The role of Pakistani mothers in children's medicine-taking in New Zealand (Sumera Saeed Akhtar)
This project explores the understandings, beliefs, and social practices associated with medications in the everyday lives of Pakistani mothers for their children in New Zealand. It suggests that better cultural understanding between healthcare professionals and patients could improve medicine adherence, patient care, and clinical outcomes.
Climate Change Migration, Adaptation, and New Zealand's Role in the Pacific (Olivia Eyles)
This research aims to examine the ongoing debate over 'climate refugees', climate migration, and climate change adaptation in the context of the Pacific, and the role New Zealand plays in these issues. Using a case study of Kiribati, issues, narratives and perspectives from both New Zealand/western-based stakeholders will be explored as well as those that are living, working and experiencing climate change and the debate that goes alongside this firsthand in Kiribati.
Climigration and Sustainability: A Spatial Analysis on Urban New Zealand (Rajan Chandra Ghosh)
Climigration is now a key issue around the world and has significant impact on the livelihoods of people. It changes the way people live, creating a lot of uncertainty and insecurity. This study aims to find out the livelihoods (shelter, employment, education, and medication), opportunities and challenges of climate migrants in urban New Zealand. It will also assess the impact of environmental migrants in their new destinations. The study will further analyse the government policies and initiatives regarding climigration and develop a sustainable livelihoods framework for climate migrants.
Factors affecting the resilience of Filipino migrants: Evidence from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake and the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami (Arlene Ozanne)
This study, with Maria Ikeda of Kyoto Sangyo University, explores the social and economic vulnerability of Filipino migrant communities in New Zealand and Japan following the Canterbury earthquakes in 2010 and the Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami in 2011. We compare the (1) demographic, social and economic characteristics of migrants who stayed to help in the rebuild and recovery efforts in the disaster-struck areas and discuss the (2) self-help and mutual support coping strategies in post-disaster and recovery stages in Japan and New Zealand.
Trends and Issues on Overseas-Born Careworkers in New Zealand and Their Policy Implications on Japan (Arlene Ozanne)
This study, with Dr Ruth Carlos of Ryukoku University in Japan, compares and contrasts the employment and retention mechanisms of overseas-born caregivers in the institutional elderly care sector in New Zealand and Japan (NZ) with the end goal of identifying some feasible solutions that Japan can adopt to address its serious labour shortage in this sector.
An economic analysis of the migrant workforce in the elderly care sector in New Zealand (Arlene Ozanne)
This project examines employment characteristics and retention mechanisms of caregivers in the elderly care sector in NZ using both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies. NZ has grown increasingly reliant on overseas-born caregivers despite our labour market remaining formally closed to this demographic. This dependence has had both a positive (alleviating shortage and providing work to migrants) and negative (high turn-over rate for caregivers, limited caregiving skills) impact in the elderly care sector. This project will investigate factors affecting employment in this sector and assess the likely impact of two new government policies in the health care sector and migration.
Analysis of Arawe Islands Faunal Remains (Robert Henderson)
This research analyses faunal remains from early Lapita sites in Papua New Guinea. In addition to gaining further insight into the subsistence strategies practiced at these sites, the research will address a number of important questions about the nature of the earliest stages of Austronesian migration into the Pacific.
Old Dogs and New Tricks: Predicting provenance of archaeological kurī (Canis familiaris) as a proxy for early Māori migration in New Zealand (Robyn Kramer)
This project examines early Māori mobility in Aotearoa using isotopic analysis of kurī (Canis familiaris) as a proxy for human movement. Strontium isotope ratios (87Sr/86Sr) of kurī are used to predict region of origin for dental samples collected at 13 archaeological sites across Aotearoa. This research provides a unique opportunity to study the migration and interaction spheres of pre-European Māori in Aotearoa without performing destructive analysis on kōiwi tangata.
Wellbeing in the cities of the Global South: Perspectives of the internally displaced children (Ashraful Alam)
A considerable amount of research has foregrounded climate migrants' adaptation struggles in Bangladeshi cities, whereas few have explored the experiences of children. This research uses qualitative approaches (i.e. art workshops, photography exercises) to ensure direct involvement of children in the research. The study brings in children's point of view about the emerging problems relating to their wellbeing, displacement, and urbanisation in the third world context as they move internally from coastal villages to regional cities in Bangladesh. The project is funded by the Brown International Advanced Research Institutes, Brown University, USA.
Rohingya women refugees (Mercy Rezaun)
This project explores the reasons behind the failure to address refugees' needs, particularly focusing on the Rohingya women refugees' vulnerabilities by analyzing the three main constraints that limit the response: International law, resolution and charters on female refugees; the politics and social structure of the host country; and cultural and structural constraints in Asia related to the way patriarchy is structured.
