Search results
1 – 10 of over 6000Although there is a growing body of work on immigrants' information behavior, little is known about the pre-arrival information experiences of immigrants who consult formal…
Abstract
Purpose
Although there is a growing body of work on immigrants' information behavior, little is known about the pre-arrival information experiences of immigrants who consult formal information sources such as immigration agents. Drawn from a larger study on the information behavior of immigrants, this paper mainly reports the semi-structured interview findings on the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants who used formal information sources with discussion on how that affected their post-arrival settlement into Canada.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a mixed method approach with semi-structured interviews (n = 60) and surveys (n = 205) with participants who arrived in Canada between the years of 1971 and 2017. Data were collected from May 2017 to February 2018.
Findings
Although the overall scope of the original study is much larger, this paper features findings on the pre-arrival information experiences derived mainly from an analysis of interview data. This study provides insights into the pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants consulting formal information sources such as immigration firms, individual immigration consultants and more formal government agencies. The author introduces a new concept of “information crafting” by exploring the negative consequences of selective information sharing by immigration consultants/agents in newcomers' settlements in Canada, primarily positive information about life in Canada, sometimes with exaggeration and falsification. The interview participants shared story after the story of the settlement challenges they faced after arriving in Canada and how the expectations they built through the information received from immigration consultants and government agencies did not match after arrival. This study emphasizes the importance of providing comprehensive information about life in Canada to potential newcomers so that they can make informed decisions even before they apply.
Originality/value
The findings of this study have theoretical and practical implications for policy and research. This study provides insights into the complicated culturally situated pre-arrival information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants. Moreover, the study findings encourage researchers in various disciplines, including psychology, migration studies and geography, to delve more deeply into newcomers' information experiences using an informational lens to examine the information newcomers receive from diverse sources and their effects on their post-arrival settlement in a new country. The study challenges the general assumptions that formal information sources are always reputable, useful, and comprehensive, and it provides some future directions for research that seeks to understand the culturally situated information behavior of diverse immigrant groups.
Details
Keywords
Manash Ranjan Gupta and Priya Brata Dutta
This study aims to introduce an education sector which transforms a part of unskilled labour into new skilled labour, and then show how the level of output of educational service…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to introduce an education sector which transforms a part of unskilled labour into new skilled labour, and then show how the level of output of educational service is determined in the short-run equilibrium along with the level of output of two production sectors. This study also introduces intertemporal dynamics into the model assuming that all factor endowments grow over time, and then show how a strong anti-immigration policy in the destination country affects the long-run equilibrium of the source country.
Design/methodology/approach
This study considers a three sector open economy model to analyse the long-run economic effects of the anti-immigration policy adopted in the destination country on the general equilibrium of the source country.
Findings
If the education sector in the source country is more skilled labour intensive than the advanced production sector, then this anti-immigration policy would raise the capital unskilled labour ratio, skilled labour–unskilled labour ratio and the balanced endogenous growth rate in the new long-run equilibrium but would lower the gross rate of creation of new skilled labour there.
Originality/value
The authors want to analyse the effect of anti-immigration policy adopted in the destination country on the long-run balanced growth rate in the source country. The dynamic growth effect of anti-immigration policy cannot be studied in a static short-run equilibrium model, the authors also introduce intertemporal dynamics into the model assuming that all factor endowments grow over time and then show how a strong anti-immigration policy in the destination country affects the long-run equilibrium of the source country.
Details
Keywords
This paper aims to present an overview of information resources that have been collected, prepared, or organized by librarians in support of information, reference and research…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to present an overview of information resources that have been collected, prepared, or organized by librarians in support of information, reference and research needs pertaining to immigration and immigrants in the USA. The overview seeks to shed light on how American libraries have responded to the tides of immigration along with other community services to newcomers.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper approaches the topic with a brief historical overview of immigration and library services. Through a comprehensive literature review the author intends to discover the degree to which American libraries have been involved in the provision of collections and services to immigrants.
Findings
The literature review indicates that the early decades of the twentieth century left a legacy of library services to immigrants with special patterns of collection development along with various organized programs. As time went by, these services have become more sophisticated and are today integrated into services of many public and academic libraries.
Originality/value
The paper provides perspectives on the social impact of immigration and immigrants – an issue which continues to challenge both public and academic libraries. The annotated bibliography contains items that are helpful to both reference personnel and researchers from academic fields and the general adult population.
