@prefix vivo: . @prefix edm: . @prefix ns0: . @prefix dcterms: . @prefix skos: . vivo:departmentOrSchool "Education, Faculty of"@en, "Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of"@en ; edm:dataProvider "DSpace"@en ; ns0:degreeCampus "UBCV"@en ; dcterms:creator "Chung, Rosamond C."@en ; dcterms:issued "2010-09-17T20:59:56Z"@en, "1988"@en ; vivo:relatedDegree "Master of Arts - MA"@en ; ns0:degreeGrantor "University of British Columbia"@en ; dcterms:description "A qualitative - exploratory study was conducted to investigate the experiential consequences of underemployment for Chinese immigrants who were former professionals in their country of origin. Twelve male immigrants aged 28 to 63 who have resided in Canada 1 to 4 years were interviewed. For the most part, the study was existentially based using a phenomenological - content analysis format to derive results. Results indicated that Chinese immigrants' problematic responses to underemployment differed greatly depending upon their initial place of origin i.e., familiarity with and adaptability to the host society being the significant factor. Counseling suggestions to assist these individuals followed the existential paradigm. Finally, several possibilities that exist for further research into this topic of the underemployed immigrant are described."@en ; edm:aggregatedCHO "https://circle.library.ubc.ca/rest/handle/2429/28594?expand=metadata"@en ; skos:note "UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND THE CHINESE IMMIGRANT OF FORMER PROFESSIONAL STATUS : A QUALITATIVE - EXPLORATORY STUDY by Rosamond C. Chung Bachelor of Education, Simon F r a s e r U n i v e r s i t y , 1980 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of C o u n s e l l i n g Psychology) . We accept t h i s t h e s i s as conforming to the r e q u i r e d standard THE UNIVERSITY OF A p r i l ©Rosamond C. BRITISH COLUMBIA 1988 Chung, 1988 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 DE-6(3/81) ABSTRACT A q u a l i t a t i v e - e x p l o r a t o r y study was conducted to i n v e s t i g a t e the e x p e r i e n t i a l consequences of underemployment f o r Chinese immigrants who were former p r o f e s s i o n a l s i n t h e i r country of o r i g i n . Tweleve male immigrants aged 28 to 63 who have r e s i d e d i n Canada 1 to 4 years were i n t e r v i e w e d . For the most p a r t , the study was e x i s t e n t i a l l y based using a phenomenological - content a n a l y s i s format to d e r i v e r e s u l t s . R e s u l t s i n d i c a t e d that Chinese immigrants' problematic responses to underemployment d i f f e r e d g r e a t l y depending upon t h e i r i n i t i a l p l a c e of o r i g i n i . e . , f i m i l a r i t y with and a d a p t a b i l i t y to the host s o c i e t y being the s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r . C o u n s e l l i n g suggestions to a s s i s t these i n d i v i d u a l s f o l l o wed the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm. F i n a l l y , s e v e r a l p o s s i b i l i l i t i e s that e x i s t f o r f u r t h e r r e s e a r c h i n t o t h i s t o p i c of the underemployed immigrant are d e s c r i b e d . i i TABLE OF CONTENTS Approval i :ABSTRACT i i - i L i s t of Tables iv\". I. A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CANADA'S IMMIGRATION HISTORY ... 1 The Chinese Immigration Act 5 The Point System 7 Asian Immigration 8 Chinese Immigration 9 I I . EMPLOYMENT AND ACCULTURALIZATION : A PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE 12 Employment and the A c c u l t u r a l i z i n g Immigrant 12 E x p e c t a t i o n s and A c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n 15 Socio-Economic Trends and the Asian Immigrants .... 18 I I I . UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND THE ASIAN IMMIGRANT : A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 25 Underemployment and Mental Health 29 IV. THE EXISTENTIAL PERSPECTIVE 40 A Conceptual View of Man 40 A M o t i v a t i o n a l Construct 41 V. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 46 The N o n - D i r e c t i v e Phenomenological Method 48 Research Plans and Methods 52 i r i VI. RESULTS 59 Demographic Data 59 Q u a l i t a t i v e Data 67 V I I . DISCUSSION 132 I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r C o u n s e l l i n g 140 Metho d o l o g i c a l R e v i s i o n s R e v i s i t e d 146 Suggestions f o r Further Research and a Cautionary Note 150 Conclusion 152 REFERENCES 154 APPENDIX A : THE SEMI-STRUCTURED INTERVIEW QUESTIONAIRE 165 APPENDIX B : AGENCY LETTER 172 APPENDIX C : RESPONDENT'S CONSENT FORM 175 APPENDIX D : SAMPLES OF RESPONDENTS' PROTOCOLS 177 APPENDIX E : SAMPLE LISTING OF AFFECT 222 1 v LIST OF TABLES Table Page I D e m o g r a p h i c I n f o r m a t i o n 60 I I F r e q u e n c y o f O c c u p a t i o n s M e n t i o n e d 64 I I I Summary o f D e m o g r a p h i c D a t a 65 I V Q u a l i t a t i v e I n f o r m a t i o n 69 V R e a s o n s f o r M i g r a t i o n 71 VI Summary o f Q u a l i t a t i v e D a t a p e r I m m i g r a n t G r o u p .. 126 V I I The Rank O r d i n g o f t h e C o n t e n t C a t e g o r i e s p e r I m m i g r a n t G r o u p 128 V I I I The F r e q u e n c y o f M a s l o v i a n Needs M e n t i o n e d p e r I m m i g r a n t G r o u p 139 v CHAPTER I A BRIEF OVERVIEW OF CANADA'S IMMIGRATION HISTORY From p r e - c o n f e d e r a t i o n to the present, Canada has r e l i e d h e a v i l y upon the process of immigration as a source of p o p u l a t i o n growth ( R e i t z , 1983). In an h i s t o r i c a l c o ntext, t h i s p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s e v i a immigration was b a s i c a l l y a B r i t i s h phenomenon, whereas the French mainly i n c r e a s e d i n numbers through the n a t u r a l process of f e r t i l i t y . For example, Kalback and McVey (1974) r e p o r t from 1784 to 1824, the p o p u l a t i o n of Upper Canada i n c r e a s e d from an estimated 10,000 to approximately 150,000. Although f e r t i l i t y r a t e s d i d c o n t r i b u t e to t h i s sum, the m a j o r i t y of the p o p u l a t i o n i n c r e a s e was the d i r e c t consequence of extraneous f a c t o r s such as the American R e v o l u t i o n - i . e . , those immigrants who wished to remain l o y a l to the B r i t i s h monarchy. Immediately a f t e r the Napoleonic e r a , a l a r g e wave of European immigrants a r r i v e d i n Upper Canada and thereby i n c r e a s e d the p o p u l a t i o n to 950,000. In 1871, the census showed a t o t a l of 292,000 people had a l s o immigrated to Canada but were of European o r i g i n s other than B r i t i s h or French. Almost a l l of these \"other Europeans\" were of 1 German o r i g i n s with 30,000 being l i s t e d from the Netherlands. S t i l l , r e g a r d l e s s of the presence of these \"other Europeans\", Canada's p o s t - c o n f e d e r a t i o n p e r i o d e s s e n t i a l l y saw the bulk of immigrants coming from the U n i t e d S t a t e s and the United Kingdom. For example, between 1881 to 1891, the p o p u l a t i o n of immigrants r e p o r t e d to have o r i g i n a t e d from the United S t a t e s v a r i e d 45.5% to 75.5%; while that from the U n i t e d Kingdom accounted fo r an a d d i t i o n a l 21.2% to 36.8% (Kalback & McVey, 1974). The t u r n of the century saw Europe experience an i n d u s t r i a l - e c o n o m i c r e v i v a l which tended to d i m i n i s h Canada's a t t r a c t i v e n e s s to the p o t e n t i a l European immigrant. Yet, at the same time as t h i s occurrence i n Europe, the Canadian Government had the p r e s s i n g d e s i r e to open up the country's vast west. As a means of a c h i e v i n g t h i s g o a l , the Canadian Government implemented a vigorous immigration program, ( i . e . settlement g r a n t s , land grants, e t c . ) aimed d i r e c t l y at the p o t e n t i a l American immigrant who was h i g h l y s k i l l e d i n a g r i c u l t u r e . During the p r e - F i r s t World War years, Lord S i f t o n (then Canada's Immigration M i n i s t e r ) e v e n t u a l l y expanded t h i s program to i n c l u d e the l e s s a g r i c u l t u r a l l y s k i l l e d l a n d hungry European peasant. So s u c c e s s f u l was Lord S i f t o n ' s immigration p o l i c i e s that 2 the Western Provinces experienced an i n f l u x of 40,000 immigrants (Peter, 1976). For example, between 1901 to 1911 immigration accounted f o r 24% of Canada's t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n or 44% of the country's ten-year growth r a t e . Slowing only s l i g h t l y f o r the F i r s t World War (1911-1921), immigration s t i l l accounted f o r 17.5% of the t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n but f e l l to 19.6% of the growth r a t e f o r the decade. F i n a l l y , f o r a b r i e f moment in 1927, i n foreshadowing the demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of Canada's f u t u r e immigrants, the p r o p o r t i o n of immigrants coming from l e s s t r a d i t i o n a l areas of o r i g i n composed more than h a l f of a l l a r r i v i n g immigrants (Kalback & McVey, 1974). Canada's immigration program experienced a d r a s t i c drop in numbers during the Great Depression and the Second World War y e a r s . In 1941 to 1951, 9.6% of Canada's p o p u l a t i o n c o n s t i t u t e d an immigrant base. Immigration was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r 7.2% of the country's ten-year growth r a t e . However, with the end of h o s t i l i t i e s of the Second World War and Canada's accompanying r a p i d i n d u s t r i a l - e c o n o m i c development (1951 to 1961), immigration resumed with 13.6% of the country's p o p u l a t i o n being immigrant stock and 25.5% of the 3 country's short-term growth r a t e being a t t r i b u t a b l e to immigration. Once again, the demographic o r i g i n s of these immigrants was d i f f e r e n t than the customary t r a d i t i o n a l p o i n t s of o r i g i n - i . e . , 71.9% of a l l immigrant a r r i v a l s were r e p o r t e d to have o r i g i n a t e d i n areas other than the Uni t e d S t a t e s or the United Kingdom. Yet, i t i s a l s o important to note, these immigrants a l s o r e f l e c t e d a dramatic s h i f t i n o c c u p a t i o n a l composition - i . e . they were mainly r e l a t e d to those a c t i v i t i e s of the i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r . Thus i n the post war years not only d i d Canada open i t s e l f up to \"other c o u n t r i e s \" i n the recruitment of immigrants, but i t a l s o changed i t s recruitment p r i o r i t i e s from a g r i c u l t u r a l to i n d u s t r i a l . In sum, Kalback & Mcvey (1974) s t a t e , \"... F l u c t a t i o n s i n immigration are the consequences of many i n t e r - r e l a t e d f a c t o r s among which the a c t u r a l economic and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s of the sending and r e c e i v i n g c o u n t r i e s are extremely important. In a d d i t i o n , the p e r c e p t i o n of op p o r t u n i t y i n the country of d e s t i n a t i o n , the degree of a c t i v e encouragement of immigrants i n the form of t r a v e l and settlement a s s i s t a n c e by the r e c e i v i n g country, v a r y i n g r e s t r i c t i o n s imposed to r e g u l a t e the c l a s s e s of admissable immigrants, as w e l l as the degree of freedom to emigrate granted by the c o u n t r i e s of o r i g i n are a l l r e l e v a n t f a c t o r s i n accounting f o r v a r i a t i o n s i n the ebb and flow of immigrants ...