The significance of things: objects, emotions and cultural production in migrant women's return visits home

This paper draws on qualitative research in Basel, Switzerland with highly skilled migrant women from various European nationalities employed in a number of professional sectors. It seeks to contribute to the literatures on the sociologies of migration and the sociologies of everyday life by intersecting a conceptual link of ‘affective habitus’ to the phenomenology of material culture in unpacking how emotions triggered by objects shape settling practices in host societies. The analysis centres on pathways of cultural production as they unfold through memories, objects and experiential return visits. We find sociological depth in applying ‘affective habitus’ as the conceptual framing to examine how mediations of memory and emotions can extend understandings of how women migrants create agentic ways to settle in new host societies while making cultural accommodations. We theorise the conceptual terrain of ‘affective habitus’ through a phenomenological approach to gendered migrancy and cultural materiality in everyday life

Coping with loneliness: A netnographic study of doctoral students

This study aims to fill an empirical void in our understanding of how doctoral students, both domestic and international, cope with loneliness and isolation, and what types of tactics they use during different phases of their doctoral studies to overcome such issues.  Data gathered through a netnographic study show that loneliness is a major problem for both domestic and international students and that it occurs at different stages of the doctoral study. Tactics used by participants to deal with this issue include multiple forms of (face to face and online) social interaction, professional development and escape from the doctorate. The paper discusses avenues for further research alongside some practical recommendations that might be implemented at universities to decrease feelings of isolation among students and further reduce drop-out rates

Migrant networks, language learning and tourism employment

This paper examines the relationship between migrants’ social networks, the processes of language acquisition and tourism employment. Data collected using netnography and interviews are used to identify the strategies that Polish workers in the UK use to develop their language skills. The paper highlights the roles played by co-workers, co-nationals and customers in migrants’ language learning, both in the physical spaces of work and the virtual spaces of internet forums. It also shows how migrant workers exchange knowledge about the use of English during different stages of their migration careers: prior to leaving their country of origin and getting a job, during their employment and after leaving their job. Implications for academic inquiry and human resource management practice are outlined

Employment experiences of Polish migrant workers in the UK hospitality sector.

2010-2011 > Academic research: refereed > Publication in refereed journa

“US AND THEM” – THE EXPERIENCES OF POLES IN THE UK HOSPITALITY SECTOR

Pomimo licznych badań prowadzonych w ciągu ostatnich lat na temat doświadczeń Polaków pracujących w nisko płatnych sektorach w Wielkiej Brytanii, to, jak migranci sami oceniają swoje doświadczenia, jest wciąż słabo poznane. Głównym celem tego artykułu jest zbadanie, jak poakcesyjni emigranci, często wysoko wykwalifikowani absolwenci, oceniają to, co ich zdaniem wnieśli do organizacji, w których pracowali. Przedstawione badania są oparte na małej liczbie pogłębionych wywiadów oraz analizie forów internetowych (netnografii). Wyniki badań pozwalają na stworzenie obrazu Polaków pracujących w jednym z najbardziej popularnych sektorów, jakim jest hotelarstwo. Wysoka etyka pracy i ich postawa są przedstawione w kontraście do cech lokalnych pracowników i pracowników innych nacji. Wyniki pokazują, że pracodawcy są świadomi niekonsekwencji w wysiłkach pracowników i wydaje się, że oni sami przyczyniają się do segmentacji środowiska pracy.Despite a growing body of literature focusing on the experiences of Polish migrants working in low-paid sectors in the UK, little is known about how Poles themselves reflect on those working experiences. This article aims to contribute to recent debates of workplace experiences of highly-qualified migrants by looking at a sector historically associated with foreign labour – service work. Reporting on qualitative findings obtained from an ethnographic study, this paper aims to portray how Polish migrants employed in the UK hospitality sector self-assess their working experiences and how they reflect on theirown contribution to the sector. The general notion of hard work and a ‘superior’ position frequently brought up by the respondents often contrast with the perceptions of local staff or other foreign-born migrants. The findings demonstrate that management is aware of the inconsistency in effort and perhaps even contributes to the divisions among workers