The role of acculturation and acculturation fit in finding full employment and career satisfaction : a study of highly skilled Asian migrants to New Zealand : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Psychology at Massey University

The process of cultural change and adjustment within the context of skilled migrants finding employment has been an under researched area. A further shortfall in research is that acculturation and 'acculturation fit' theory, and the concept of career satisfaction have been neglected by psychologists in the context of skilled migrants' finding employment. The present research attempted to fill this gap in research by testing a model based on the theory of acculturation and 'acculturation fit' and the concept of career satisfaction during the process of skilled Asian migrants finding full employment (i.e. proximity to full employment) in New Zealand. Proximity to full employment was hypothesised to partially mediate the relationship between psychological acculturation and career satisfaction, and the relationship between 'acculturation fit' and career satisfaction. Significant differences in mean scores of proximity to full employment and career satisfaction amongst acculturation styles were expected. Postal or electronic questionnaires were completed by 153 skilled Asian migrants and 30 experienced recruitment agents and human resource personnel in New Zealand. Measures included the 'Acculturation' measure (adapted from Mace, 2004), 'Rank Order Acculturation Style' measure (adapted from Mace), 'Guttman scale' for measuring proximity to full employment (adapted from Mace; Tharmaseelan, 2005), 'Under-Over employment' measure of employment status at present (adapted from Tharmaseelan), and the 'Overall Career Satisfaction' measure (adapted from Tharmaseelan). Regression analyses showed that employment status at present partially mediated the relationship between adapting to New Zealand culture and career satisfaction without controlling for the influence of age and duration in New Zealand. New Zealand acculturation directly predicted proximity to full employment. Significant differences in mean proximity to full employment and career satisfaction amongst acculturation styles were found before controlling for 'other' variables. No significant relationships were found when 'acculturation fit' was the independent variable. Limitations included the snowballing and networking sampling techniques utilized, which could explain the reason for obtaining a large proportion of employed Asian migrants. Despite limitations, findings indicated the importance of adapting to New Zealand culture and the major role of employment status at present in predicting career satisfaction of skilled Asian migrants in New Zealand

A foresight study on green technology in paint industries in Malaysia

Green technology paint industries have been rising significantly over the years due to its benefit to environment and consequently to human health. However, the high manufacturing cost and other disadvantages threatened its sustainability in the future. Therefore a research was carried out to identify the issues and drivers of employing in green technology paint industries and to study the future trend of green technology paints in Malaysia. STEEPV approach which is an acronym for (Social, Technological, Environmental, Economic, Political and Values) is an internationally recognized tool used in conducting technology foresight worldwide. This tool was used in the current research in identifying various issues and drivers based on the above mentioned six categories. New technologies in preparing low energy consuming paints and the role of government and non-governmental organization was voted as the most influential drivers for the eco-friendly paint industries in Malaysia. In line with this regard, a scenario development carried out and a number of projects were suggested in order to move towards sustainable development of eco-friendly paint industry. As a consequence it is recommended to add more political will and support in such projects to ensure the ownership at the top level and maximize the chances of implementing the outcomes

Mainstreaming women into disaster risk reduction in the built environment in Sri Lanka

Intense damage to women caused by natural disasters urges the necessity of incorporating a women’s perspective into DRR. Gender mainstreaming has been demonstrated as a way of bringing a gender perspective into DRR as it could translate into identifying the different capacities and needs of different gender roles. Due to the criticality of the built environment’s role in DRR, mainstreaming women into the built environment in order to reduce their vulnerability could be considered vital. The paper in this context, aims to investigate how women can be mainstreamed into DRR in the built environment based on case study on Sri Lanka. The process of mainstreaming women is distinguished into two sequential steps in the paper. It consists of identification of women’s DRR knowledge and needs followed by the integration of the knowledge and needs into development within the built environment. Participatory methods, community feedback and complaints, expert knowledge, and relevant literature are identified as the most appropriate methods to identify women’s DRR knowledge and needs whilst the identified knowledge and needs can be integrated into development within the built environment through regulations, project documentation, and awareness, expertise and commitment of the built environment professionals. The paper further outlines the existing barriers, responsible parties, relevant protocols and ways of promoting the process in relation to mainstreaming women in DRR in the built environment