\" (p. 32) 4 Of p a r t i c u l a r importance to t h i s t h e s i s i s the f a c t t h a t Canada's i n i t i a l e i g h t y years of immigration p o l i c y was b a s i c a l l y o r i e n t e d towards those p o t e n t i a l immigrants who were most s i m i l a r to the r e s i d e n t \"White Canadian\". U n d e r l y i n g t h i s immigration p o l i c y was the idea t h i s \"type of immigrant\" would experience l e s s d i f f i c u l t y in adapting to the country's customs, i n s t i t u t i o n s and v a l u e s . Yet, as s t a t e d , the years f o l l o w i n g the Second World War saw Canada e x p e r i e n c i n g a heavy i n d u s t r i a l growth - so much so, that the Canadian government's d e s i r e not to a l t e r the country's \" c u l t u r a l balance\" was abandoned so as to meet the economic demands f o r f u r t h e r i n d u s t r i a l l y s k i l l e d workers - a demand which g r e a t l y exceeded the a v a i l a b l e supply of workers from the p r e f e r r e d c o u n t r i e s of r e c r u i t m e n t . To understand the i m p l i c a t i o n s of t h i s development i n r e l a t i o n t o the present day Chinese immigrant, i t i s necessary to e l a b o r a t e on the t o p i c of Chinese immigration w i t h i n the above h i s t o r i c a l c o n t e x t . The Chinese Immigration Act On J u l y 20, 1885, the Canadian government implemented i t s f i r s t immigration p o l i c y which was e s s e n t i a l l y designed 5 to r e g u l a t e Chinese immigration. B a s i c a l l y , t h i s immigration p o l i c y p r ovided ... \"... every person of Chinese o r i g i n upon e n t e r i n g Canada was r e q u i r e d to pay a tax of $50.00 ... government r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s , t h e i r s e r v a n t s , t o u r i s t s , merchants, s c i e n t i s t s and students were exempted from t h i s tax ...\" (Kalback, p.13) T h i s immigration p o l i c y remained e s s e n t i a l l y i n t a c t u n t i l 1922 when changes occurred i n the amount of \"head tax\" charged - i n c r e a s i n g to $200 then $500 and to the broadening of the exemption c o n d i t i o n s - mainly i n c l u d i n g the wives and c h i l d r e n of r e s i d e n t Chinese e t c . In January 1923, t h i s Chinese Immigration Act underwent f u r t h e r amendments i n regard to the requirements f o r immigration. Kalback (1970) s t a t e s , \"... admission of A s i a t i c immigrants was r e s t r i c t e d to bona f i d e a g r i c u l t u r i s t s , farm l a b o r e r s , female domestic s e r v a n t s , and the wife or c h i l d under 18 years of age of any person l e g a l l y admitted to and r e s i d e n t i n Canada, who was i n a p o s i t i o n to r e c e i v e and care f o r h i s dependents, and each immigrant was r e q u i r e d to possess $250 ...\"(p.16) As an apparent foreshadowing of Canada s o f t e n i n g i t s immigration p o l i c y towards the Chinese, the Chinese Immigration Act of 1923 was repealed on May 14, 1947, and again on December 28, 1950. E s s e n t i a l l y the amendments prov i d e d ... 6 \"... f o r the admission of husbands of Asian r a c i a l o r i g i n i n a d d i t i o n to the wives of Canadian c i t i z e n s ... and at the same time r a i s e d the age l i m i t f o r unmarried c h i l d r e n from 18 to 21 years of age ...\" (Kalback, 1970, p.21) The P o i n t System On February 1, 1962, Canada's changing p e r s p e c t i v e towards the Chinese immigrant was f u l l y r e a l i z e d when i t s N a t i o n a l Immigration Act was amended from the \"dependent immigration\" c r i t e r i a to the \"independent immigration\" c r i t e r i a of the \"point system\". The \"point system\" s p e c i f i e d that ... \"... anyone, r e g a r d l e s s of o r i g i n , c i t i z e n s h i p , country of r e s i d e n c e , or r e l i g i o u s b e l i e f , who i s p e r s o n a l l y q u a l i f i e d by reason of education, t r a i n i n g , s k i l l , or other s p e c i a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s i s e l i g i b l e to apply f o r permanent admission to Canada ...(Kalback, 1970, p.24) S t i l l , i t should be noted such p e r s o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s f o r admission were always seen i n l i g h t of the needs and i n t e r e s t s of the Canadian s o c i e t y - i . e . , economic, s o c i a l or c u l t u r a l e t c . The e f f e c t of the \"point system\" was to s u b s t a n t i a l l y i n c r e a s e the Chinese p o p u l a t i o n ( i . e . the T h i r d World) over the next two decades. 7 Asian Immigration As a r e s u l t of Canada's more f l e x i b l e immigration laws, domestic i n d u s t r i a l growth demands and extraneous i n t e r n a t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n s ( i . e . those c o u n t r i e s e x p e r i e n c i n g depressed economics, scarce resources, over-crowding and p o l i t i c a l s t r i f e , e t c . ) , a s i g n i f i c a n t number of \" v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y \" immigrants o r i g i n a t i n g from the T h i r d World landed i n the country. 1 For example, p r i o r to 1962, only 2% of a l l immigrants were of a \" v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y \" group i . e . , B l a cks, East Indians, Japanese or Chinese. Between 1967 to 1979, with Canada's \"point system\" f i r m l y i n p l a c e , i t i s estimated that 57% of a l l a r r i v i n g immigrants came from the Caribbean, A f r i c a or A s i a - with the Asians c o n s t i t u t i n g the m a j o r i t y ( R e i t z , 1983). The demographic s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h i s A sian m a j o r i t y i s noted i n -> Basavarajappa and Verma's r e p o r t (1981), \"... Asian immigrants c o n s t i t u t e d 14.3% of a l l f o r e i g n born persons i n Canada, or about 2.2% of the t o t a l Canadian p o p u l a t i o n ...\" S p e c i f i c a l l y , the 1981 census shows the Chinese p o p u l a t i o n c o n s i s t e d of 289,245 people of which 65% had 1 Note, people of refugee s t a t u s a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d s u b s t a n t i a l l y to Canada's T h i r d World p o p u l a t i o n growth. 8 immigrated a f t e r 1961. Chinese Immigration The formation of the Chinese community i n Canada was the r e s u l t of s p e c i f i c h i s t o r i c a l f a c t o r s . E a r l y Chinese immigrants were l i k e t h e i r European c o u n t e r p a r t s a r r i v i n g in the country low i n money, education and s k i l l . E s s e n t i a l l y , they h e l d a \"sojourner m e n t a l i t y \" of accumulating as much money as p o s s i b l e and then r e t u r n i n g home. In a m y t h i c a l sense, they c o n s i d e r e d North America as the \"Golden Mountain\". Yet, Canada was not without i t s own ideas f o r , as a developing country, the Chinese immigrant was c o n s i d e r e d a good source of cheap, temporary l a b o u r . Thus, both the Chinese immigrant and Canada were i n v o l v e d in a mutually compatible arrangement. The m a j o r i t y of these e a r l y Chinese immigrants l o c a t e d in B r i t i s h Columbia. Lacking e n g l i s h s k i l l s , they worked i n l a b o u r - i n t e n s i v e occupations, i . e . , b u i l d i n g the r a i l w a y , g o l d mining and a g r i c u l t u r e . As a people, they were h i g h l y p r o d u c t i v e . U n f o r t u n a t e l y , as a r a c i a l m i n o r i t y , they were a l s o h i g h l y n o t i c e a b l e . E v e n t u a l l y , l e g a l r e s t r i c t i o n s , economic b a r r i e r s and p r e v a i l i n g c u l t u r a l a t t i t u d e s 9 r e s u l t e d i n t h e i r withdrawal from these i n i t i a l o c c u p a t i o n s . Faced with the task of earning a l i v e l i h o o d , these Chinese immigrants r e l o c a t e d i n t e r t i a r y a c t i v i t i e s which d i d not compete d i r e c t l y with those of the host s o c i e t y - i . e . , l a u n d r i e s , r e s t a u r a n t s and merchandizing, e t c . To t h i s day f o r many Chinese these \" t r a d i t i o n a l o c c u p a t i o n s \" continue to play an important r o l e i n t h e i r e a r n i n g a l i v e l i h o o d (Wong, 1980). The \"point system\" gave r i s e to a new breed of Chinese immigrant. As a group, these new Chinese immigrants were h i g h l y educated (over 40% having pursued graduate work in u n i v e r s i t i e s ) ; h e l d p r o f e s s i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s (at l e a s t in terms of t h e i r country of o r i g i n ) ; were p r o f i c i e n t i n e n g l i s h and f a m i l i a r with c u l t u r a l norms; had s o c i a l c o n t a c t s i n the form of f a m i l y , f r i e n d s , sponsors or f e l l o w countrymen; and had some economic means for i n v e s t i n g i n business (Rockett, 1980; Verma, 1985). These f a c t o r s p r o v i d e d the new Chinese immigrant with the p o s s i b i l i t y f o r s o c i a l m o b i l i t y or o c c u p a t i o n a l d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n that was absent f o r the e a r l i e r Chinese immigrants. For example, P a r a i (1974) shows f o r the p e r i o d 1950 to 1971, the p r o p o r t i o n of Chinese immigrants e n t e r i n g p r o f e s s i o n a l or t e c h n i c a l employment in c r e a s e d from 4.3% to 28.7% whereas 10 the p r o p o r t i o n e n t e r i n g u n s k i l l e d occupations d e c l i n e d from 40% to 13.5%. The \"point system\" had a s i g n i f i c a n t impact on changing the demographic composition of the Chinese Immigrant. I t i s apparent through the \"point system\" that immigration a u t h o r i t i e s p l a c e d great importance upon the (Chinese) immigrant's a b i l i t y to c o n t r i b u t e to the country i . e . , t h e i r p o t e n t i a l f o r employment. Yet i t should a l s o be s t a t e d that the immigrant as a person was e x p e r i e n c i n g a l l the s t r a i n s and s t r e s s e s of a c c u l t u r a l i z i n g i n t o a f o r e i g n s o c i e t y . Bearing t h i s i n mind, i t i s important to look at the r o l e employment p l a y s i n the immigrant's a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n . CHAPTER II EMPLOYMENT AND ACCULTURALIZATION : A PSYCHO-SOCIAL AND SOCIO-ECONOMIC PERSPECTIVE Employment and the A c c u l t u r a l i z i n g Immigrant During the f i r s t year of r e s i d e n c y i n the new country, a major problem many immigrants face i s l o c a t i n g employment ( E i s e n t d a t , 1954; Ex, 1966; Weinstock, 1972). Once l o c a t e d , a s i d e from making a l i v i n g , employment p r o v i d e s the immigrant with the o p p o r t u n i t y to p r a c t i s e the dominant language or l e a r n e x i s t i n g c u l t u r a l norms; p r o v i d e s an avenue f o r moving i n t o the mainstream of s o c i e t y by expanding s o c i a l networks and; p r o v i d e s the immigrant with a sense of \" p o s i t i v e s e l f - r e g a r d \" . For the immigrant who i s sponsored, employment means the r e s t o r a t i o n of self-independence (Ex, 1966; S t e i n , 1979). Thus, employment with an accompanying sense of \" w e l l - b e i n g \" f a c i l i t a t e s the immigrant's s o c i a l - c u l t u r a l adjustment. I t i s an important f a c t o r i n whether the immigrant i s able to stem the i l l e f f e c t s of any experienced \" c u l t u r e shock\". In a p r e d i c t i v e sense, the immigrant's \"goodness of f i t \" to employment i s seen as a good i n d i c a t o r f o r s u c c e s s f u l a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n 12 ( E i s e n t d a t , 1954; Ex, 1966; Weinstock, 1972; Cerase, 1974; Carmon, 1981). Mastia (1980) s t a t e s , \"... employment in Canada can provide a sense of c o n t i n u i t y - a l i n k with the past - and can t h e r e f o r e reduce f e e l i n g s of uprootedness. S i m i l a r i t y , employment enhances the i n d i v i d u a l ' s sense of belonging by p r o v i d i n g not only an economic base f o r s u c c e s s f u l settlement but a l s o , a t a n g i b l e measure of acceptance by the host s o c i e t y ...