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Transnational connections of first generation immigrants from Kenya in the United States
Descriptive
TypeOfResource
Text
TitleInfo
(ID = T-1)
Title
Transnational connections of first generation immigrants from Kenya in the United States
Identifier
ETD_2651
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10001600001.ETD.000053485
Language
LanguageTerm
(authority = ISO639-2);
(type = code)
eng
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
Subject
(ID = SBJ-1);
(authority = RUETD)
Topic
Sociology
Subject
(ID = SBJ-2);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Transborder ethnic groups--Kenya
Subject
(ID = SBJ-3);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
African diaspora
Subject
(ID = SBJ-4);
(authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Kenyans--United States
Subject
(ID = SBJ-5);
(authority = lcsh/lcnaf)
Geographic
Kenya--Emigration and immigration--Social aspects
Abstract
(type = abstract)
This study analyzed why and how first generation immigrants from Kenya maintain transnational ties. It explored the characteristics of these ties, how they are sustained, whether they vary by gender, age, education or length of stay, and how ties affect immigrants' experiences. Ethnographic interviews with 38 participants living in Paterson, NJ showed no overarching immigrant experience. All participants regardless of age, gender, length of stay and education maintained transnational ties with family and friends. Ties took the form of phone calls, internet communication, mail, material exchanges, home visits and cultural activities and occurred mostly with people from their local ethnic villages. Frequency of ties by length of stay assumed a U-shaped curve with more ties initially, followed by a decline after some years in the U.S. and an increase thereafter. Participants mentioned three factors necessary for successful immigration experience: legal status in the U.S., a good education and a strong support network. None of them believed aspiring to a middle class American life or assimilation indicated success. Rather success meant assisting people in Kenya and co-ethnics validated the importance of transnational practices. Despite the absence of a visible Kenyan ethnic enclave in Paterson, there was a close-knit community connected through social networks. Women received assistance from kin and non-kin to migrate, while men were assisted mostly by family. Women's friendship ties transcended family ties but were not in competition with them; they used their friendship ties to advance family livelihoods. Men's immigration experiences were confounded by gender expectations based on their responsibilities as breadwinners and heads of households. Women's immigration decisions were interwoven in their daily struggles to support their families. Immigration was a never-ending process, as women and men perpetuated the experience through assisting the immigration of their children and friends and helping newly arrived immigrants. Future research using a longitudinal approach would enable an understanding of successive immigrant generations and if they reproduced the patterns of their elders' transnational ties. Longitudinal study would also allow us to discern if the U-shaped pattern of ties found here represented a cross-sectional perspective or instead overtime ties ebbed and flowed.
PhysicalDescription
Form
(authority = gmd)
electronic resource
Extent
x, 301 p. : ill., map
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Note
(type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note
Includes abstract
Note
Vita
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Maria Mwikali Kioko
Name
(ID = NAME-1);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Kioko
NamePart
(type = given)
Maria Mwikali
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(type = date)
1968-
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author
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Maria Kioko
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NamePart
(type = family)
Gerson
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(type = given)
Judith
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chair
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Advisory Committee
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Judith Gerson
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(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
McCall
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(type = given)
Leslie
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Leslie McCall
Name
(ID = NAME-4);
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
BROOKS
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(type = given)
ETHEL
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internal member
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Advisory Committee
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ETHEL BROOKS
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(type = family)
Hodgson
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(type = given)
Dorothy
Role
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outside member
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
DisplayForm
Dorothy Hodgson
Name
(ID = NAME-1);
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NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
(ID = NAME-2);
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NamePart
Graduate School - New Brunswick
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
school
OriginInfo
DateCreated
(qualifier = exact)
2010
DateOther
(qualifier = exact);
(type = degree)
2010
Place
PlaceTerm
(type = code)
xx
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = RULIB)
ETD
RelatedItem
(type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Graduate School - New Brunswick Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
(type = local)
rucore19991600001
Location
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(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3J67H00
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD doctoral
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Rights
RightsDeclaration
(AUTHORITY = GS);
(ID = rulibRdec0006)
The author owns the copyright to this work.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
RightsHolder
(ID = PRH-1);
(type = personal)
Name
FamilyName
Kioko
GivenName
Maria
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
(ID = RE-1);
(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
2010-04-19 02:24:09
AssociatedEntity
(ID = AE-1);
(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Role
Copyright holder
Name
Maria Kioko
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Graduate School - New Brunswick
AssociatedObject
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(AUTHORITY = rulib)
Type
License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
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Technical
ContentModel
ETD
MimeType
(TYPE = file)
application/pdf
MimeType
(TYPE = container)
application/x-tar
FileSize
(UNIT = bytes)
2232320
Checksum
(METHOD = SHA1)
8b9b93da5f857d9a22418c4289bc1bf98b1935f3
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