The resettlement of immigrant and refugee populations poses specific challenges to new host communities. Municipalities must find resources to assist these populations in transitioning into a new culture. Immediate needs are often adequate housing, health care, and primary schooling. While this transitioning process is still in play, the search for employment begins; often at the cost of consideration of longer-term needs, such as English or other host country language acquisition and planning for long-term career goals. Theorists in the field of social capital postulate that bonding and bridging social capital offers benefits for populations adjusting to new communities. Connections to like-minded individuals or pre-existing ethnic ties (bonding social capital) can provide support important to the well-being of individuals going through difficult social adjustments while connecting with new social groups (bridging social capital) can provide new information leading to expanding opportunities. The concept of bridging social capital for immigrant and refugee populations is the subject of this research study. It is situated within the context of our digital age in which information communication technology (ICT) is the primary mode of access to information and services. For the purpose of this thesis, the capability to exploit this mode of communication is thus identified as “digital capital.” As more and more governmental, educational, and social services are distributed within a technological environment, it is necessary to examine this mode of connection to information as a form of capital which can be viewed in a similar framework to other types of social capital. Access to technology and ICTs has been considered an integral element of the Development Goals as adopted by the United Nations for the Year 2000 Millennium Goals. Though later debates have questioned how ICTs may have benefited development goals, the pervasiveness of this form of information flow continues. Within Development Studies, Sen’s theory on the Capability Approach offers a valuable opportunity of connecting digital capital to development. Just as the Capabilities Approach accommodates the diversity of human values, characteristics, and functionings, so can digital capital provide flexibility through adaptation by the users to tailor the medium to meet specific needs. It is this freedom to adjust to individual needs and goals that allows this mode of bridging capital to hold a distinct advantage for immigrants and refugees who are searching for effective links into new social networks in the job search process. The role of the community college system has been at the forefront of providing educational training and social acclimation for this population in their quest for economic self-sufficiency in the resettlement process. A greater understanding of the role that technology plays in the success of immigrant and refugee resettlement is vitally important for the well-being of communities undergoing dynamic demographic change.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:nmmu/vital:20449 |
| Date | January 2016 |
| Creators | Rosendahl, Patricia |
| Publisher | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, Faculty of Business and Economic Sciences |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Doctoral, DPhil |
| Format | xvi, 243 leaves, pdf |
| Rights | Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University |
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