\"(p.30) The b e n e f i c a l e f f e c t s of employment f o r a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n becomes a l l the more apparent when the occupation i n q u e s t i o n i s \"white c o l l a r \" or high i n s o c i a l r a n k i n g . Weinstock (1972) s t a t e s , \"... the higher the immigrant's p o s i t i o n on the o c c u p a t i o n a l p r e s t i g e s c a l e i n the country of o r i g i n and the g r e a t e r the t r a n s f e r a b i l i t y of h i s s k i l l s , the more a c c u l t u r a t e d he i s l i k e l y to become in the country where he s e t t l e s ...\" (p.148) 1 T h e o r e t i c a l l y , two p o s s i b l e reasons may e x i s t f o r the p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between \"white c o l l a r \" employment and a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n : those a d d i t i o n a l monies which comes with \"white c o l l a r \" employment all o w s the immigrant to comfortably meet e s s e n t i a l needs (food, s h e l t e r , c l o t h i n g , e t c ) thus 1 Rogg (1974) v e r i f i e d Weinstock's statement i n r e s e a r c h conducted with refugees from Nazi Germany and the Cuban R e v o l u t i o n . Rogg found the more the refugee's s k i l l s were t r a n s f e r a b l e , the b e t t e r was t h e i r a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n . 13 p r o v i d i n g more time to devote to higher order needs such as s o c i a l awareness, s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n (Maslow, 1970) and; the demands of \"white c o l l a r \" employment pre s s u r e s the immigrant i n t o engaging i n a l a r g e r s o c i a l network. In t u r n , immigrants of \"blue c o l l a r \" employment may be f i n a n c i a l l y r e s t r i c t e d to the demands of e s s e n t i a l needs or due to the l i m i t i n g nature of t h e i r \"labour i n t e n s i v e \" occupations are not exposed to an expanded s o c i a l network. Although, a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n f o r the \"blue c o l l a r \" immigrant does take p l a c e , i t does so at a slower pace i n comparison to the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant (Patterson 1969; A d l e r , 1977; S t e i n , 1979). Throughout t h i s d i s c u s s i o n on employment and a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n , the assumption i s i m p l i c i t l y made that the immigrant w i l l l o c a t e employment where h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s are f u l l y u t i l i z e d . 1 The f a c t i s , i n a depressed economy which much of Canada was e x p e r i e n c i n g i n mid 1982, t h i s i s the exception r a t h e r than the case. Thus, i t i s important to note that where the immigrant's q u a l i f i c a t i o n s are not being u t i l i z e d , the b e n e f i c a l 1 Aside from the study's a c t u a l sample, t h i s paper uses the masculine pronoun i n the n e u t r a l sense. 14 e f f e c t s of employment to a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n may not be r e a l i z e d . E x p e c t a t i o n s and A c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n Immigrants of \"white and blue c o l l a r \" s t a t u s w i l l experience d i f f i c u l t i e s s p e c i f i c to t h e i r a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n . Although, the general nature of these d i f f i c u l t i e s are s i m i l a r on the s u r f a c e ( i . e . , most immigrants at one time experience the a n x i e t i e s of a s s i m i l a t i o n , e t c . ) , there i s some evidence to suggest that the p o i n t of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n occurs with those e x p e c t a t i o n s h e l d by the host s o c i e t y and the a c c u l t u r a l i z i n g immigrant - i . e . , i t i s i n the nature of these e x p e c t a t i o n s which h e l p to formulate the immigrant's sense of p s y c h o l o g i c a l w e l l - b e i n g . Although the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant may experience a r e l a t i v e l y smooth a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n process, he does not do so without h i s own p a r t i c u l a r problems. As a h i g h l y educated i n d i v i d u a l who f i n d s himself i n a p o s i t i o n of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , the host s o c i e t y may expect (demand) him to 1 5 be very p r o f i c i e n t i n i t s language and s o c i a l systems. 1 On the other hand, the \"blue c o l l a r \" immigrant may only have to master the host s o c i e t y ' s language or s o c i a l systems to the extent of f u l f i l l i n g the b a s i c requirements of h i s employment. Thus, an o v e r l y expectant s o c i e t y may p l a c e g r e a t e r s t r a i n upon the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant who i s a l r e a d y e x p e r i e n c i n g the s t r e s s e s of the a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n p rocess. In the host s o c i e t y , the immigrant's p s y c h o l o g i c a l s a t i s f a c t i o n with a c q u i r e d employment c o u l d depend upon those e x p e c t a t i o n s he c a r r i e d from h i s country of o r i g i n . These e x p e c t a t i o n s are the products of the immigrant's e t h n i c v a l u e s , c l a s s p o s i t i o n s , o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s and l e v e l of education. To demonstrate the importance of these e x p e c t a t i o n s - one merely has to d e s c r i b e what menial employment may mean to the \"blue or white c o l l a r \" immigrant. The \"blue c o l l a r \" immigrant may p e r c e i v e \"menial employment\" as p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y s a t i s f y i n g when he views i t 1 I t f o l l o w s there i s a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between education and o c c u p a t i o n a l attainment. \"White c o l l a r \" employment tends to r e q u i r e more education than \"blue c o l l a r \" employment. 16 w i t h i n the context of those standards of l i v i n g which e x i s t e d between the c o u n t r i e s i n v o l v e d i n the immigration p r o c e s s . 1 For the, \"blue c o l l a r \" immigrant, the e n t i r e e m i g r a t i n g process may be c o n s i d e r e d a socio-economic upward movement. On the other hand, immigrants of \"white c o l l a r \" s t a t u s may have higher e x p e c t a t i o n s - thus making i t d i f f i c u l t to be p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y s a t i s f i e d with \"menial employment\". For these immigrants d i s t i n c t i o n s i n standards of l i v i n g are not as important as i s the u t i l i z a t i o n of s k i l l s , o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s and p r e s t i g e . These \"white c o l l a r \" immigrants view t h e i r education or p r o f e s s i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s as an investment i n time, e f f o r t and money -i . e . , an investment that s y m b o l i c a l l y s i g n i f i e s t h e i r e n t i t l e m e n t f o r higher ranking socio-economic employment (Baranyi,1963; T r e n t , 1970; Derber, 1978; Tuma, 1976). The e d u c a t i o n a l base of the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant has determined h i s s o c i a l and c u l t u r a l m i l i e u (Kohn, 1969; Kohn & Schooler, 1973; P i o r e , 1970; Berg, 1970; Slomezynski, 1981). The p s y c h o - s o c i a l consequences of the immigrant's e x p e c t a t i o n s must be understood w i t h i n those economic 1 Menial employment i s that which does not u t i l i z e the worker's f u l l p o t e n t i a l . 17 c o n d i t i o n s the host s o c i e t y i s e x p e r i e n c i n g . If the host s o c i e t y i s e x p e r i e n c i n g marginal to high unemployment then i t i s to be expected the the immigrant's a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n may w e l l be more p r o b l e m a t i c . Socio-Economic Trends and the Asian Immigrants A review of some of the re s e a r c h on \" v i s i b l e \" m i n o r i t y immigration i n Canada notes the e x i s t e n c e of i n e q u a l i t i e s in s o c i a l m o b i l i t y , income d i s t r i b u t i o n and o c c u p a t i o n a l o p p o r t u n i t i e s . The r e s u l t s of t h i s r e s e a r c h i s s u b s t a n t i a t e d r e g a r d l e s s of the \" v i s i b l e \" immigrant's l e v e l of education or o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s . 1 Socia I Mobi I i ty A survey on immigration and employment conducted from 1967 to 1971 by the Department of Manpower and Immigration (Marr, 1976) notes, \"... In g e n e r a l , most immigrants s t a r t on the lowest rungs and work t h e i r way up the s o c i a l ladder of the host s o c i e t y ... there remains the presumption that upward m o b i l i t y may be e s p e c i a l l y d i f f i c u l t f o r members of a ' v i s i b l e ' e t h n i c m i n o r i t y ...\" 1 The immigrant's o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s as d e f i n e d i n the country of o r i g i n . 18 S t u d i e s suggest that the Asian immigrant's f i r s t o ccupation i n Canada f r e q u e n t l y i n v o l v e s a degree of s t a t u s d i s l o c a t i o n of which many do not recover t h e i r former o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s even a f t e r a s u b s t a n t i a l p e r i o d of time (Richmond, 1967; Richmond & G o l d l u s t , 1973) - i . e . , a f t e r three years i n Canada the 1969 e t h n i c immigrant cohort s t i l l experienced 3.1% who were not i n t h e i r intended occupations (Manpower & Immigration, 1974). T a n g l i n (1981) pr o v i d e s f u r t h e r evidence that i n Canada the e t h n i c m i n o r i t y immigrant's access to upwardly mobile employment i s s e r i o u s l y l i m i t e d . F i n a l l y , a study of male household heads in Ottawa showed that while 25% of those surveyed had h e l d s k i l l e d or p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s i t i o n s i n t h e i r home country, l e s s than 3% occupied such p o s i t i o n s i n Canada with most of the interviewees having r e s i d e d i n the country f o r more than three years (Nguyen, 1983). Income Di s t r i but i on L o n g i t u d i n a l s t u d i e s found that the i n c i d e n c e of poverty was \"... g r e a t e s t among recent immigrants, pre-war immigrants and t h i r d p l u s generation Canadians who belong to v i s i b l e r a c i a l m i n o r i t i e s such as Native Indian, Black and Asian groups ...