housing markets requires up to date information to increase the provider's awareness of housing experiences and their impact on the resettlement process. In turn, an increased knowledge allows evidence-based decisions for appropriate intervention, policy, and strategy developments to facilitate optimum resettlement outcomes. Policy formulation and effective implementation must focus on the identification of suitable services to address the specific barriers experienced by this group. The empirical evidence supports previous findings that there were close correlations between the participants housing experiences that are the types of housing they occupied and their income.The study developed and implemented a Participatory Research Design involving a case study approach with multiple data collection methods. The primary field data was collected from focus group participants through a workshop of qualitative discussion and a survey.

<p>Kat är en buske vars blad tuggas och saliven som bildas sväljs, för att uppnå stimulans. Den växer i Yemen, Etiopien och Kenya och smugglas till Sverige från Storbritannien via flyg samt bil. Kat-användandet är utbrett bland somalier i västvärlden och har medfört både hälsomässiga och socioekonomiska konsekvenser. För att förstå hur somalier i Sverige har anpassat sina uppfattningar gällande kat-bruk är syftet i denna uppsats att beskriva varierande uppfattningar om användande av kat hos några somaliska män och kvinnor boende i Sverige. Information samlades och analyserades utifrån en fenomenografisk studie design. Data samlades genom intervjuer.</p><p> </p><p>Resultatet visar att kat-tuggande uppfattas både som en föda och som en drog. Största skälet till att kat brukas uppfattas som att den skapar gemenskap och sysselsättning. Den kat som används i Sverige smugglas vilket uppfattas problematiskt för somalier. Som implikation ska</p><p>hälsofrämjande arbete genomföras utifrån det ekologiska perspektivet. Hälsofrämjande aktiviteter ska riktas på både individ- och familjnivå genom att ge information om kat, skapa sysselsättning samt stödja familjen. På samhälls- och organisations/policynivå är det viktigt</p><p>att öka samarbetet mellan de somaliska föreningar och myndigheten samt att problemet kring kat sätts på agendan och diskuteras på nationell- och internationellnivå.</p><p> </p> / <p>Kat is a plant whose leaves are chewed to produce juice and to be swallowed for its stimulating effect. Kat plant grows in Yemen, Ethiopia and Kenya. It is smuggled from Great Britain to Sweden by plane or car. The use of kat is widely spread among Somalis in western countries. This has led to both health and socioeconomic consequences for the users and their families. In order to understand Somalis’ attitudes regarding kat - the aim of this study was to describe variations of perceptions of the use of kat among Somalian men and women living in Sweden. A phenomenographic design was used to collect and analyze data. Data collected through interviews.</p><p> </p><p>The findings show that chewing kat is perceived both as food and as a drug. The biggest reason for chewing kat is to create a feeling of belonging to a social group and to create activity. Kat being chewed in Sweden is smuggled here, which creates problems for Somalis.</p><p>As an implication of this study health promotion activities, based on the theory of the ecological system, should focus on individual and family level for example by supporting and giving information to families on the issues of kat. Health promoting activities should also focus on community and organization/policy level to increase the cooperation between the</p><p>Somali society and the public authority. Finally, the problem regarding kat should be on the agenda to be discussed both on national and international level.</p> / Har redan gått upp med min uppsats. Vill bara att den blir tillgänglig för de som vill läsa.

Kat är en buske vars blad tuggas och saliven som bildas sväljs, för att uppnå stimulans. Den växer i Yemen, Etiopien och Kenya och smugglas till Sverige från Storbritannien via flyg samt bil. Kat-användandet är utbrett bland somalier i västvärlden och har medfört både hälsomässiga och socioekonomiska konsekvenser. För att förstå hur somalier i Sverige har anpassat sina uppfattningar gällande kat-bruk är syftet i denna uppsats att beskriva varierande uppfattningar om användande av kat hos några somaliska män och kvinnor boende i Sverige. Information samlades och analyserades utifrån en fenomenografisk studie design. Data samlades genom intervjuer.   Resultatet visar att kat-tuggande uppfattas både som en föda och som en drog. Största skälet till att kat brukas uppfattas som att den skapar gemenskap och sysselsättning. Den kat som används i Sverige smugglas vilket uppfattas problematiskt för somalier. Som implikation ska hälsofrämjande arbete genomföras utifrån det ekologiska perspektivet. Hälsofrämjande aktiviteter ska riktas på både individ- och familjnivå genom att ge information om kat, skapa sysselsättning samt stödja familjen. På samhälls- och organisations/policynivå är det viktigt att öka samarbetet mellan de somaliska föreningar och myndigheten samt att problemet kring kat sätts på agendan och diskuteras på nationell- och internationellnivå. / Kat is a plant whose leaves are chewed to produce juice and to be swallowed for its stimulating effect. Kat plant grows in Yemen, Ethiopia and Kenya. It is smuggled from Great Britain to Sweden by plane or car. The use of kat is widely spread among Somalis in western countries. This has led to both health and socioeconomic consequences for the users and their families. In order to understand Somalis’ attitudes regarding kat - the aim of this study was to describe variations of perceptions of the use of kat among Somalian men and women living in Sweden. A phenomenographic design was used to collect and analyze data. Data collected through interviews.   The findings show that chewing kat is perceived both as food and as a drug. The biggest reason for chewing kat is to create a feeling of belonging to a social group and to create activity. Kat being chewed in Sweden is smuggled here, which creates problems for Somalis. As an implication of this study health promotion activities, based on the theory of the ecological system, should focus on individual and family level for example by supporting and giving information to families on the issues of kat. Health promoting activities should also focus on community and organization/policy level to increase the cooperation between the Somali society and the public authority. Finally, the problem regarding kat should be on the agenda to be discussed both on national and international level. / Har redan gått upp med min uppsats. Vill bara att den blir tillgänglig för de som vill läsa.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

