Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem? (original) (raw)
Related papers
Diasporic Information Environments: Reframing Immigrant-Focused Information Research
Studies of immigrant information behavior need to be situated within the dynamic contexts of globalization and diaspora. Most immigrant-focused information-science research has focused on distinctly local, place-based scenarios, while diasporic research on information behavior, in contrast, focuses mainly on issues of transnational identity online. This article suggests a methodology that mediates between these two poles, by recognizing the place-based, lived realities of immigrant communities while also acknowledging the existence of complex, globalized diasporic information environments. We refer to this methodology as the Diasporic Information Environment Model (DIEM), and argue that local information-science research can be extended to address the globalized experiences of immigrant communities
Settling in: The relationship between information and social inclusion
Australian Academic & …, 2011
Social exclusion is a process that directly reduces people's capacity to participate in society. An important factor that contributes to social exclusion is the inability to recognise or understand important sources of information that facilitate social inclusion and participation. Social inclusion requires an ability to develop effective information practices that enable connection to compliance, making available everyday and nuanced information that constitute elements of the information landscape which need to be accessed and understood in order to participate in their adopted community. For refugees who are establishing themselves in Australia, the information landscape appears unfamiliar, complex, and difficult to navigate. To enable them to settle in Australia, new information practices may be required to enable them to find and interpret information, resolve problems, and deal with everyday situations which enable social inclusion and prevent social exclusion. This paper reports the findings of a project that focused on information and its relationship to social inclusion in three phases of settling in (transitioning, settling in, and being settled) to a new community in a regional city of NSW.
Information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants in Canada
Journal of Documentation, 2020
PurposeStudies on the information behaviour of immigrants including refugees across the globe show a significant dependency of immigrants on their informal networks for meeting various settlement and everyday life information needs. Although there are quite a few studies in LIS that globally report the dependency of immigrants on their personal networks, very little is known about their experiences with their informal personal networks in the contexts of their settlement in informational terms. This paper explores the information experiences of Bangladeshi immigrants in Canada consulting informal networks including broader Bangladeshi community people in pre- and post-arrival contexts.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses a mixed-method approach including semi-structured interviews (n = 60) and surveys (n = 205) with Bangladeshi immigrants who arrived in Canada between the years of 1971 and 2017. Interview data were analysed thematically, and descriptive statistics are used to d...
Study of Asian Immigrants' Information Behaviour in South Australia: Preliminary Results
The study reported in this paper is part of an ongoing research project examining Asian immigrants' information behaviour in South Australia. Involving eight Asian participants, the pilot study was conducted from March to April 2013. The study used questionnaires, photovoice, and interviews to collect data relating to participants' information needs, information sources, and information grounds, attempting to capture both everyday and formal requirements for settling in South Australia. The preliminary results indicate that these immigrants have a diverse range of information needs, with various preferred information sources from multiple information grounds. Use of the Internet and strong virtual and real social networks are both important sources and grounds. The results indicate both the participants' competencies and the challenges they have faced. The photographic images provide a further dimension to the analysis.
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 2004
We elaborate on Pettigrew's (1998, 1999) theory of information grounds while using an outcome evaluation approach enriched by its focus on context to explore the use of need-based services by immigrants in New York City. Immigrants have substantial information and practical needs for help with adjusting to life in a new country. Because of differences in language, culture, and other factors such as access, new immigrants are a difficult population to study. As a result, little research has examined their predilections from an information behavior perspective. We report findings from a qualitative study of how literacy and coping skills programs are used by and benefit the immigrant customers of the Queens Borough Public Library (QBPL). From our interviews and observation of 45 program users, staff, and other stakeholders, we derived a grand context (in Pettigrew's terms) woven from three subcontexts: the immigrants of Queens, New York; the QBPL, its service model, and activities for immigrants; and professional contributions of QBPL staff. Our findings are discussed along two dimensions: (a) building blocks toward information literacy, and (b) personal gains achieved by immigrants for themselves and their families. We conclude that successful introduction to the QBPL-as per its mission, programming, and staff-can lead immigrants to a synergistic information ground that can help in meeting broad psychological, social, and practical needs.
Journal of Documentation, 2024
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 5 60) and surveys (n 5 205) 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.