\" (Richmond & Kalback, 1969; 1971; 1980). 19 A survey conducted from 1969 to 1971 on male household heads of v a r i o u s e t h n i c groups i n Toronto found Black and Asians earned consideraby l e s s i n comparison to any other immigrant group - even though they were e q u i v a l e n t i n job r e l a t e d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s (Richmond & G o l d l u s t , 1973). T a n g l i n (1981) noted that A s i a n immigrants i n Canada g e n e r a l l y earn lower income i n comparison to e t h n i c immigrants from Europe, A u s t r a l i a and the Un i t e d S t a t e s i . e . , immigrants who were a l s o l o c a t e d i n s i m i l a r o c c u p a t i o n s . F i n a l l y , a report conducted by the Canadian government on employment e q u a l i t y notes a 26% d i f f e r e n c e i n income between v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y immigrants (Asians) and indigenous white p r o f e s s i o n a l s (March, 1985). Occupational Opportunities Bibb & Form (1977) found Asians (American) males had a c o n s i s t e n t l y higher p r o p o r t i o n employed i n the p e r i p h e r a l and i n d u s t r i a l s e c t o r s than d i d t h e i r white c o u n t e r p a r t s . A study conducted by the \"Commission of Enquiry on E q u a l i t y i n Employment\" found that white job a p p l i c a n t s r e c e i v e three job o f f e r s f o r ever one made to v i s i b l e m i n o r i t i e s . An adverse impact i s apparent even when non-whites are h i g h l y t r a i n e d and are in high demand occupations 20 (Employment Canada, 1985). F i n a l l y , a study ( B u r r i s , 1983) showed whites, b l a c k s and a s i a n s who h e l d Masters degrees in b u s i s n e s s a d m i n i s t r a t i o n demonstrated that although the black and Asians sent more a p p l i c a t i o n s and went to more i n t e r v i e w s , they r e c e i v e d fewer job o f f e r s than white a p p l i c a n t s . In sum, i t seems \" v i s i b l e \" m i n o r i t y immigrants are found to be over-concentrated i n low s t a t u s and low income jobs r e g a r d l e s s of t h e i r education or o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s . Occupational Inequalities and the Educated Asian Immigrant Research i n d i c a t e s that the Asian immigrant as a group holds more education i n comparison to other immigrant groups (Richmond, 1967; R e i t z , 1983; Adams et a l , 1984). While i t co u l d be expected that t h i s education should give the Asian immigrant a d e c i s i v e advantage over other immigrants, the f o l l o w i n g r e s e a r c h shows t h i s i s not the case; 1. G e n e r a l l y , a f t e r the immigrant r e s e t t l e s i n the host s o c i e t y the type of work obtained u s u a l l y r e f l e c t s a downward m o b i l i t y p a t t e r n ( C i r t a u t a s , 1957; Weiermair, 1971; Rogg, 1974; S a b a t t e l l o , 1981; Bach & Bach, 1980; Rockett, 1980; Chiswick, 1980). T h i s o c c u p a t i o n a l 21 downward tr e n d i s seen to be g r e a t e s t f o r those Asian immigrants with n o n - t r a n s f e r a b l e business, p r o f e s s i o n a l or e d u c a t i o n a l c r e d e n t i a l s and l e s s f o r the labour i n t e n s i v e blue c o l l a r A sian immigrant ( C i r t a u t a s , 1957; Weiermair, 1971; Rogg, 1974; Moldolsky, 1975; Featherman & Hauser, 1976; U.S. Commission of C i v i l R i g h t s , 1978; S a b e t t e l l o , 1981; Richmond, 1980). R e i t z (1983) found i n a f i v e - c i t y N o n - O f f i c i a l Language Survey a negative c o r r e l a t i o n between the immigrant's l e v e l of education and o c c u p a t i o n a l e q u a l i t y - i . e . , Asian immigrants with higher education were found i n low s t a t u s employment. F i n a l l y , l i t e r a t u r e shows the h i g h l y educated Asian immigrant experiences more unemployment (27%) i n comparison to the l e s s s k i l l e d manual Asian immigrant (11%) (Adams & Jesudason, 1984); A larger' p r o p o r t i o n of h i g h l y educated Asian immigrants are below the poverty l i n e i n comparison to indigenous Canadians (Richmond, 1980; Verma, 1985). To repeat, a re p o r t conducted by Employment Canada notes a 26% d i f f e r e n c e i n income between v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y immigrants (Asians) and indigenous Canadian p r o f e s s i o n a l s (March, 1985); The h i g h l y educated Asian immigrant takes a longer time 22 to achieve economic p a r i t y i n comparison to other immigrants - e s p e c i a l l y those who a r r i v e from European c o u n t r i e s . Rockett (1980) b e l i e v e s v i s i b l e m i n o r i t i e s ( e s p e c i a l l y Asians) may not be immune to those s u b t l e p r e j u d i c e s which e x i s t i n the l a r g e r Canadian s o c i e t y -immunity p o s s i b l y enjoyed by the Caucasian immigrant. Boyd (1981) conluded from a 1973 Canadian N a t i o n a l M o b i l i t y Survey i n Canada (as i n the Un i t e d S t a t e s and I s r e a l ) e t h i c d i f f e r e n c e s i n o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s i s l a r g e l y a t t r i b u t a b l e to the respondent's s o c i a l o r i g i n , background c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and educ a t i o n . Occupational Transferability Although, t h e o r e t i c a l l y , i t was i m p l i e d there i s a p o s i t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p between the immigrant's o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s and a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n , R e i t z (1983) found \"white c o l l a r \" A sian immigrants are e x p e r i e n c i n g g r e a t e r i n e q u a l i t i e s i n o c c u p a t i o n a l placement and s o c i a l m o b i l i t y in comparison with \"blue c o l l a r \" A sian immigrants. One reason f o r t h i s o c c u p a t i o n a l d i s p a r i t y i s r e l a t e d to how t r a n s f e r a b l e the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant's occupation i s to the host s o c i e t y . The t r a n s f e r a b i l i t y of the occupation i s determined through economic c o n d i t i o n s and the host 23 S o c i e t y ' s o c c u p a t i o n a l standards. In times of economic h a r d s h i p there may be l e s s (higher paying) \"white c o l l a r \" o c c upations i n comparison to (lower paying ) \"blue c o l l a r \" o c c u p a t i o n s . In a d d i t i o n , although some \"blue c o l l a r \" o ccupations are subjected to union c e r t i f i c a t i o n , \"white c o l l a r \" occupations may be subjected to l i c e n s i n g r e s t r i c t i o n s - i . e . , the l a t t e r p o s s i b l y r e s u l t i n g i n the t o t a l e l i m i n a t i o n of the immigrant's p r o f e s s i o n e t c . F i n a l l y , the host s o c i e t y may not recognize the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant's p r o f e s s i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s s i n c e they were ob t a i n e d under a f o r e i g n system, i . e . , the immigrant's country of o r i g i n . Thus, the host s o c i e t y i n acknowledging the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant's c r e d e n t i a l s may r e q u i r e f u r t h e r education or t r a i n i n g . 1 The host s o c i e t y may not be as s t r i n g e n t f o r labour i n t e n s i v e o c c u p a t i o n s . Weiermair (1971) has gone so f a r as to imply the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant i s f a c i n g a c l o s e d or semi-closed p r o f e s s i o n a l marketplace. Not an easy task i f one i s new to the country, e t c . 24 CHAPTER III UNDEREMPLOYMENT AND THE ASIAN IMMIGRANT : A PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE By underemployment or mal-employment(Gans, 1983), i t i s meant those o c c u p a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n s which do not provide adequate rewards i n wages, p r e s t i g e or s o c i a l m o b i l i t y i n r e l a t i o n to the employee's o c c u p a t i o n a l a b i l i t i e s or ex p e c t a t i o n s - i . e . , that underemployed occupation which wastes or u n d e r - u t i l i z e s the employee's a b i l i t i e s . Thus, not only i s the underemployed employee d i s t u r b e d over h i s u n f u l f i l l e d o c c u p a t i o n a l e x p e c t a t i o n s , but s o c i e t y as a whole i s the poorer in not r e a l i z i n g the b e n e f i t s of a h i g h l y p r o d u c t i v e i n d i v i d u a l . U n l i k e unemployment, underemployment i s l e s s v i s i b l e and harder to i d e n t i f y . N e v e r t h e l e s s , as an o c c u p a t i o n a l a b e r r a t i o n , underemployment has always exerted a s i g n i f i c a n t i n f l u e n c e upon Canada's work f o r c e . Canada's government and p r i v a t e i n s t i t u t i o n s f o r e c a s t that underemployment i s here to stay and i s one of the i l l e f f e c t s of a resource based developing economy. In the cu r r e n t context, as employees with p r o f e s s i o n a l q u a l i f i c a t i o n s compete f o r underemployed occupations ( i . e . , 25 f o r lack of more s u i t a b l e employment, e t c . ) , those employees who normally occupy s u b - p r o f e s s i o n a l p o s i t i o n s are pushed out of the labour f o r c e only to i n c r e a s e an a l r e a d y d i s a s t r o u s n a t i o n a l unemployment s i t u a t i o n ( F o l g e r , 1972; Carey, 1976). In Canada, as i n other c o u n t r i e s , the \" v i s i b l e \" m i n o r i t y immigrant u s u a l l y e n t e r s the labour f o r c e at or near the bottom of the o c c u p a t i o n a l ladder r e g a r d l e s s of h e l d q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ( B l a l o c k , 1961; T a n g l i n , 1981). Underemployment seems i n e x t r i c a b l y l i n k e d with immigration. For example, i n 1961, 42% of e n t e r i n g immigrants experienced underemployment (Richmond, 1967). In 1983, 62% of e n t e r i n g immigrants experienced underemployment - the i n c r e a s e i n percentage r e f l e c t i n g d i f f i c u l t economic times (Adams & Jesudason, 1984). Although i t seems unreasonable to assume the newly a r r i v e d immigrant i s e n t i t l e d to employment e q u i v a l e n t to Canada's indigenous workers, i t a l s o seems unreasonable to assume employment means something l e s s i n importance to the immigrant. If anything, adequate employment may mean a great d e a l to the a c c u l t u r a l i z i n g immigrant. Thus, the