Details
Keywords
Snunith Shoham and Sarah Kaufman Strauss
The main goals of this study are identifying the information needs of new North American immigrants to Israel and to ascertain which channels of information are used by the…
Abstract
Purpose
The main goals of this study are identifying the information needs of new North American immigrants to Israel and to ascertain which channels of information are used by the immigrants before and after immigration to try to satisfy their information needs.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative research approach was used for this study. Qualitative interviews were implemented as the primary strategy for data with the application of the grounded theory method for analysis.
Findings
General information needs categories included: housing, schooling, health, banking and finances, drivers licenses, government‐related issues, legal issues and practical information. Personal information needs related to problems of “split” or prior immigration, changing over professional licenses, starting a business, children with special needs, and alternative medicine. Many of these needs were satisfied either prior to immigration or during the absorption process while others were left open leaving the immigrants with gaps in their knowledge, feelings of uncertainty and, at times, anxiety. During the preparations for immigration the greatest source of information came from the internet. After immigration, during the absorption process, word‐of‐mouth and personal contacts (social networks) were the main sources for the immigrants to satisfy their information needs.
Research limitations/implications
Additional research regarding immigration and immigrants from all different backgrounds is needed. Such research will help us learn more about other specific group's information needs and information seeking behavior.
Practical implications
By learning and studying the information needs of immigrant's governments and immigration organizations can have a better understanding of how to assist immigrants have a successful integration into their new society.
Originality/value
Prospective immigrants, governments and immigration organizations can gain a deeper understanding of immigrant information needs and the channels used to satisfy those needs.
Details
Keywords
Raquel Sebastian and Magdalena Ulceluse
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of an increase in the relative supply of immigrants on natives’ task reallocation, with a focus on Germany. Specifically, it…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to analyse the effect of an increase in the relative supply of immigrants on natives’ task reallocation, with a focus on Germany. Specifically, it investigates whether natives, as a response to increased immigration, re-specialise in communication-intensive occupations, where they arguably have a comparative advantage due to language proficiency.
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis uses regional data from the German Labour Force Survey between 2002 and 2014. To derive data on job tasks requirements, it employs the US Department of Labor’s O*NET database, the results of which are tested through a sensitivity analysis using the European Working Condition Survey and the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies data sets.
Findings
The paper finds that indeed German workers respond to increasing immigration by shifting their task supply and providing more communication relative to manual tasks. Importantly, the decrease in the supply of communication tasks is stronger and more robust than the increase in the supply of manual tasks, pointing to a potential displacement effect taking place between natives and immigrants, alongside task reallocation. This would suggest that countries with relatively more rigid labour markets are less responsive to immigration shocks. Moreover, it suggests that labour market rigidity can minimise the gains from immigration and exacerbate employment effects.
Originality/value
The paper not only investigates task reallocation as a result of immigration in a different institutional context and labour market functioning, but the results feed into broader policy and scholarly discussions on the effects of immigration, including questions about how the institutional context affects labour market adjustment to immigration, worker occupational mobility in a more rigid labour markets and the fine balance needed between flexibility and rigidity.
Details
Keywords
The paper presents a study on whether citizens’ immigration attitudes shape their attitudes towards social welfare in three Nordic countries.
Abstract
Purpose
The paper presents a study on whether citizens’ immigration attitudes shape their attitudes towards social welfare in three Nordic countries.
Design/methodology/approach
The main analysis was performed using linear regression analysis. Data were retrieved from the eighth round of the European Social Survey (2016). The data cover the Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish respondents (N = 5,021).
Findings
The analyses indicate that citizens’ immigration attitudes are associated with their social welfare attitudes. The more positive the attitudes towards immigration are, the more positive the attitudes toward social welfare will be. Further, people in the political Left have more positive attitudes towards social welfare compared to those in the political Right; but, the immigration issue is more divisive of the political Left’s opinion than that of the Right.
Research limitations/implications
Public opinion research has its limitations because behind an individual’s opinion there are many hidden factors. An individual may also have different opinions depending on the dimensions of the welfare state.
Social implications
If the immigration issue reduces the support for social welfare among the political Left, it may reduce the legitimacy of the Nordic social policy because the support of the political Left has traditionally been in favour of the universal principles of the welfare state.
Originality/value
The association of the immigration issue and social welfare attitudes has been broadly studied; but, the interaction of the immigration issue and political opinion on social welfare attitudes is less studied.
