Community Engagement Is Difficult for Immigrants

Being involved in community activities is important for the social well-being of a person and a community. However, engagement is low among immigrants in communities that are growing in diversity. There are specific barriers that prevent them from joining in social activities. These include language, time, knowledge and money barriers. These barriers can be eased if service organizations and the government address the challenges faced by newcomers when they first settle.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Groundbreaking Program Helps Make York Region More Inclusive

The IAP has begun the work of making York Region a more welcoming place for newcomers and visible minorities. It needs to continue to collaborate with the community and to raise awareness of its goals.York's Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Cultural differences in indecisiveness: the role of naïve dialecticism

East Asians exhibit naïve dialecticism, a set of worldviews that tolerates contradictions. As influenced by naïve dialecticism, East Asians are more likely to hold and less likely to change ambivalent attitudes, compared with European North Americans. If East Asians have a heightened tendency to see both positive and negative aspects of an object or issue, but a lesser inclination to resolve these inconsistencies, East Asians (vs. European North Americans) may experience more difficulty in committing to an action, and thus be more indecisive. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that East Asian Canadians scored higher on a measure of chronic indecisiveness than did European Canadians and South Asian Canadians, and that naïve dialecticism and need for cognition mediated the relationship between culture and indecisiveness. These results add to the extant literature on indecisiveness, demonstrating cultural variations in indecisiveness and an underlying cultural factor that is responsible for these cultural differences

What Impact Can a Global Network Have on Collaborative Research?

There are a number of barriers to doing collaborative research in a global context. The Refugee Research Network has been trying to support collaborative research. Their members still experience challenges in building relationships and collaborating. People working on global projects should remember that partners have access to different resources, communication may not always be easy and shared goal development is needed but difficult to accomplish.York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Culture moderates the pliability of ambivalent attitudes

Ambivalent attitudes are comprised of conflicting components. In response to this evaluative conflict, North Americans are more likely to change high ambivalent attitudes than low ambivalent attitudes. However, East Asians exhibit greater tolerance for inconsistencies than do North Americans. Hence, we hypothesized that culture would interact with ambivalence in influencing the degree of attitude change in response to a persuasive attempt. Results indicated that culture significantly moderated the relationship between ambivalence and attitude pliability, such that ambivalence and the degree of attitude change were positively associated for European Canadians but not for East Asian Canadians. These results add to the extant literature on attitudinal ambivalence, demonstrating cultural variability in the pliability of ambivalent attitudes

How Do Gender Norms Affect Our Risk of HIV?

Youth carry a diverse set of beliefs on HIV risk and responsibility. Prevention and education about sexual health must address gender stereotypes and inequities that are related to HIV.York’s Knowledge Mobilization Unit provides services and funding for faculty, graduate students, and community organizations seeking to maximize the impact of academic research and expertise on public policy, social programming, and professional practice. It is supported by SSHRC and CIHR grants, and by the Office of the Vice-President Research & Innovation. [email protected] www.researchimpact.c

Syrian Refugees’ Participation in Language Classes: Motivators and Barriers

Resettlement country language literacy facilitates integration and counteracts social and economic marginalization. Thus, access to language learning is a social justice issue. Resettled refugees in Canada are eligible for free English/French language training. Between 2015-2017, Canada resettled 47,735 Syrian refugees. We explored predictors of language class participation for Syrian refugees, examining data from 1915 adult Syrian refugees in government-funded language classes in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. Findings suggest access to language programs are shaped by provincial policies. Factors hindering participation varied by province and included gender, physical/mental health, education, English/French literacy, and employment. Practice and policy recommendations are discussed.L'alphabétisation dans la langue du pays d’accueil facilite l'intégration et réduit la marginalisation sociale et économique. Ainsi, l'accès à l'apprentissage de la langue est une question de justice sociale. Les réfugiés réinstallés au Canada sont admissibles à une formation gratuite en anglais/français. Entre 2015 et 2017, le Canada a réinstallé 47 735 réfugiés syriens. Nous avons exploré les prédicteurs de la participation aux cours de langue pour les réfugiés syriens, en examinant les données de 1 915 réfugiés syriens adultes dans des cours de langue financés par le gouvernement en Colombie-Britannique, en Ontario et au Québec. Les facteurs entravant la participation variaient selon la province et comprenaient le sexe, la santé physique/mentale, l'éducation, l'alphabétisation en anglais/français et l'emploi. Des recommandations pratiques et politiques sont discutées

What Role Does Type of Sponsorship Play in Early Integration Outcomes? Syrian Refugees Resettled in Six Canadian Cities