p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s of underemployment coupled with the 26 demands of a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n may only exacerbate those s t r e s s e s the immigrant i s a l r e a d y e x p e r i e n c i n g (Davies & Olesen, 1963). The immigrant's d e s i r e to make i t i n the new country, the s t r e s s e s of \" d e s o c i a l i z i n g \" o l d norms or val u e s and \" r e s o c i a l i z i n g \" new, sometimes p e r c e i v e d c o n t r a d i c t o r y norms, may r e s u l t i n emotional d i s t u r b a n c e s or c o n f l i c t . Oberg (1960) r e f e r s t o these emotional d i s t u r b a n c e s as a \" c u l t u r e shock\". Ben-David (1970) r e f e r s to them as a p e r s o n a l i t y c r i s i s - i . e . , \"an impoverishment of the immigrant's ego\" (p.370). Since most of the l i t e r a t u r e on the p s y c h o l o g i c a l consequences of underemployment does not p e r t a i n s p e c i f i c a l l y to our \" v i s i b l e \" m i n o r i t y immigrant, we w i l l delve i n t o t h i s t o p i c as i t has been covered with the general p o p u l a t i o n . E x t e n s i v e r e s e a r c h has been conducted on the r e l a t i o n s h i p between underemployment and the employee's a f f e c t i v e s t a t e s ( L e n s k i , 1951; Fenchal, Moderer & H a r t l y , 1951; Goffman, 1957; Jackson, 1962; Homans, 1962; P h i l i p s et a l , 1966; Greschewender, 1968; Vrendenburg & M a n d i l o v i t c h , 1979). Research shows underemployment o f t e n e v i n c e s s o c i a l a t t i t u d e s and behaviours s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t from those employees who are \" o c c u p a t i o n a l l y congruent\" i n r e l a t i o n to t h e i r s k i l l s or education (Bayley 27 Si Runciman, 1969). Kornhauser (1965) shows a d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n i n employment u s u a l l y g e n e r a l i z e s to an o v e r - a l l d i s c o n t e n t with other l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s . Other s t u d i e s have a l s o p r o v i d e d evidence of a \" s p i l l o v e r \" e f f e c t from underemployment (Berg, 1970; K a l l e b e r g & Sorensen, 1973; B i s c o n t i & Solomon, 1977; Rumberger, 1980). Thus, i t seems p l a u s i b l e that the employee's u n f u l f i l l e d e x p e c t a t i o n s due to underemployment may l e a d to disappointment, f r u s t r a t i o n and anger. The c o n d i t i o n of underemployment a l s o produces more s p e c i f i c a f f e c t i v e s t a t e s ; mental d i s o r d e r s (Dunham, P h i l i p s & S r i n i v a s a r , 1966; Coburn, 1975 C a r d e l l , 1976); a negative or unstable self-image (Fenchal, Moderer & H a r t l y , 1951; Goffman, 1957); s t r e s s symptoms (Jackson, 1962) i d e n t i t y or r o l e c o n f u s i o n (Dornbusch, 1955; S t r a u s s , 1955; Brim, 1966) and s o c i a l withdrawal or i s o l a t i o n (Shepard & Henrick, 1972; Kohn & Schooler, 1973; Seeman, 1975; Laumann & Santer, 1976). The i n c i d e n c e of s u i c i d e i s a l s o thought to occur more o f t e n f o r people e x p e r i e n c i n g underemployment i n comparison to more \" o c c u p a t i o n a l l y congruent\" employees (Durkheim, 1897). Since employment p r o v i d e s the f i n a n c i a l means for o b t a i n i n g l i f e ' s e s s e n t i a l needs - i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g i t a l s o p l a y s a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e i n r e a l i z i n g 28 \"higher order needs\" such as s o c i a l and p s y c h o l o g i c a l worth (Maslow, 1970). Underemployment and Mental H e a l t h S t u d i e s show employees who experience an incongruency between o c c u p a t i o n a l s k i l l s and employment demands ( i . e . , h igh s k i l l s - low demands) may experience a d e t e r i o r a t i o n in mental h e a l t h - i . e . , the higher the employee's o c c u p a t i o n a l or e d u c a t i o n a l c r e d e n t i a l s i n r e l a t i o n to low employment placement, the g r e a t e r the p o s s i b i l i t y f o r mental d i s o r d e r s (Coburn, 1975; C a r d e l l , 1976). Lauser (1980) i n a study of f a c t o r y workers found p o s i t i v e f e e l i n g s as to the u t i l i z a t i o n of o c c u p a t i o n a l a b i l i t i e s was unmistakably a s s o c i a t e d with good mental h e a l t h . To quote Lauser (1980), \"... the u n d e r - u t i l i z a t i o n of s k i l l s ... causes lower sel f - e s t e e m , discouragement, f u t i l i t y and f e e l i n g s of f a i l u r e , i n f e r i o r i t y , f r u s t r a t i o n and resentment - the u t i l i z a t i o n of s k i l l s , causes a sense of p e r s o n a l growth and s e l f - f u l f i l l m e n t . ..\"(p. 129). Yancey et a l (1972) in h i s Midtown Manhatten study a l s o demonstrated a c o r r e l a t i o n between psycho-somatic symptoms and incongruent s o c i a l s t a t u s . F i n a l l y , Abramson (1966) found i n I s r e a l , h i g h l y educated immigrants who were 29 l o c a t e d i n ' low demanding employment scored s i g n i f i c a n t l y higher on the C o r n e l l Medical Index of Mental D i s o r d e r s . T h i s negative c o r r e l a t i o n was s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s when the immigrant's education was congruent to employment. Underemployment and Self-Esteem Self-esteem r e f e r s to the i n d i v i d u a l ' s p o s i t i v e f e e l i n g s ( i . e . , favourable o p i n i o n s , p o s i t i v e s e l f - r e g a r d , s e l f - r e s p e c t , etc) about h i m s e l f . A l l p o r t (1954) b e l i e v e s s e l f - e s t e e m i s in n a t e . He s t a t e s , v \"... when one's sense of i n t e g r i t y and s e l f - d i r e c t i o n are i n t e r f e r r e d with, one has the c a p a c i t y f o r rage, a g g r e s s i o n , resentment, hatred, envy and other forms of p e r v a s i v e b e h a v i o r s . These s e l f - r e s t o r a t i o n mechanisms are l i k e l y to be c a l l e d i n t o p lay whenever one's ego esteem i s threatened n ... I t seems, the person who i s ( f o r some reasons) denied t h i s innate need f o r self- e s t e e m , i s a prime candidate f o r p s y c h o l o g i c a l problems. On an o p e r a t i v e l e v e l , s e l f - e s t e e m i s the r e s u l t of c e r t a i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l mechanism - i . e . , the \" r e f l e c t i v e a p p r a i s a l \" and the \"comparative r e f e r e n c e \" group. The i n d i v i d u a l ' s \" r e f l e c t i v e a p p r a i s a l \" i s an i n t r a - p s y c h i c comparison process which i s seen to take p l a c e a c r o s s time i . e . , time 1 > time 2; time 1 = time 2 or; time 1 < time 30 2. During t h i s \" r e f l e c t i v e p rocess\", the i n d i v i d u a l may c o n f i r m or d i s c o n f i r m h i m s e l f - i . e . , the person may experience a h e i g h t e n i n g of s e l f - e s t e e m , a maintenance of s e l f - e s t e e m or a lowering of s e l f - e s t e e m . On the other hand, the i n d i v i d u a l ' s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with a r e f e r e n c e group i s an i n t e r - p s y c h i c comparison process i n v o l v i n g another person or group of persons (Runciman, 1966; F o r s y t h , 1983). The i n d i v i d u a l i n making a comparison to a r e f e r e n c e group may c o n f i r m h i m s e l f or f e e l \" r e l a t i v e l y d e p r i v e d \" - i . e . , person A > person B; person A = person B or; person A < person B (Newcomb et a l , 1967). Assuming the i n d i v i d u a l i s i n a s t a t i c p o s i t i o n , a downward comparison may engender high s e l f - e s t e e m ; an equal comparison may maintain s e l f - e s t e e m and; an upward comparison low s e l f - e s t e e m . Since a person's s e l f - e v a l u a t i o n s are ( i n part) dependent upon p e r c e i v e d e v a l u a t i o n s with o t h e r s , o c c u p a t i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n s should have corresponding l e v e l s of p e r s o n a l s e l f - e s t e e m . The person's o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s i s p o s i t i v e l y c o r r e l a t e d to s e l f - e s t e e m . A d r a s t i c r e d u c t i o n i n a person's o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s ( f o r whatever reason) i s seen to a f f e c t h i s l e v e l of s e l f - e s t e e m (Cohn, 1977; Cobb & K a s l , 1977). For example, a study found h i g h l y educated 31 employees i d e n t i f y more i n t e n s i v e l y with employment i n comparison to l e s s educated employees ( T u r i n , V e r o f f F i e l d , 1960). I t was a l s o found f o r the former group, the impact of \"dead-end\" employment was more d e t r i m e n t a l to s e l f - c o n f i d e n c e and ego-strength (Goodchilds & Smith, 1963). F i n a l l y , the p s y c h o l o g i c a l consequences of the l o s s of s e l f - e s t e e m through underemployment i s not l i m i t e d to immediate e f f e c t s - i . e . , the l o s s of s e l f - e s t e e m has a strong i n f l u e n c e upon the employee's f u t u r e o c c u p a t i o n a l c h o i c e s . For example, people low in s e l f - e s t e e m tend to choose occupations which are l e s s congruent to t h e i r s e l f - p e r c e i v e d o c c u p a t i o n a l s k i l l s or a c t u a l a b i l i t i e s . In sum, the immigrant who experiences a l o s s of s e l f - e s t e e m through sub-employment may engage in i n a p p r o p r i a t e employment search behavior or make poor re-employment dec i s i o n s . The l o s s of s e l f - e s t e e m i s a s s o c i a t e d with c e r t a i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l problems; 1. Depression S t u d i e s r e v e a l i n d i v i d u a l s who engage i n sub-employment and f a i l to achieve t h e i r a s p i r a t i o n s e v a l u a t e themselves as i n f e r i o r and are l i k e l y to 32 r e p o r t f e e l i n g s of g u i l t , shame or depression (Coppersmith, 1967). Jackson (1962) s t a t e s , \"... a person whose achieved ranks i s l i k e l y to view h i s s i t u a t i o n as one of p e r s o n a l f a i l u r e . . . a n d t h e r e f o r e tend to s t i m u l a t e f e e l i n g s of p e r s o n a l d e f i c i e n c y and self-blame ...\"(p.476) 2. S o c i a l Withdrawl or I s o l a t i o n Those people who experience sub-employment as a s i g n of f a i l u r e may a v o i d the p o t e n t i a l f o r negative e v a l u a t i o n s of others through the process of s o c i a l withdrawl or i s o l a t i o n . I n t e r e s t i n g l y , McCarthy & Yancey (1972) found people who appear to have completely i n t r o j e c t e d the c o n d i t i o n s of sub-employment may be employing a more complex s o c i a l withdrawl defence mechanism. These people counter the negative e v a l u a t i o n s of s t a t u s comparisons through a s s o c i a t i n g only with other employees who are i n a s i m i l a r o c c u p a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n . The \"other employees\" provide the person with a standard to e s t a b l i s h more comfortable a f f e c t i v e s t a t e s . F i n a l l y , the m i n o r i t y immigrant may use h i s s u b - c u l t u r e as a \"psychic s h e l t e r \" viewing h i s sub-employment as the r e s u l t of a \"biased s o c i a l system\" r a t h e r than r e f l e c t i o n of h i s own p e r s o n a l worth ( P o r t e r , 1963). 