Details
Keywords
Immigration has been a subject of intense historical and contemporary debate in US political life. Proponents of immigration cite the important contributions immigrants have made…
Abstract
Immigration has been a subject of intense historical and contemporary debate in US political life. Proponents of immigration cite the important contributions immigrants have made and continue to make to the USA’s national development and evolution. Advocates of more restrictive immigration policies stress concerns over the USA’s ability to support immigrant residents and whether newer immigrants threaten the US national identity and social cohesion. Proponents and opponents of current US immigration policy will use figures from the 2000 census to justify their respective arguments in upcoming debates on this subject. This article examines a variety of immigration literature resources such as scholarly books, government documents, and Websites and seeks to emphasize the subject’s complexities and contradictions along with US and transnational perspectives.
Details
Keywords
Sarah Nikkhah, Angela P. Murillo, Alyson Leigh Young and Andrew D. Miller
This study examines Iran-US migrants' use of the most popular messaging application in Iran—Telegram—and shows how they use it to manage their migration information practices.
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines Iran-US migrants' use of the most popular messaging application in Iran—Telegram—and shows how they use it to manage their migration information practices.
Design/methodology/approach
This study took a qualitative observation approach. Over the course of six months, over 80 h of observations were conducted on Iran-US migration-related settings within Telegram.
Findings
This work identifies the information practices that emerge as users seek and share information related to Iran-US migration. Telegram plays a vital role across the immigration stages, predominantly in the pre-migration stage. This work also shows how the constraints and features of Telegram influence users' information sharing and seeking practices.
Practical implications
The findings support the implication that a social media platform that provides multiple ways to interact is likely to better support niche or unanticipated uses.
Originality/value
This study is the first of its kind to explore Iranian Immigrants information practices in the US. The immigration information practices observed during this study represent a valuable example of end-user appropriation within extraordinary constraints, which may be of use in other information-seeking contexts where dedicated or bespoke tools are impractical or ill-advised.
Details
Keywords
Joshua K. Bedi and Shaomeng Jia
The finding that immigrants are more likely to self-employ than natives has been consistently shown by different researchers. At the same time, many call for the prioritization of…
Abstract
Purpose
The finding that immigrants are more likely to self-employ than natives has been consistently shown by different researchers. At the same time, many call for the prioritization of high-skilled immigration as they believe low-skilled entrepreneurs are not particularly innovative or high-growth-oriented. The purpose of this study is to critically review and synthesize the current literature on immigrant self-employment, paying particular attention to low-skilled immigrant entrepreneurship and the popular policy recommendation that high-skilled immigrants should be prioritized.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors survey the existing literature on immigrant self-employment and discuss recurring data issues, how those issues have or have not been addressed, as well as how these data issues impact the validity of policy recommendations that favor high-skilled immigrants and disfavor low-skilled immigrants. In particular, the authors examine how length of stay in the host country and host country institutions impact immigrant self-employment, especially low-skilled immigrant self-employment. The authors also point out unintended consequences of low-skilled immigration.
Findings
The authors find data issues significantly impact the potential justifications behind calls to favor high-skilled immigrants. In particular, many researchers underestimate the positive impacts of low-skilled immigrant self-employment by not accounting for institutions and length of stay in the host country. The authors conclude with policy recommendations that prioritize high-skilled immigration should be re-examined in light of recurring omitted variable biases within previous studies and evidence of a number of positive unintended consequences associated with low-skilled migration.
Originality/value
The authors review current literature and discuss how important confounding variables, like the number of years an immigrant entrepreneur has lived in a host country and the institutions of a host country, make common policy recommendations suggesting prioritization of high-skilled immigration problematic. The authors also discuss potential solutions to these data issues, ways these issues have been solved already, and possible ways forward. Finally, after considering the literature, the authors offer our own set of policy recommendations.
Details
Keywords
Moshe Hartman and Harriet Hartman
The short‐term effects of international immigration such as immediate unemployment and lowered occupational status, have been studied extensively (eg. Boyd, et al, 1980; Hartman…
Abstract
The short‐term effects of international immigration such as immediate unemployment and lowered occupational status, have been studied extensively (eg. Boyd, et al, 1980; Hartman, 1974; Matras, et al, 1976). International migration has been shown to have serious negative effects on occupational and educational achievement (Hartman and Eilon, 1973; Eilon, 1976; Hartman, 1981). For example the total number of years of education of immigrants under certain conditions is lower than their native counterparts, and may even be lower than the educational attainment expected from the person in his country of origin. Occupational achievement was found to be lowered immediately after immigration, and although it was found that some accelerated regain occurs for up to 10 years in the country, the migrant rarely attains the same achievements as his native counterparts (Eilon, 1976). Such consequences of immigration are bound to have long‐term implications for labour force participation throughout the working life and subsequent retirement provisions.