Silvia Torezani | University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) (original) (raw)
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Papers by Silvia Torezani
Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, Jul 1, 2005
Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in ... more Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in labelling collective identities. 1 Such research seems to name the collective South and Central American and Spanish-speaking groups in two ways. First, some research refers ...
Intercultural Education, Feb 1, 2012
Career opportunities for Australian research graduates have expanded in recent years into areas o... more Career opportunities for Australian research graduates have expanded in recent years into areas outside academia. However, the employment market is highly competitive, and Australian universities have recognised the need to produce graduates with transferable skills across all sectors, not just academia. The need to provide an infrastructure to support the career and skill development of research students has become essential, with funding from the Australian government hinging on institutions providing explicit graduate outcomes. This paper presents a research student peer-to-peer support programme as a model that contributes to the development of graduate career planning and employability skills.
Anthropology News, Sep 7, 2010
Journal of Intercultural Studies, May 1, 2008
Finding employment and developing social networks that can facilitate this task can be major chal... more Finding employment and developing social networks that can facilitate this task can be major challenges for migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia and comparable countries, and even more so for refugees who represent a potentially more disadvantaged section of the immigrant intake. This paper explores refugees' perception and use of the Job Network (JN), a group of employment service providers contracted by the Australian government. Using data from a survey of 150 skilled refugee settlers from former Yugoslav, African and Middle Eastern backgrounds in Perth, Western Australia, as well as data collected through interviews with employment service providers and other key informants, we report a mismatch between service providers' and refugees' perceptions and expectations of the employment services. Refugees perceived the JN services and especially JN-provided job training as an opportunity to develop social networks rather than to learn specific job search-relevant skills. On the basis of this finding, and within the social capital framework, we apply the concept of ''linking social capital'' Á the capacity of individuals to leverage resources, ideas and information from institutions beyond their immediate communities Á to the labour market integration of refugees in Australia. We conclude that despite the failure of Silvia Torezani completed her degree in SocialÁCultural Anthropology in Argentina and is currently finishing her PhD at UWA on Latin American migrants in Perth. She has also worked as a research assistant for the Refugees and Employment project, out of which this paper stems.
International Migration Review, Mar 1, 2008
This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination experienced by humanitar... more This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination experienced by humanitarian migrants to Australia, in the labor market and everyday life, yet simultaneous reporting of positive well-being. How can people feel discriminated against, yet still be relatively satisfied with life? The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data from a study of 150 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and Africa. Possible reasons for the level of well-being are explored, including "relative deprivation theory," as well as various resiliency and mitigating factors, including personal and social supports. The notion of eudaimonic wellbeing-whereby experiences of difficulty produce positive well-being-is also applied to the findings. The negative experiences and perceptions appear to map onto low-level dissatisfaction or disgruntlement, and specifically directed or contained disappointment, rather than serious dissatisfaction with life generally, orientation to Australia, or negative subjective well-being. REFUGEE PERCEPTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION AND LIFE SATISFACTION 1 The Australian Context Australia is often seen as privileged in that despite increasingly diverse settler intakes, it has, more than many other immigrant nations, avoided ethnic conflict and extreme anti-immigration and racist ideologies (Jupp, 2002). Australia is an attractive destination for immigrants due to its economic
Australian Folklore, 2003
Intercultural Education, Feb 1, 2012
The current context of knowledge production demands an international orientation, which has been ... more The current context of knowledge production demands an international orientation, which has been the focus of a vast volume of scholarly literature in recent years. The demand for universities to internationalise their courses has presented challenges not only in relation to the management of financial resources, but also in the management of increased cultural diversity in their programmes. In this focus issue, the authors in the first two papers tackle the issues of intercultural learning and community building in the context of Australia. The author of the final paper discusses the issues of equity in education and national diversity in Indonesia while presenting the tools to develop an online learning community. Notwithstanding the resource differences between Australia and Indonesia, all papers deal with the withdrawal of state funding and increased need for professional development in the education sector. A growth in the international student population at universities in Australia also makes apparent the limitations in the current way in which intercultural education is handled and raises the questions: are Australian universities appropriately equipped to respond to the needs of international students? Are their staffs skilled to carry the concept of ‘internationalisation’ into a shared practice of intercultural dialogue that can promote collegial collaboration among their diverse student population? Through the various papers, the authors identify two major issues. The first issue points to a mismatch between resource allocation for the support of