33 3. S u i c i d e For the male employee the l o s s of o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s i s a s s o c i a t e d with a higher i n c i d e n c e of s u i c i d e , \"... an u l t i m a t e e x p r e s s i o n of accumulated self-contempt ... f e e l i n g s of both g u i l t and shame as a r e s u l t of the i n a b i l i t y to act ...\" (Sheppard, 1965, p.870) Unde r empl oyme nt and Identity/Role Confusion S t u d i e s note s t a t u s t r a n s i t i o n s can have a c o n s i d e r a b l e e f f e c t on developing, changing and s t a b i l i z i n g the i n d i v i d u a l ' s sense of perso n a l i d e n t i t y (Dornbusch, 1955; Str a u s s , 1959; Goffman, 1959; Corwin, 1961). F o l l o w i n g a change i n o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s , the i n d i v i d u a l must l e a r n to adapt to new r o l e s , and i n doing so i s l i k e l y to change the conception of himself and h i s s o c i a l world. The process of i d e n t i t y change may be a n a l y t i c a l l y d i v i d e d i n t o two p a r t s . The f i r s t p art i n v o l v e s the i n d i v i d u a l t a k i n g on a new i d e n t i t y . The second p a r t i n v o l v e s the r a t i f i c a t i o n of t h i s new i d e n t i t y by s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s . There i s c o n s i d e r a b l e evidence to suggest that where an i n d i v i d u a l i s exposed to pressures which cause him to modify h i s a t t i t u d e s , t h i s pressure i s 34 l i k e l y to p r o v i d e a n x i e t y or s t r e s s (Asch, 1956; Boydonoff, 1961). Where the a t t i t u d e s i n v o l v e d are fundamental to the i n d i v i d u a l ' s conception of h i m s e l f and h i s p o s i t i o n i n the world, then the a n x i e t y or s t r e s s experienced i s l i a b l e to be c o n s i d e r a b l e . A number of s t u d i e s have shown that adoption of a new o c c u p a t i o n a l s t a t u s can i n v o l v e c o n s i d e r a b l e i d e n t i t y - s t r e s s f o r the i n d i v i d u a l (Corwin, 1.961; Davis & Olesen, 1963). T h i s process of i d e n t i t y f u s i o n through o c c u p a t i o n a l change can only have an e x a c e r b a t i n g e f f e c t upon those s t r e s s e s of a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n f o r the immigrant. The immigrant i s faced with more s t r e s s than what i s expected of a person undergoing a s t a t u s t r a n s i t i o n . Thus, t h i s a d d i t i o n a l s t r e s s of i d e n t i t y f u s i o n presents a formidable c h a l l e n g e f o r the immigrant - i . e . , many immigrants may f e e l overwhelmed i n the process. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , the \"white c o l l a r \" immigrant may experience an a d d i t i o n a l s t r e s s . Where these immigrants do r e a l i z e an upwardly mobile o c c u p a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n , they are not always accepted by t h e i r o c c u p a t i o n a l peers. T h i s o c c u p a t i o n a l d i s e q u i l i b r i u m has the e f f e c t ( e i t h e r temporary or permanent) of p l a c i n g the immigrant i n a 35 marginal p o s i t i o n (Richmond & Verma, 1978). Marginality of Role Conflict Park and Stonequist (1950) formulated the theory of the \"marginal man\". They s t a t e , \"... when through b i r t h or other f a c t o r s , i n d i v i d u a l s are pl a c e d between two not e n t i r e l y compatible s o c i a l p o s i t i o n s , they may develop a d e s t r u c t i v e set of p e r s o n a l i t y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . . . l i v i n g and sh a r i n g i n the c u l t u r a l l i f e and t r a d i t i o n s of two d i s t i n c t people, never q u i t e w i l l i n g to break, even i f he were permitted to do so, with h i s past t r a d i t i o n s and not q u i t e accepted because of r a c i a l p r e j u d i c e s , i n the new s o c i e t y which he now sought to f i n d a p l a c e . Such are those on the margin of two c u l t u r e s and two s o c i e t i e s which never completely i n t e r - p e n e t r a t e and fuse ...\"(p.304) The g r e a t e r the d i s p a r i t y between the immigrant's o r i g i n a l c u l t u r e to that of the adoptive one, the higher the t e n s i o n the immigrant experiences -in surmounting \" p e r c e i v e d \" c o n t r a d i c t i o n s w i t h i n the host c u l t u r e . Immigrants e x p e r i e n c i n g t h i s s i t u a t i o n are f e l t to be ma n i f e s t i n g a \"double c o n s c i o u s n e s s \" i n exp r e s s i n g ambivalent sentiments and a t t i t u d e s . According to S t a r r (1977) these people are \" p a i n f u l l y s e l f - c o n s c i o u s ; are e x c e s s i v e l y race-conscious and have f e e l i n g s of inadequacy, impotency and i n f e r i o r i t y , etc.\"(p.950) These people a l s o may manifest t e n s i o n , anger, i n d e c i s i o n , f r u s t r a t i o n , 36 h o s t i l i t y or overt a g g r e s s i v e behavior (Parson, 1951; Kohn, Wolfe, Quinn, Snorek & Rosenthal, 1954). In attempting to r e c o n c i l e f o r the c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s , these people may modify t h e i r e x p e c t a t i o n s through i n s t i t u t i o n a l means or d e v i a n t methods - i . e . , they may ho l d s o c i e t y r e s p o n s i b l e for t h e i r problems and withdraw i n t o the \" c o l l e c t i v e p s y c h i c s h e l t e r \" of t h e i r c u l t u r e (Derber, 1978). Thus, f o r the immigrant, e x p e r i e n c i n g \" c u l t u r e shock\" with a l e v e l of \" m a r g i n a l i t y \" i s s u f f i c i e n t to engender the f e e l i n g s of r o l e c o n f l i c t . Underemployment and Job Dissatisfaction Research shows underemployment promotes job d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n (Berg, 1970; K a l l e n b e r g & Sorensen, 1973; Locke, 1976). For example, Berg (1970) c o n s t r u c t e d a s t a t u s i n c o n s i s t e n c y s c a l e that measured the discrepancy between workers' education and the s k i l l s r e q u i r e d i n t h e i r employment. He found the workers who were d i s s a t i s f i e d with employment were those who h e l d more education than what was warranted i n the job. Berg (1970) a l s o found t h i s d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n became more acute when workers p e r c e i v e d l i t t l e o p p o r t u n i t y f o r o c c u p a t i o n a l advancement. In refe r e n c e to another study, K a l l e n b e r g & Sorensen (1973) 37 f o u n d w o r k e r s e x p e r i e n c i n g u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t u s u a l l y became i n c r e a s i n g l y f r u s t r a t e d o n c e h a v i n g m a s t e r e d what t h e y c o n s i d e r e d t o be an u n c h a l l e n g i n g \" d e a d - e n d \" j o b . I n sum, o c c u p a t i o n a l d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n t h r o u g h u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t i s f e l t t o h a v e c e r t a i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d o c c u p a t i o n a l c o n s e q u e n c e s . O c c u p a t i o n a l d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n i s a c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r i n low p r o d u c t i v i t y , p o o r c o - w o r k e r s r e l a t i o n s h i p s , a n d h i g h a b s e n t e e r i s m - t u r n o v e r r a t e s ( W i l d , 1970; B u r r i s , 1 9 8 3 ) . I n t e r m s o f t h e l a t t e r , i t i s a p p a r e n t t h a t few e m p l o y e e s ( i n d i g e n o u s o r n o t ) c a n a f f o r d t o c a r r y s u c h \" n e g a t i v e o c c u p a t i o n a l m a r k e r s \" - e s p e c i a l l y i n Canada where a l a r g e \" l a b o u r r e s e r v e \" e x i s t s - i . e . , t h e c o m p e t i t i o n f o r employment i s t o o i n t e n s e f o r a d i s s a t i s f i e d e m p l o y e e t o f l o u n d e r . N o t i n g t h a t t h e i m m i g r a n t i s a p e r s o n who s h a r e s t h o s e e x p e c t a t i o n s common t o t h e i n d i g e n o u s w o r k e r , i t s t a n d s t o r e a s o n t h a t t h e d e t r i m e n t a l c o n s e q u e n c e s o f u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t do n o t make t h e a l r e a d y s t r e s s f u l a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s any l e s s p r o b l e m a t i c . The p u r p o s e o f t h i s t h e s i s i s t o i n v e s t i g a t e t h e r e c e n t i m m i g r a n t who i s e x p e r i e n c i n g t h e o c c u p a t i o n a l c o n d i t i o n o f u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t . Of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t t o t h i s t h e s i s i s 38 how the immigrant i s e x p e r i e n c i n g underemployment, how the immigrant i s adapting to underemployment and i n what manner underemployment i s a f f e c t i n g the immigrant's a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n i n t o the host c u l t u r e . For the purpose of methodological s e n s i t i v i t y , t h i s t h e s i s w i l l focus e x c l u s i v e l y upon the p r o f e s s i o n a l who i s a male immigrant of Chinese e x t r a c t i o n . To t h i s p o i n t , t h i s t h e s i s has attempted to provide a g l o b a l p s y c h o - s o c i o l o g i c a l framework upon which to view the underemployed Chinese immigrant. From t h i s overview, i t becomes i n c r e a s i n g l y c l e a r that to f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e the underemployed immigrant's experience, a more \"in-depth\" p s y c h o l o g i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e i s r e q u i r e d - i . e . , a p s y c h o l o g i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e which w i l l p r o v i d e the t h e s i s with a \"workable\" m o t i v a t i o n a l c o n s t r u c t . I t i s f e l t that the p s y c h o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n best s u i t e d f o r t h i s purpose i s the e x i s t e n t i a l p e r s p e c t i v e . 39 CHAPTER IV THE EXISTENTIAL PERSPECTIVE E x i s t e n t i a l i s m i s concerned with understanding the person w i t h i n the context of h i s e x i s t e n c e . As a psychology, e x i s t e n t i a l i s m d e a l s with ontology, the s c i e n c e of being, and with Dasein, the e x i s t e n c e of a p a r t i c u l a r person (May, 1967; 1969; 1983; H a l l & Lindzey, 1970). A Conceptual View of Man 1 In r e f e r e n c e to a person's e x i s t e n c e , Heidegger (1949) viewed man as \"Being-in-the-world.\" He suggested that man does not e x i s t as a s e l f d i s t i n c t l y separate from the e x t e r n a l world. Nor d i d he thin k man i s an ob j e c t which i s found to be i n t e r a c t i n g with the e x t e r n a l world. In other words, man has no e x i s t e n c e apart from the world - the world has no e x i s t e n c e apart from man. Man i s \"Being-in-the-world\" with the world having i t s e x i s t e n c e because there i s a person to experience i t . \"Being\" and \"World\" are one. A person's \"Being-in the- world\" i s the t o t a l i t y of h i s e x i s t e n c e . 