Leah Hamilton

In January 2024, the Premier of Alberta, Danielle Smith, announced a suite of anti-trans+ policies aimed at: banning access to gender affirming healthcare for youth under 16 (Health Statutes Amendm...

Immigrant entrepreneurs play a crucial role in economic and cultural vitality; yet, they face systemic barriers to social inclusion, manifested in equitable access to markets, services, and societal spaces of the host country. This study explores how immigrant entrepreneurs in Canada improve their social inclusion through strategic communication. Drawing on 24 in-depth interviews, the study used a theory-driven hybrid thematic analysis to examine communicative strategies across the three dimensions of social inclusion: markets, services, and societal spaces. The findings contribute to entrepreneurship and strategic communication scholarship by proposing a framework of Strategic Communication for Social Inclusion, positioning immigrant entrepreneurs as agentic communicators who use various strategies to overcome exclusion. We offer actionable insights for entrepreneurship scholars, ecosystem builders, and policymakers seeking to support inclusive business development.

Research has shown high levels of housing precarity among government-assisted refugees (GARs) connected to difficult housing markets, limited social benefits, and other social and structural barriers to positive settlement (Lumley-Sapanski, 2021). The COVID-19 pandemic has likely exacerbated this precarity. Research to date demonstrates the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for refugees and low-income households, including both health-related issues and economic challenges, that may exacerbate their ability to obtain affordable, suitable housing (Jones & Grigsby-Toussaint, 2020; Shields & Alrob, 2020). In this context, we examined Syrian government-assisted refugees’ experiences during the pandemic, asking: how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Syrian refugees’ experiences of housing stability. To examine this issue, we interviewed 38 families in Calgary, London, and Fredericton. Using a qualitative descriptive methodology for analysis and interpretation (Thorne et al., 1997), we found the liminality of settling as a GAR has been compounded by isolation, further economic loss, and new anxieties during the pandemic. Ultimately, for many participants, the pandemic has thwarted their housing stability goals and decreased their likelihood of improving their housing conditions. Based on our findings, we discuss potential policy and practice relevant solutions to the challenges faced by refugees in Canada during the pandemic and likely beyond.

Purpose: This article outlines the development of the Refugee Job Search Process Framework (RJSPF), which was created to help identify barriers that refugees face when trying to find employment. The framework incorporates an interdisciplinary, multi-level approach to the job search, delving into research from migration studies and Industrial/Organizational psychology to outline factors that exist on both the side of the refugee applicant and the organization at each stage of the RJSPF. The authors also tested the RJSPF with Syrian refugees and service providers in Canada to examine the validity of each component of the model.Design/methodology/approach: The authors used a semi-structured format to interview refugees and service providers on their experiences in either trying to find employment or helping their refugee clients with the job search process. After transcribing the interviews, the data were independently coded, quantified, and analysed using Nvivo software to validate the RJSPF.Findings: The majority of the RJSPF either had high or moderate support from the interviews. The authors also identified 6 broader themes using thematic analysis, which include language fluency, credential recognition, Canadian experience “catch 22”, cultural incongruencies, employer exploitation, and mental health for successful employment.Originality/value: The RJSPF is a new integration of disparate theories of job search experiences in a literature that lacks an organizing framework and perspective on the unique challenges refugees face in this area compared to other newcomers. In doing so, the authors use an interdisciplinary, multi-level approach that extends the nomological network of barriers facing refugees, therefore informing future research and practice.

Sport specialization for young athletes has become a prerequisite for sport achievement, but academics have yet to explore the effects that sport specialization has on athletes’ participation patterns. Thus, this project explores the following research question: what are the effects of sport specialization on the individual volleyball athlete in terms of: i) patterns of participation in sport; and ii) consumption patterns in the sport industry? The methodological approach was to interview current and retired volleyball players aged 18 to 30 in Calgary, Alberta. The findings indicate that specialization in volleyball directly impacts an athlete’s patterns of participation in the sport of volleyball and the sport industry broadly. Participants indicated that their specialization years led to a specialized “mindset” and specialized knowledge, a unique analytical experience that influences sport participation and few individuals outside of the specialized athletic community acquire. Many participants also articulated that specialized training led to an identity as a “volleyball player” which was associated with a reduced desire to participate in other sports recreationally. Many participants explained how specialization affected their socialization (both positively and negatively) and led them to foster connections in a virtual community. The findings are a call to action for the volleyball industry to evaluate the participation patterns in specialized volleyball training and implement changes to benefit specialized athletes and the industry. Keywords: sport specialization, participation, sport industry, volleyball

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the outcomes of a formal university mentorship program that paired junior and senior (third and fourth year) undergraduate student mentees with mentors from industry. Specifically, the researchers examined the effects of mentorship on mentees’ psychological sense of community at the university, and job search self-efficacy (confidence). Design/methodology/approach: The researchers used a mixed-methods design that incorporated survey data and qualitative data from interviews and focus groups. Where relevant, mentees were compared to a control group of students who did not participate in the mentorship program. Findings: The results demonstrate that the mentees accrued several benefits from participating in the mentorship program. For mentees (but not the control group), job search self-efficacy increased over time as a result of participating in the program. Mentees valued receiving practical career-related support such as opportunities for networking, resume development and job interviewing skills. Mentees also gained a more realistic view about the workplace and their potential career options, and received important psychosocial support from their mentor. Originality/value: Results suggest that junior and senior undergraduate student mentees gained professional and career-related benefits including increased job search self-efficacy from participation in a mentorship program that paired them with mentors from industry. In addition, the qualitative results indicate that mentees reported psychosocial benefits including an increased sense of connection to the university. Altogether, results indicate that undergraduate students experience positive outcomes from participating in mentorship programs designed to prepare them for the transition from university to the workplace.