Disaster Risk Reduction in the Built Environment in Sri Lanka- An overview

Natural disasters have long-term implications on sustainable development. They mainly destroy the built environment thereby hindering economic and social development, and causing environment degradation. Reducing the risk of natural disasters within the built environment is therefore critical for ensuring sustainable development. The paper in this context, aims to assess the current state of disaster risk reduction in the built environment in Sri Lanka. Empirical data was collected employing semi-structured in-depth interviews which were conducted with a group of professionals who were involved in disaster risk reduction in the built environment in Sri Lanka. The data was analysed following thematic analysis. The paper reveals the current state of disaster risk reduction in the built environment requires to be improved to achieve a satisfactory level of success whilst highlighting a number of barriers that hinder the desired progress. Deficient funds and weak regulatory framework are identified as major barriers for successful implementation. Central and local government authorities are identified as the primarily responsible parties for disaster risk reduction in the built environment in Sri Lanka in the paper. The paper further presents various recommendations on how to improve the current situation

Knowledge and Attitudes on Fetal Anomalies Among Pregnant Women in Teaching Hospital Mahamodara, Galle

Fetal anomalies significantly contribute towards neonatal mortality worldwide. In Sri Lanka major cause for neonatal deaths is fetal anomalies 41%. A Descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in Antenatal clinic, Teaching Hospital, Mahamodara. An interviewer-administered, pretested questionnaire was used. Hundred and fifty pregnant women participated in this study. Majority; 105 (70%) were found in the age of below 30 years, and 80 (53.3%) educated up to G.C.E. Ordinary Level. 83 (53.3%) were multigravida and 93(62%) were planned pregnancies. Higher proportion of the participants; 92(61%) , 88(56.7%) and 123(82%) had good knowledge on the risk factors, pre conception care and on preventive actions related to birth defects respectively. Significant proportion (26.7%) had poor knowledge regarding birth defects. There are 143 (95.3%) of the participants interested to know more information on birth defects, 72% believed birth defects were due to evil spirits. Even though 52% of women did not want to terminate their pregnancy if they had a fetus with anomalies, 80.7% of them opined that the termination of pregnancy with birth defected should be legalized. The educational level, parity and planning of current pregnancy of the participants were significantly correlated (p < 0.05) with their knowledge on pre conception care, preventive actions, knowledge on risk factors on birth defects

Policy Analysis in Prioritising Societal Challenges- the Case of Sri Lanka

The 30-year war ended in Sri Lanka in 2009. Country is now heading towards local, regional and national development through the development of infrastructure and services. However, there are obstacles along the way in achieving the required development targets set by the different levels of governments. These obstacles, for the purpose of this paper, can be identified as ‘societal challenges’. According to the largest ever research and innovation programme of the European Union named as Horizon 2020, there are seven areas of societal challenges, i.e. Health, demographic change and wellbeing; Food security, sustainable agriculture and forestry, marine and maritime and inland water research, and the Bioeconomy; Secure, clean and efficient energy; Smart, green and integrated transport; Climate action, environment, resource efficiency and raw materials; Inclusive, innovative and reflective societies; and Secure societies. According to the EU, these seven societal challenges that need to be addressed for a country to prosper and move towards development. However, especially for a developing nation like Sri Lanka it is difficult to address these seven challenges all at once. It should happen as a systematic approach on a long-term basis. The paper, in this context, intends to investigate, of the seven challenges, which is/are the critical societal challenge(s) to be addressed first in the case of Sri Lanka. This is investigated using a questionnaire survey. Addressing the challenges needs to happen as a top-down approach. One of the first steps towards that is the implementation of effective policies. Therefore, the main focus of the questionnaire survey is to assess the availability and effectiveness of policies in relation to addressing the societal challenges. The survey was conducted among 54 Sri Lankan experts on the seven areas of challenges. 453-2 The findings reveal that secure societies is the most critical challenge to be addressed followed by climate action. According to the policy analysis, ‘health, demographic change and wellbeing’ is identified as the challenge, which has the highest number of related policies whilst the inclusive, innovative and reflective societies have the least. It is further revealed that the correlation between the availability of policies and their effectiveness are not always linear