1The word \"man\" i s used in r e f e r e n c e to the human c o n d i t i o n . 40 Heidegger (1949) suggest t h a t , f o r person to grasp what i t means to e x i s t , one needs to grasp the f a c t that one might not e x i s t . \"Being\" i s to e x i s t . \"Non-being\" i s not to e x i s t . In an e x i s t e n t i a l sense j u s t as darkness i s a c o n d i t i o n of l i g h t - \"Non-being\" (death) i s a c o n d i t i o n of \"Being\" ( l i f e ) . In other words, \"Non-being\" or the experience of \"Nothingness\" i s an i n s e p a r a t a b l e p a r t of \"Being\". I t i s through the person's awareness of \"Non-being\" that e x i s t e n c e takes on a f u l l v i t a l i t y and immediacy. Such a person experiences a heightened consciousness of h i m s e l f , h i s world and others around him ( H a l l & Lindzey, 1970) 1 A M o t i v a t i o n a l C o n s t r u c t In a m o t i v a t i o n a l sense, Man's \"Being-in-the-world\" i s a \"Being\" i n the process of \"Becoming\". O n t o l o g i c a l l y , man's \"Being-in-the-worId\" c o n s i s t s of p o t e n t i a l i t i e s which must be a c t u a l i z e d i f he i s to f u l l y r e a l i z e h i s e x i s t e n c e . The a c t u a l i z a t i o n of p o t e n t i a l s i s the process of the 1 Note, e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s b e l i e v e that the person's \"Being-in-the-world\" i s composed of three mutually r e l a t e d worlds; Eigenwelt (own world), Unwelt (nature) and Mitwelt (the world of f e l l o w men). \"Being-in-the-world\" i s f u l l y r e a l i z e d when these three worlds are i n balance with each other. 41 \"Being\" - \"Becoming\". On the other hand, the u n f u l f i l l m e n t of p o t e n t i a l s engenders the e x p e r i e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Non-being\" or \"Non-becoming\". I t i s thought that w i t h i n l i m i t s , man has the freedom to r e a l i z e the p o t e n t i a l s of h i s \"Being-in-the-world\". 1 Man r e a l i z e s h i s p o t e n t i a l s through the e x i s t e n t i a l process of making c h o i c e s . 2 Since making c h o i c e s i m p l i e s movement from \"Being\" towards another emerging \"Being\" - the process of c h oice making i s always seen to d i s t u r b an e x i s t i n g sense of s e c u r i t y - i . e . , i t always takes p l a c e upon the backdrop of a foreboding \"Non-being\". Anxiety i s an inescapable consequence of \"Being\" i n the process of \"Becoming\". I t f o l l o w s that man as \"Being-in-the-world\" i s a l s o f r e e not to r e a l i z e h i s p o t e n t i a l i t i e s . In t h i s s i t u a t i o n man chooses not to make c h o i c e s . Man's \"Being\" becomes s t a t i c or f i x e d - i t does not a c t u a l i z e . N o n - a c t u a l i z a t i o n 1 The l i m i t s of man's freedom i s determined by the \"Ground of E x i s t e n c e \" - those e x p e r i e n t i a l q u a l i t i e s which were e s t a b i s h e d (pre-determined) at the time of the person's b i r t h - i . e . gender, p h y s i c a l c a p a b i l i t i e s , c u l t u r a l o r i e n t a t i o n , s o c i a l p o s i t i o n , p s y c h o - s o c i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s e t c . 2 E x i s t e n t i a l i s t s do not make value judgements as to an i n d i v i d u a l ' s c h o i c e s . What i s important i s the i n d i v i d u a l i s making c h o i c e s . 42 i s conducive to the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Non-being\". G u i l t i s the inescapable consequence of \"Non-being\". Anxiety ( l i f e ) and g u i l t (death) are not a f f e c t s but o n t o l o g i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of man's e x i s t e n c e . An approximation of these pure e x i s t e n t i a l premises i s Maslow's ( 1954; 1968; 1970) h i e r a r c h y of needs theory. 1 Maslow too s t r e s s e s the inner r i c h n e s s and uniqueness of the i n d i v i d u a l (Mostyn, 1985). For Maslow, the i n d i v i d u a l i s an a c t i v e being who i s seeking out the novel versus the f a m i l i a r - those a c t i v i t i e s which engender the p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t a t e of d i s e q u i l i b r i u m versus e q u i l i b r i u m . Here l i e s Maslow's m o t i v a t i o n a l c o n s t r u c t where the i n d i v i d u a l i s p r o p e l l e d to s a t i s f y needs. Maslow (1954) s t a t e s , \"... Now l e t me t r y to present b r i e f l y and at f i r s t d o g m a t i c a l l y the essence of t h i s ... conception of the ... he a l t h y man. F i r s t of a l l and most important of a l l i s the stronge b e l i e f t h a t man has an e s s e n t i a l nature of h i s own, ... that he has needs, c a p a c i t i e s and tendencies that are g e n e t i c a l l y based, some of which are c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the whole human s p e c i e s , c u t t i n g a c r o s s a l l c u l t u r e l i n e s , and some of which are unique to the i n d i v i d u a l . These needs are on t h e i r face good or n e u t r a l r a t h e r than e v i l . Second, there i s i n v o l v e d the conception that f u l l h e a l t h y and normal and d e s i r a b l e development c o n s i s t s i n a c t u a l i z i n g t h i s nature, i n f u l f i l l i n g these 1 There i s too much s t r u c t u r e i n Maslow's theory f o r the pure e x i s t e n t i a l i s t . 43 p o t e n t i a l i t i e s , and i n developing i n t o m a t u r i t y along the l i n e s that t h i s hidden, c o v e r t , dimly seen e s s e n t i a l nature d i c t a t e s , growing from w i t h i n r a t h e r than being shaped from without. ... By t h i s c onception what i s good? Anything that conduces to t h i s d e s i r a b l e development in the d i r e c t i o n of a c t u a l i z a t i o n of the inner nature of man. What i s bad or abnormal? Anything that f r u s t r a t e s or b l o c k s or denies the e s s e n t i a l nature of man ...\" (p. 340-341) For Maslow, the healthy i n d i v i d u a l i s one who has been able to f u l f i l l c e r t a i n tasks i n r e l a t i o n to the h i e r a r c h y of needs - the lower needs having to be f u l f i l l e d before the higher needs can be addressed - i . e . , 1. p h y s i o l o g i c a l - b a s i c needs s a t i s f i e d by such s t i m u l i as food and s l e e p ; 2. s e c u r i t y - need for a safe environment f r e e from immediate t h r e a t ; a 3. s o c i a l - a f f i l i a t i v e and love needs - a d e s i r e f o r s o c i a l acceptance; 4. esteem - need f o r enhancement and acceptance of s e l f ; and 5.. s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n - s t r i v i n g f o r f u l l r e a l i z a t i o n of unique c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s and p o t e n t i a l s . T h i s r e s e a r c h e r b e l i e v e s the m o t i v a t i o n a l category which e x e m p l i f i e s the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Being-in-the-world\" i s Maslow's need for s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . The i n d i v i d u a l , 44 once r e a l i z i n g h i s \" e s s e n t i a l needs\" then engages in s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s . T h i s r e s e a r c h e r suggests that i t i s p o s s i b l e to view the underemployed Chinese immigrant w i t h i n an e x i s t e n t i a l framework. Although a l l a spects of these immigrants i s of i n t e r e s t to t h i s study, i n v o i c i n g the e x i s t e n t i a l p o s i t i o n , the sample may represent i n d i v i d u a l s who are m a n i f e s t i n g v a r i o u s aspects of an s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s . A b a s i c premise of t h i s t h e s i s i s that through phenomenological a n a l y s i s , i n s i g h t w i l l be achieved in how the p r o f e s s i o n a l Chinese immigrant i s e x p e r i e n c i n g the s i t u a t i o n of underemployment. 45 CHAPTER V RESEARCH METHODOLOGY The study's method of i n q u i r y i n t o , the e x p e r i e n t i a l dynamics of underemployment f o r the p r o f e s s i o n a l male Chinese immigrant w i l l f o l l o w the q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l paradigm ( G i o r g i , 1975; F i s c h e r , 1976; 1979; Gavin, 1976; Romanshn, 1976; Neimeyer & R e s n i k o f f , 1982; Dukes, 1984; Wertz,l984; Shapiro, 1985). The primary o b j e c t i v e of q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l methodology i s to comprehend those \"meaning u n i t s \" ( i . e . , b e h aviors, thoughts, f e e l i n g s etc) which c o n s t i t u t e a person's e x p e r i e n t i a l world. Neimeyer and R e s n i k o f f (1982) s t a t e , \"... Understanding the meanings given by i n d i v i d u a l s to p a r t i c u l a r s i t u a t i o n s a l l o w s a researcher to a p p r e c i a t e the impact an event has had upon the su b j e c t , the way the i n d i v i d u a l i n t e r p r e t a t e s the events, and t h e r e f o r e , the p r e d i c t a b i l i t y of c e r t a i n behaviors in subsequent s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n s ...\"(p.77) The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l methodology i s seen in i t s a b i l i t y to enter the person's e x p e r i e n t i a l world as i t i s being l i v e d . F i n a l l y , a q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l methodology i s e x p l o r a t o r y / d e s c r i p t i v e i n o r i e n t a t i o n . As an 46 e x p l o r a t o r y / d e s c r i p t i v e technique, methodology used i n t h i s study i s i d e a l i n r e s e a r c h where l i t t l e c onceptual i n f o r m a t i o n e x i s t s about the t o p i c of i n t e r e s t i . e . , the underemployed p r o f e s s i o n a l Chinese immigrant. I t i s hoped that the conceptual i n f o r m a t i o n a c q u i r e d through t h i s t h e s i s w i l l help to provide a base of knowledge which may at a l a t e r time be subjected to a more powerful e m p i r i c a l a n a l y s i s (Neimeyer & R e s n i k o f f , 1982). In other words, the q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l methodology i s i n d u c t i v e , where hypotheses emerge from the documentation of the data (Glaser & S t r a u s s , 1967). For those s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s who have c e r t a i n methodological m i s g i v i n g s about using an i n d u c t i v e e x p l o r a t o r y / d e s c r i p t i v e approach, G l a s e r and Strauss (1967) s t a t e , \"... theory from data means that most hypotheses and concepts not only come from the data, but are s y s t e m a t i c a l l y worked out i n r e l a t i o n to the data du r i n g the course of the r e s e a r c h ... By c o n t r a s t , the source of c e r t a i n ideas, or even 'models' can come from sources other than the data. But the ge n e r a t i o n of theory from such i n s i g h t s must then be brought i n t o r e l a t i o n to the data, or there i s great danger that theory and e m p i r i c a l world w i l l mis-match ...