international research students and the growing institutional dependency on their admission into Australian universities. This is a problem shared by other western educational institutions, such as universities in the USA, UK and Canada (Andrade and Evans 2009; NAFSA: Association of International Educators 2003; Schutz and Richards 2003). The second issue relates to the need for tertiary institutions to up-skill their graduates in a manner suitable to the demands of the knowledge economy. This includes the development of intercultural engagement and high-level communication skills to meet the challenges posed by the trend towards international collaboration, whether within or outside the academic sector. All papers in this focus issue are concerned with the improvement of intercultural education in Australia and beyond, with specific attention to the needs of research students enrolled in master and doctoral courses. The authors come from a broad range of professional fields, including education, sociology, project management and anthropology. The first paper, by Zuleyka Zevallos, offers an overview of the international students’ demographics in Australian universities. The paper presents a case for the connection between socialisation, education and career satisfaction and calls for an increased focus in tertiary institutions to provide practical learning skills for their graduates. The second paper, by Narelle Jones, Silvia Intercultural Education Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2012, 39–40
Innovation in Aging, 2018
In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former... more In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former Yugoslavs, people from Middle Eastern backgrounds and black Africans who arrived in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s as permanent residents. We contrast these refugees' perceptions of the Job Network with those expressed by employment service providers. Whereas the latter tend to see themselves as 'expert' mediators in the Australian job market culture, our study shows that the former found the Job Network assistance to be generally inadequate. Notwithstanding, the majority of our participants regarded the job seeker training sessions as useful in developing social networks, even when these services did not directly lead them to employment.
Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, 2005
Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in ... more Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in labelling collective identities. 1 Such research seems to name the collective South and Central American and Spanish-speaking groups in two ways. First, some research refers ...
In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former... more In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former Yugoslavs, people from Middle Eastern backgrounds and black Africans who arrived in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s as permanent residents. We contrast these refugees' perceptions of the Job Network with those expressed by employment service providers. Whereas the latter tend to see themselves as 'expert' mediators in the Australian job market culture, our study shows that the former found the Job Network assistance to be generally inadequate. Notwithstanding, the majority of our participants regarded the job seeker training sessions as useful in developing social networks, even when these services did not directly lead them to employment.
Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, Jul 1, 2005
Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in ... more Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in labelling collective identities. 1 Such research seems to name the collective South and Central American and Spanish-speaking groups in two ways. First, some research refers ...
Intercultural Education, Feb 1, 2012
Career opportunities for Australian research graduates have expanded in recent years into areas o... more Career opportunities for Australian research graduates have expanded in recent years into areas outside academia. However, the employment market is highly competitive, and Australian universities have recognised the need to produce graduates with transferable skills across all sectors, not just academia. The need to provide an infrastructure to support the career and skill development of research students has become essential, with funding from the Australian government hinging on institutions providing explicit graduate outcomes. This paper presents a research student peer-to-peer support programme as a model that contributes to the development of graduate career planning and employability skills.
Anthropology News, Sep 7, 2010
Journal of Intercultural Studies, May 1, 2008
Finding employment and developing social networks that can facilitate this task can be major chal... more Finding employment and developing social networks that can facilitate this task can be major challenges for migrants from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds in Australia and comparable countries, and even more so for refugees who represent a potentially more disadvantaged section of the immigrant intake. This paper explores refugees' perception and use of the Job Network (JN), a group of employment service providers contracted by the Australian government. Using data from a survey of 150 skilled refugee settlers from former Yugoslav, African and Middle Eastern backgrounds in Perth, Western Australia, as well as data collected through interviews with employment service providers and other key informants, we report a mismatch between service providers' and refugees' perceptions and expectations of the employment services. Refugees perceived the JN services and especially JN-provided job training as an opportunity to develop social networks rather than to learn specific job search-relevant skills. On the basis of this finding, and within the social capital framework, we apply the concept of ''linking social capital'' Á the capacity of individuals to leverage resources, ideas and information from institutions beyond their immediate communities Á to the labour market integration of refugees in Australia. We conclude that despite the failure of Silvia Torezani completed her degree in SocialÁCultural Anthropology in Argentina and is currently finishing her PhD at UWA on Latin American migrants in Perth. She has also worked as a research assistant for the Refugees and Employment project, out of which this paper stems.