The ethics of care in refugee resettlement, Aotearoa, New Zealand (Rachel Yzelman)
Refugee-background students in Aotearoa: Supporting Successful Secondary to Tertiary Education Transitions (Alejandra del Pilar Ortiz Ayala)
Alejandra is part of the project known as the Transitions Project. This research has received funding from the Teaching and Learning Research Initiative and is hosted by the Higher Education Development Centre at the University of Otago led by Dr Vivienne Anderson.
The Experiences of Native English Speaking Teachers who work and live in Japan (Naoko Inoue)
This research aims to explore how native English speaking academics working for universities in Japan are strongly promoting internationalisation processes to negotiate their identities as native English speakers.
Malaysian Women's Career Development following International Study in New Zealand (Salmah Kassim)
This research explores the international experiences of 13 Malaysian women who were part of a twinned in-service teacher education programme involving Malaysia and New Zealand between 1995 and 1998. The study uses a narrative approach to examine how their time in New Zealand shaped their later lives and careers.
Migrant Imaginaries and the Construction of Australian Identities: The Case of South Asian Communities (Ashraful Alam)
This study explores the experiences of south Asian Muslim immigrants in Sydney to understand the construction of their Australian identities. It focuses on first-generation immigrants and asks three questions: (1) what imaginations had driven their migration to Australia? (2) how did they negotiate those imaginations in the processes of settling in Australia? and (3) do they imagine themselves as Australians (or something else) after all these years of living in Australia? The answers will unpack the ways these communities communicate a particular form of migrant identity in the context of multicultural Australia. This study is a collaboration with Prof Claudio Minca at Macquarie University, Sydney.
Loyalism, Fraternalism and Religious Dissent: New Zealand Orangeism, 1840-2000 (Patrick Coleman)
Patrick's project examines the Irish semi-secret fraternal Orange Order in New Zealand in comparative and transnational context.
Memorialisation in the British World (Angela McCarthy)
This project, with Dr Nick Evans of the University of Hull, examines identity, meaning and memorialisation in the British diaspora. It is one of nine case studies that form part of the Arts and Humanities Research Council (UK) funded project Remember Me: The Changing Face of Memorialisation.
Flirting with a destination: A study on the process of place bonding (Shabnam Seyedmehdi)
This PhD study is about place bonding and the emotional connections that refugees, migrants and tourists have with New Zealand. Using in-depth interviews, the findings to date show the importance of place to improve their wellbeing, along with the strategies they deploy to integrate into a new society. Successful place bonding can also result in the sense of security, confidence, trust, and cheerfulness, so investigating how refugees bond to a new place could have significant implications for their welfare.
Tuvaluan Diaspora in Oceania: Identity and Belongingness in the Margins (Taomi Tapu-Qiliho)
The diaspora within Oceania conceptalises the existence of settler communities of tuvaluan heritage on Kioa island in Fiji and in the village of Elise fou in Samoa and validates existing ties they have with their home of origin. The diaspora has been written about extensively and Pacific Islanders are the subjects of many such writings, but little is known of the Pacific diaspora within Oceania. To appreciate this formation of communities that has taken shape due to the movements of people, one must take into account both indigenous models and conventional approaches such as migration, malaga, va and our sea of islands.
Chinese Traditional Instruments in Contemporary New Zealand: Chinese Identity Construction in Cultural Context (Keran Li)
The history of Chinese immigrants in New Zealand can be traced back to the nineteenth century. After the 1990s, however, the number of Chinese immigrants surged and Chinese traditional music became more prevalent in the Chinese community and in mainstream society in New Zealand. At present, there are many active Chinese community music performances showcased at various festivals, concerts, and activities and some music ensembles are affiliated to hometown associations or private groups. The aim of the project is to investigate Chinese community music in New Zealand amongst diverse communities as a way of showing how Chinese consolidate and promote identity in contemporary New Zealand.
New Scots: Scotland's Immigrant Communities since 1945 (Angela McCarthy)
This edited book (with T.M. Devine) examines the experiences of newcomers to Scotland since 1945. It features selected and extended papers first presented at the 'New Immigrants' seminar, part of the Scotland's Diasporas in International Comparative Perspective Economic and Social Research Council (UK) funded seminar series. Details of the published book can be found here.
“The Southern World's my Home!” A Biography of Thomas Ferens (Peita Ferens-Green)
Peita's Masters research is a biographical study of her ancestor Thomas Ferens with a particular focus on his occupational life (preaching, run-holding and local politics). It draws heavily on Ferens' personal testimony to provide a well-developed sense of his character and what thoughts and feelings he held during a period of great change in Otago.
Tea and Empire: James Taylor in Victorian Ceylon (Angela McCarthy)
This project, with T.M. Devine (University of Edinburgh), examined the life of James Taylor, the Scottish 'father of Ceylon tea'. Details of the published book can be found here.