This thesis investigated the literacy practices of a group of Somali refugee women participating in Canada’s federally‐funded ESL program LINC (Language Instruction for Newcomers to Canada). Assuming that many Somali women arrive in Canada with limited experience with print literacy, and so encounter novel challenges in their settlement and learning experiences, I interviewed 4 Somali women about their uses and perceptions of the value of literacy in their lives and their experiences of learning to read and write in Canada. A cross‐case analysis revealed how social forces constrain and enable the women’s literacy practices, shaping both how they access and use literacy, as well as the ways in which they understand and value literacy. Implications are outlined for ESL educators, researchers and policy makers.

No description available.

During the latest decade Somali-born women with experiences of long-lasting war followed by migration have increasingly encountered Swedish maternity care, where antenatal care midwives are assigned to ask questions about exposure to violence. The overall aim in this thesis was to gain deeper understanding of Somali-born women’s wellbeing and needs during the parallel transitions of migration to Sweden and childbearing, focusing on maternity healthcare encounters and violence. Data were obtained from medical records (paper I), qualitative interviews with Somali-born women (II, III) and Swedish antenatal care midwives (IV). Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used. Compared to pregnancies of Swedish-born women, Somali-born women’s pregnancies demonstrated later booking and less visits to antenatal care, more maternal morbidity but less psychiatric treatment, less medical pain relief during delivery and more emergency caesarean sections and small-for-gestational-age infants (I). Political violence with broken societal structures before migration contributed to up-rootedness, limited healthcare and absent state-based support to women subjected to violence, which reinforced reliance on social networks, own endurance and faith in Somalia (II). After migration, sources of wellbeing were a pragmatic “moving-on” approach including faith and motherhood, combined with social coherence. Lawful rights for women were appreciated but could concurrently risk creating power tensions in partner relationships. Generally, the Somali-born women associated the midwife more with providing medical care than with overall wellbeing or concerns about violence, but new societal resources were parallel incorporated with known resources (III). Midwives strived for woman-centered approaches beyond ethnicity and culture in care encounters, with language, social gaps and divergent views on violence as potential barriers in violence inquiry. Somali-born women’s strength and contentment were highlighted, and ongoing violence seldom encountered according to the midwives experiences (IV). Pragmatism including “moving on” combined with support from family and social networks, indicate capability to cope with violence and migration-related stress. However, this must be balanced against potential unspoken needs at individual level in care encounters.With trustful relationships, optimized interaction and networking with local Somali communities and across professions, the antenatal midwife can have a “bridging-function” in balancing between dual societies and contribute to healthy transitions in the new society.

This study applies Chomsky's Barriers version of government binding theory to subject clitic pronouns and subject-verb agreement processes in Somali. It is proposed that Somali has a contrast between strong and weak subject-verb agreement, indicated as AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ and AGR$ sb{ rm W}$ respectively. SCL is possible iff AGR = AGR$ sb{ rm S}.$ SCL is obligatory if subject is pro, the null pronominal. SCL is excluded in case of short subject extraction, which is only possible from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm W}.$ The prohibition against short subject extraction from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ is attributed to Principle B of Aoun's generalized binding theory. Long subject extraction from the domain of AGR$ sb{ rm S}$ is possible if an intermediate trace in (NP,CP) deletes before binding theory. The analysis is extended to subject extraction in Italian, including the Trentino dialect, and Modern Irish.

A high-resolution multi-proxy reconstruction of the Arabian Sea Summer Monsoon (ASSM) intensity over the past 90,000 years has been determined using two marine sediment cores: one from the Somali margin and one from the Indian margin. This reconstruction indicates that changes in monsoon- induced upwelling, primary productivity and denitrification have varied in synchrony with Dansgaard-Oeschger (D-O) cycles. Increased monsoon intensity correlates with warm climate events (interstadials) and decreased monsoon intensity, which coincides with stadials and Heinrich Events, is confirmed by elevated dust concentrations in the marine cores. A comparison of the Somali and Indian margin cores with previously reported studies from the Northern and Western Basin allows the identification of discrete sediment signals from the Indus River, the Arabian Peninsula and from local riverine runoff. Sedimentary deposition on the Indian margin during interglacials is dominated by local terrestrial runoff, whereas during glacial periods increased dust input from the Arabian Peninsula is evident. Both signals are related to changes in the intensity of the ASSM. Monsoon intensity has decreased during the Holocene as the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) has moved to a more southerly position. The ASSM-ITCZ relationship (increased ASSM intensity and a northern ITCZ, decreased ASSM intensity and a southern ITCZ) has remained consistent over the last glacial cycle suggesting that global millennial scale climatic variability is in part driven by modulations in tropical hydrological cycle. This ASSM reconstruction provides evidence that rearrangements in the tropical convection system affected atmospheric dust concentrations as well as the concentration and location of atmospheric water vapour. In addition to modulating terrestrial and marine emissions of greenhouse gases, variation in the tropical hydrological cycle provides a mechanism of amplifying and perpetuating millennial-scale climatic changes.