International Migration Review, Mar 1, 2008
This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination experienced by humanitar... more This paper reports the apparent paradox of high levels of discrimination experienced by humanitarian migrants to Australia, in the labor market and everyday life, yet simultaneous reporting of positive well-being. How can people feel discriminated against, yet still be relatively satisfied with life? The study draws on quantitative and qualitative data from a study of 150 refugees from the former Yugoslavia, the Middle East, and Africa. Possible reasons for the level of well-being are explored, including "relative deprivation theory," as well as various resiliency and mitigating factors, including personal and social supports. The notion of eudaimonic wellbeing-whereby experiences of difficulty produce positive well-being-is also applied to the findings. The negative experiences and perceptions appear to map onto low-level dissatisfaction or disgruntlement, and specifically directed or contained disappointment, rather than serious dissatisfaction with life generally, orientation to Australia, or negative subjective well-being. REFUGEE PERCEPTIONS OF DISCRIMINATION AND LIFE SATISFACTION 1 The Australian Context Australia is often seen as privileged in that despite increasingly diverse settler intakes, it has, more than many other immigrant nations, avoided ethnic conflict and extreme anti-immigration and racist ideologies (Jupp, 2002). Australia is an attractive destination for immigrants due to its economic
Australian Folklore, 2003
Intercultural Education, Feb 1, 2012
The current context of knowledge production demands an international orientation, which has been ... more The current context of knowledge production demands an international orientation, which has been the focus of a vast volume of scholarly literature in recent years. The demand for universities to internationalise their courses has presented challenges not only in relation to the management of financial resources, but also in the management of increased cultural diversity in their programmes. In this focus issue, the authors in the first two papers tackle the issues of intercultural learning and community building in the context of Australia. The author of the final paper discusses the issues of equity in education and national diversity in Indonesia while presenting the tools to develop an online learning community. Notwithstanding the resource differences between Australia and Indonesia, all papers deal with the withdrawal of state funding and increased need for professional development in the education sector. A growth in the international student population at universities in Australia also makes apparent the limitations in the current way in which intercultural education is handled and raises the questions: are Australian universities appropriately equipped to respond to the needs of international students? Are their staffs skilled to carry the concept of ‘internationalisation’ into a shared practice of intercultural dialogue that can promote collegial collaboration among their diverse student population? Through the various papers, the authors identify two major issues. The first issue points to a mismatch between resource allocation for the support of international research students and the growing institutional dependency on their admission into Australian universities. This is a problem shared by other western educational institutions, such as universities in the USA, UK and Canada (Andrade and Evans 2009; NAFSA: Association of International Educators 2003; Schutz and Richards 2003). The second issue relates to the need for tertiary institutions to up-skill their graduates in a manner suitable to the demands of the knowledge economy. This includes the development of intercultural engagement and high-level communication skills to meet the challenges posed by the trend towards international collaboration, whether within or outside the academic sector. All papers in this focus issue are concerned with the improvement of intercultural education in Australia and beyond, with specific attention to the needs of research students enrolled in master and doctoral courses. The authors come from a broad range of professional fields, including education, sociology, project management and anthropology. The first paper, by Zuleyka Zevallos, offers an overview of the international students’ demographics in Australian universities. The paper presents a case for the connection between socialisation, education and career satisfaction and calls for an increased focus in tertiary institutions to provide practical learning skills for their graduates. The second paper, by Narelle Jones, Silvia Intercultural Education Vol. 23, No. 1, February 2012, 39–40
Innovation in Aging, 2018
In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former... more In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former Yugoslavs, people from Middle Eastern backgrounds and black Africans who arrived in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s as permanent residents. We contrast these refugees' perceptions of the Job Network with those expressed by employment service providers. Whereas the latter tend to see themselves as 'expert' mediators in the Australian job market culture, our study shows that the former found the Job Network assistance to be generally inadequate. Notwithstanding, the majority of our participants regarded the job seeker training sessions as useful in developing social networks, even when these services did not directly lead them to employment.
Journal of Iberian and Latin American Research, 2005
Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in ... more Abstract Scholarly research on Latin Americans in Australia reflects some of the difficulties in labelling collective identities. 1 Such research seems to name the collective South and Central American and Spanish-speaking groups in two ways. First, some research refers ...
In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former... more In this paper we examine the experiences of three refugee groups in using the Job Network: former Yugoslavs, people from Middle Eastern backgrounds and black Africans who arrived in Australia during the 1990s and 2000s as permanent residents. We contrast these refugees' perceptions of the Job Network with those expressed by employment service providers. Whereas the latter tend to see themselves as 'expert' mediators in the Australian job market culture, our study shows that the former found the Job Network assistance to be generally inadequate. Notwithstanding, the majority of our participants regarded the job seeker training sessions as useful in developing social networks, even when these services did not directly lead them to employment.