AbstractThere is little longitudinal research that directly compares the effectiveness of Canada’s Government-Assisted Refugee (GAR) and Privately Sponsored Refugee (PSR) Programs that takes into account possible socio-demographic differences between them. This article reports findings from 1,921 newly arrived adult Syrian refugees in British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec. GARs and PSRs differed widely on several demographic characteristics, including length of time displaced. Furthermore, PSRs sponsored by Groups of 5 resembled GARs more than other PSR sponsorship types on many of these characteristics. PSRs also had broader social networks than GARs. Sociodemographic differences and city of residence influenced integration outcomes, emphasizing the importance of considering differences between refugee groups when comparing the impact of these programs.RésuméIl existe peu de recherches longitudinales comparant directement l’efficacité des programmes gouvernemental (RPG) et privé (PPR) de parrainage des réfugiés au Canada qui tiennent compte de possibles différences socio-démographique entre eux. Cet article rend compte des résultats de 1921 nouveaux arrivants syriens adultes en Colombie-Britannique, en Ontario et au Québec. Les RPG et PPR diffèrent largement sur plusieurs caractéristiques démographiques, dont le temps du déplacement. De plus, les PPR parrainés par groupes de cinq ressemblaient davantage aux RPG que les autres types de parrainage PPR sur plusieurs de ces caractéristiques. Les PPR avaient aussi des réseaux sociaux plus larges que les RPG. Les différences sociodémographiques et la ville de résidence influent sur l’intégration, ce qui fait ressortir l’importance de tenir compte des différences entre les groupes de réfugiés dans la comparaison de l’impact de ces programmes

Aspirations for Higher Education among Newcomer Refugee Youth in Toronto: Expectations, Challenges, and Strategies

A large percentage of refugees have low levels of education and official language fluency upon arrival in Canada. Thi spaper discusses educational goals of newcomer refugee youth from three communities in Toronto (Afghan, Karen, and Sudanese), and explores how these are linked to premigration and post-migration determinants. Guided by community-based research principles, we collaborated with eight refugee youth peer researchers and conducted ten focus groups and thirteen interviews with refugee youth. Results show that newcomer refugee youth develop strong aspirations for higher education in Canada as a proactive response to overcome pre-migration experiences of forced migration and educational disruptions. We then discuss how these youth negotiate educational goals in post-migration context in relation to shifts in family responsibilities and everyday encounter with multiple systemic barriers in Canada. In doing this, we examine the thin line between vulnerability and empowerment that refugee youth straddle and reveal policy gaps and contradictions in the depoliticized humanitarianism within refugee resettlement in Canada.Un grand pourcentage de réfugiés a un faible niveau d’ éducation et une faible connaissance des langues officielles à leur arrivée au Canada. Cet article présente les buts éducationnels des nouveaux jeunes réfugiés de trois communautés de Toronto (afghane, karen et soudanaise) et examine en quoi ceux-ci sont liés à des déterminants pré et postmigration. Suivant des principes de recherche communautaire, nous avons travaillé de concert avec huit jeunes chercheurs de ces communautés, avons tenu dix groupes de discussion et réalisé treize entrevues avec des réfugiés. Les résultats montrent que les nouveaux jeunes réfugiés aspirent fortement à une éducation supérieure au Canada en tant que réponse proactive aux expériences prémigration d’un déplacement forcé et aux interruptions dans leur éducation . Nous examinons ensuite les façons dont les jeunes concilient leurs buts éducationnels dans un contexte postmigration par rapport aux changements dans les responsabilités familiales et aux obstacles systémiques au Canada qui font partie de leur quotidien. Ce faisant, nous étudions la mince ligne entre la vulnérabilité et l’autonomisation que chevauchent ces jeunes et mettons au jour les manques dans les politiques et les contradictions dans l’humanitarisme dépolitisé de la réinstallation des réfugiés au Canada

The role of self-aspects in emotions elicited by threats to physical health

In two studies, we examined the relationship between self-aspects and socially engaging and socially disengaging emotions elicited by imagined and real physical health problems. In Study 1, participants imagined themselves experiencing a health problem described in a hypothetical scenario and rated the extent to which they would experience a list of emotions. The experience of socially engaging emotions such as shame and embarrassment was predicted by the endorsement of collective self. In Study 2, participants recalled a past health problem and emotions they experienced during its course. Again, collective self predicted the extent to which people mentioned socially engaging emotions in their free recall of emotions. Independent self was not related to the imagined experience of socially disengaging emotions in Study 1 or the recollection of such emotions in Study 2