This Thesis is a study of the communication process through
which prospective migrants became informed about life in Australia. It
is addressed particularly to migration from Italy, where data was
obtained during the period 1979 to 1981. The Study focusses upon the
communication of information from official sources, namely the
government, as represented by the Department of Immigration and
Ethnic Affairs. Given the basic premise that appropriate information is
an important aid to settlement, the proposal is made that problems can
arise in the communication of that information.
Various solutions to problems of settlement have been sought and
applied since the inception of Australia's post-war immigration
program. While the period since 1977 has witnessed an increasing
attention to the provision of post-arrival services for migrants, it is
suggested that there has been little change in the provision of
information overseas which might assist prospective migrants in the
critical pre-migration period.
The Thesis sets out an historical overview of the problem: a
study of the principal participants in the present day context, a
report of the research undertaken in Italy to examine both the
communication process and the information needs of prospective
migrants, and an analysis of the data based upon the application of
communication theory.
The Study revealed that certain topics, for which prospective
migrants had expressed an information need, were not covered in
pre-migration counselling sessions. Information on other topics
reflected the orientation of the government, as communication source,
and the migration officer as transmitter, and were not within the frame
of reference of the applicants as receivers of the communication.
Lack of mutuality regarding the purposes of information transfer,
and the differing attitudes and perceptions of the participants in the
communication process, created problems. The Study found that
prospective migrants presented at different stages of readiness to
receive information, and that assumptions were made regarding the
information needs of Italian applicants which failed to take into account
the fact that conditions have changed within Italy. Group counselling
was initially successful, from a communication point of view, as a
two-way process, but its unexpected outcome was decreased efficiency
which conflicted with institutional objectives.
If the communication of information is accepted as an important
aid to settlement, the application of educational principles (which
should improve both the communication process and the information
conveyed) would lead to improved chances for settlement, with benefit
to prospective migrants, the government, and the receiving society.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218768 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Anderson, Wendy S. M., n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Wendy S. M. Anderson |
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