The Role Of Mobile Phones In The Development Of Social Capital Among Refugees In South Africa

Bacishoga, Kasky Bisimwa; Hooper, Val; Johnston, Kevin

doi:10.1002/j.1681-4835.2016.tb00519.x

Cited by 25 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…The ethnographic study with 29 refugees living in South Africa by Bacishoga, Hooper, and Johnston et al [48] reported that MPs played an important role in the development of bringing social capital, thus supporting social and economic integration of refugees into the new community. Indeed, MPs favored weak links with people with whom refugees studied, worked, and shared accommodations or similar interests, also aiding refugees to get involved in different group activities.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Also in their study the digital divide–related to the migrants’ digital skills and to the ability to pay for the services–was a critical aspect of refugees’ social inclusion in the broader Australian community. Similarly, cost, connectivity, and perceived usefulness, influenced MPs use in the 29 South Africa refugees that participated in the ethnographic study by Bacishoga, Hooper, and Johnston [48].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The opportunities and risks of mobile phones for refugees’ experience: A scoping review

et al. 2019

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Although mobile phones (MPs) are inexorably changing the forced migration experience, the realm of digital migration studies is still fragmented and lacking an analytical focus. Many research areas are still unexplored, while no narrative, scoping or systematic reviews have been conducted on this topic to date. The present review analyzed scientific contributions in Humanistic and Social Sciences with the aim to provide an overview of existing studies on the role of mobile phones (MPs) on refugees’ experience, and to inform practice and policymaking for advancing the use of MPs for the protection of migrants’ human rights. A scoping review was conducted using the Arksey and O’Malley framework and the JBI Reviewer’s Manual recommendations. A three-step search was carried out in four bibliographic databases by three independent reviewers. Review selection and extraction were performed using an interactive team approach. Forty-three theoretical and empirical contributions were selected, and their content analyzed. The contributions ranged from 2013 to 2018 and varied in terms of disciplines, objectives, methodology, contexts, and migrants’ origin, with the most studied group being Syrians. Five different topics concerning refugees’ experience and MPs’ usage emerged: (a) media practices in refugees’ everyday lives; (b) opportunity and risks of MPs during the migration journey; (c) the role of MPs in maintaining and developing social relations; (d) potential of MPs for refugees” self-assertion and self-empowerment; (e) MPs for refugees’ health and education. The results showed that modern devices, such as mobile phones, bring both risks and opportunities for refugees’ experience, thereby both favouring and threatening asylum seekers’ and refugees’ human rights. Recommendations to policymaking and services and associations for advancing the use of MPs for the protection of the rights of migrants have been proposed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The opportunities and risks of mobile phones for refugees’ experience: A scoping review

et al. 2019

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“…Alam and Imran's (2015) study, for instance, revealed that issues related to income, mobility, and availability greatly constrained ICT usage among different refugee migrant groups in Australia, especially for the newly arrived who experienced major barriers to internet access and use due to affordability, language, and literacy issues. Similarly, Bacishoga, Hooper, and Johnston (2016) showed that cost, access, and perceived utility of mobile phones by refugees in South Africa shaped their adoption of these technologies.…”

Section: The Role Of Mobile Phones For Refugee Resettlementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mobile communication and refugees: An analytical review of academic literature

Alencar

2020

Sociology Compass

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Over the past decade, an expanding literature has explored the ways in which refugees rely on mobile communication technologies to stay in touch with a wider community and to access relevant information and services in their new places. Nevertheless, challenges linked to (a lack of) digital literacy and accessibility among refugees, and associated risks of technology use can negatively affect their empowerment and participation in a “mediatized” society. In light of the mutually shaping processes emerging between technology and society, this article provides an overview of studies focusing on the relationship between mobile communication practices and refugee lives under different circumstances. Using the concept of affordances as an analytic tool, this article looks into ways in which existing studies address the possibilities and vulnerabilities of mobile communications, the social conditions, and the agency of refugees in engaging with mobile technologies in the different temporal and spatial dimensions of their migration trajectories. Future studies should explore more collective processes and the power dynamics involved in the appropriation of mobile technologies by different migration actors.

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“…In line with Zinnbauer (2007), Dekker and Engbersen (2014) found out that ICT promoted the creation of new bridging networks resourceful for migrants’ establishment in the reception community. Additionally, Bacishoga et al (2016) argue that technologies allow migrants to strengthen the bridging networks that they had already created through physical encounters.…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Connections: The Use Social Associations With Migratory Background Make of ICT to Build Social Capital for Newcomers’ Social Integration

Modesti

Talamo

Recupero

et al. 2020

American Behavioral Scientist

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Psychological studies in the field of migration attest that social integration is enhanced by social capital. Communities of origin and the ones of resettlement play different role in the promotion of newcomers’ social integration. Nevertheless, researches highlighted that connections between migrants and resettlement communities are the hardest to be established. By reinforcing existing ties and generating new connections among communities, information and communication technologies (ICT) represent a resource for the creation of migrants’ social capital. The article presents two case studies addressing the use that a refugee- and a migrant-led association make of ICT to develop social capital aimed at fostering newcomers’ social integration. An ethnographic approach was adopted, and qualitative data have been collected. Results show that in the associations ICT are aimed at easing connections within migrants and between migrants and the resettlement community by directly fostering the establishment of social ties and by spreading positive narratives about migration. Through the empowerment of refugees and migrants, ICT emerge as tools that lay the foundations for the promotion of social cohesion.

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The Role Of Mobile Phones In The Development Of Social Capital Among Refugees In South Africa

Cited by 25 publications

References 51 publications

The opportunities and risks of mobile phones for refugees’ experience: A scoping review

The opportunities and risks of mobile phones for refugees’ experience: A scoping review

Mobile communication and refugees: An analytical review of academic literature

Connections: The Use Social Associations With Migratory Background Make of ICT to Build Social Capital for Newcomers’ Social Integration

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