\"(p.6) In a d d i t i o n , G i o r g i (1975) s t a t e s , \"... the minimum c o n d i t i o n f o r the study of anything i s that i t be present to someone's consciousness - only a f t e r . . . c a r e f u l d e s c r i p t i o n . . . c a n more s p e c i a l i z e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n s whether p h i l o s o p h i c or s c i e n t i f i c , begin ...\" 47 The N o n - P i r e c t i v e Phenomenoloqical Method In i t s purest t h e o r e t i c a l form, the q u a l i t a t i v e - p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l methodology i s o p e r a t i o n a l i z e d through the n o n - d i r e c t i v e i n t e r v i e w . ( G i o r g i , 1975). For example; 1. The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w i s e s s e n t i a l l y an e x p l o r a t i o n of the i n d i v i d u a l ' s experience. I t i s i d i o g r a p h i c i n o r i e n t a t i o n . The v a l i d i t y of t h i s phenomenological r e p o r t i s found in the s u b j e c t ' s experience which i s d e r i v e d from ' l i v i n g i n the a c t u a l or r e a l world' (Amundson & Borgan, 1984) In other words, the e x p e r i e n t i a l phenomena speaks f o r i t s e l f and i s valued as such; 2. The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w leads to the v i v i d r e a l i z a t i o n of the uniqueness of the i n d i v i d u a l , h i s or her i d i o s y n c r a t i c 'Daesin' or 'Being-in-the-world'. The i n t e r v i e w e r in attempting to understand the i n d i v i d u a l ' s 'Daesin' does so w i t h i n the context of h i s 'Being-in-the-world'. Thus, both i n t e r v i e w e r and respondent share the the e x p e r i e n t i a l process of 'Being-in-the-world'. I n e v i t a b l y , when common e x p e r i e n t i a l p a t t e r n s do emerge, they are always 48 viewed w i t h i n the realm of uniqueness; The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w i s a d e s c r i p t i v e or nominal statement. I t f a i t h f u l l y attempts to t r a n s c r i b e i n language the i n d i v i d u a l ' s 'frame of r e f e r e n c e ' . As G i o r g i (1975) s t a t e s , \"The phenomenological method ... depends almost e x c l u s i v e l y upon the power of language for communication and t h e r e f o r e d e s c r i p t i o n i s i t s main technique ...\"(100) In other words, the measuring process i s the s t a t i s t i c of i n t e r e s t ; The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w i n i t s search f o r p e r s o n a l meaning i s b i o g r a p h i c . As s t a t e d , i t s p h i l o s o p h i c a l p o s i t i o n i s i n d u c t i v e where q u a l i t a t i v e d i s t i n c t i o n s are formulated a f t e r - not before a c q u i r i n g the data; The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w i n process i s \"person cent e r e d \" . The process i n v o l v e s an \" u n c o n d i t i o n a l p o s i t i v e regard\" f o r the person as a responding, adapting, e x p e r i e n c i n g human being (Rogers, 1951). T h i s form of i n t e r a c t i o n i s e s s e n t i a l f o r the i n t e r v i e w e r to understand a person's \"daesin\"; The n o n - d i r e c t i v e phenomenological i n t e r v i e w engages the i n t e r v i e w e r and respondent in a c o l l a b o r a t i v e but non-manipulatative exchange. G i o r g i (1975) s t a t e s , 49 \"... the c o l l a b o r a t i v e r e s e a r c h design w i l l f a c i l i t a t e ... gr e a t e r openness and mutual understanding between i n t e r v i e w e r and interviewee ...\"(100) Methodological Revisions I t i s important to s t a t e , that i t was suspected e a r l y in the fo r m u l a t i o n of the methodology f o r t h i s study t h a t , due to c e r t a i n c u l t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the Chinese people, ( i . e . , the tendency to p u b l i c a l l y r e s t r a i n f e e l i n g s ; the pre f e r e n c e f o r one-way communication from a u t h o r i t y f i g u r e to person; the pre f e r e n c e f o r w e l l - d e f i n e d concrete s t r u c t u r e d p a t t e r n s of i n t e r a c t i o n or; the notion that s i l e n c e i s respect etc) a n o n - d i r e c t i v e format may not be t e c h n i c a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e . C r o s s - c u l t u r a l l i t e r a t u r e on c o u n s e l l i n g i n d i c a t e s the Chinese as a people are not so i n c l i n e d to take the i n i t i a t i v e i n d i s c l o s i n g t h e i r f e e l i n g s (Sue & Sue, 1977). 1 T h i s l i t e r a t u r e i m p l i e s that what i s r e q u i r e d f o r e f f e c t i v e therapy to occur i s a more a c t i v e s t r u c t u r e d c o u n s e l l o r i n comparison to that found i n the n o n - d i r e c t i v e format. On the b a s i s of these f a c t s , t h i s r e s e a r c h e r was faced with the t h e o r e t i c a l problem of whether i t would be 1 Note, t h i s was v e r i f i e d i n a p i l o t study. 50 t r a n s g r e s s i n g a g a i n s t the study's phenomenological premises to implement a more c u l t u r a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d open-ended i n t e r v i e w schedule. A f t e r much thought another scan of the l i t e r a t u r e r e s u l t e d i n Kvale's (1983) a r t i c l e , \"The q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h and a hermeneutical mode a r t i c l e , Kvale s t a t e s , i n t e r v i e w : a phenomenological of understanding\". In t h i s \"... t e c h n i c a l l y , the q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h i n t e r v i e w i s 's e m i - s t r u c t u r e d ' , i t i s n e i t h e r a f r e e c o n v e r s a t i o n nor a h i g h l y s t r u c t u r e d q u e s t i o n a i r e . I t i s c a r r i e d through f o l l o w i n g an i n t e r v i e w guide, which...focuses on c e r t a i n themes...the mode of understanding i n the q u a l i t a t i v e r e s e a r c h i n t e r v i e w may be b r i e f l y o u t l i n e d i n 12 main a s p e c t s . I t i s : 1. centered on the i n t e r v i e w e e ' s l i f e - w o r l d , 2. seeks to understand the meaning of phenomena i n h i s l i f e - w o r l d , i t i s 3. q u a l i t a t i v e 4. d e s c r i p t i v e , and 5. s p e c i f i c , i t i s 6. p r e - s u p p o s i t i o n l e s s , i t i s 7. focuses on c e r t a i n themes, i t i s 8. open f o r a m b i g u i t i e s , and 9. changes; i t depends upon the 10. s e n s i t i v i t y of the i n t e r v i e w e r ; i t takes p l a c e i n 11. an i n t e r p e r s o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n , and i t may be 12. a p o s i t i v e experience\".(p.174) On the b a s i s of Kvale's quote, i t was thought that the s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d open-ended i n t e r v i e w schedule i s capable of d e a l i n g with the issue of c r o s s - c u l t u r a l communicative d i f f i c u l t i e s or t h e o r e t i c a l i m p u r i t i e s . In other words, the methodological value of Kvale's s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d open-ended i n t e r v i e w i s found i n i t s . a b i l i t y to f u l f i l l the phenomenological premises of t h i s study. 51 Research Plans and Methods The r e s e a r c h was conducted i n Greater Vancouver area. S u b j e c t s ' i n t e r v i e w s were tape-recorded. The i n t e r v i e w s on average l a s t e d 45-50 minutes. A summary of the study's r e s u l t s was made a v a i l a b l e upon request to a s s i s t i n g agencies and p a r t i c i p a t i n g s u b j e c t s . Anonymity was guaranteed. Subjects S u b j e c t s were v o l u n t e e r s obtained through v a r i o u s Employment Canada Centers, e t h n i c Chinese o r g a n i z a t i o n s and e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ( i . e . language c l a s s e s , etc) 1 The study's sample c o n s i s t e d of twelve male Chinese immigrants who; 2 1. ... were age 28 to 60 years o l d . These age l i m i t s were determined on the b a s i s of those years c o n s i d e r e d to be the most o c c u p a t i o n a l l y p r o d u c t i v e i n a person's l i f e span ; 1 See Appendix B f o r l e t t e r to a g e n c i e s . 2 Note, female immigrants were not i n c l u d e d i n t h i s study because sex r o l e s may d i f f e r c o n s i d e r a b l y w i t h i n an e t h n i c m i n o r i t y . Time and space d i d not permit the f u r t h e r complexity which would be o f f e r e d with the i n c l u s i o n of the female immigrants i n t h i s study. 52 2. ... had r e s i d e d i n Canada at l e a s t one to four years p r i o r to t h e i r involvement i n t h i s study. Thus, the i n i t i a l shock or n o v e l t y of l i v i n g and working i n a new country should have passed - the s u b j e c t s should have had enough time so as to r e f l e c t upon t h e i r experiences of c u l t u r a l a s s i m i l a t i o n and to t r a c e those f e e l i n g s about underemployment and; 3. ... were co n s i d e r e d to be p r o f e s s i o n a l i n some c a p a c i t y in t h e i r country of o r i g i n but p r e s e n t l y found themselves in an underemployed s i t u a t i o n - being i n jobs which d i d not p r o v i d e adequate reward i n wages, p r e s t i g e , m o b i l i t y ; those jobs which wasted or u n d e r - u t i l i z e d the employee's a b i l i t i e s . The s u b j e c t ' s o c c u p a t i o n a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n was d e f i n e d w i t h i n the context of h i s country of o r i g i n because i t i s w i t h i n t h i s e x p e r i e n t i a l backdrop that the present underemployed s i t u a t i o n was experienced. The r e f e r r i n g agencies and s u b j e c t s were r e s p o n s i b l e f o r p r o v i d i n g i n f o r m a t i o n about previous o c c u p a t i o n a l placements. The study's o c c u p a t i o n a l c a t e g o r i e s were; 1. Managerial occupations (general management); 2. P r o f e s s i o n a l and r e l a t e d occupations, support management and a d m i n i s t r a t i o n ; 53 3. P r o f e s s i o n a l and r e l a t e d occupations i n education, we l f a r e and h e a l t h ; 4. L i t e r a r y , a r t i s t i c and s p o r t s occupations; 5. P r o f e s s i o n a l and r e l a t e d occupations i n s e r v i c e , e n g i n e e r i n g , technology and s i m i l a r f i e l d s ; 6. Managerial occupations ( e x c l u d i n g general management). ( D a n i e l , 1968; p. 62.) The Int er vi ew The study's i n t e r v i e w schedule was s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d , c o n s i s t i n g of a s e r i e s of s p e c i f i c a l l y focused open-ended q u e s t i o n s . 1 The a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the i n t e r v i e w was conducted i n a non- d i r e c t i v e s t y l e . Respondents were encouraged to f r e e l y express themselves at l e n g t h . To f a c i l i t a t e t h i s process of \" f r e e c o n v e r s a t i o n \" , the r e s e a r c h e r used c e r t a i n communicative d e v i c e s such as -i . e . n e u t r a l probes, paraphasing, l i n k i n g , summarizing, non-verbal cues e t c . So s u c c e s s f u l were these communicative d e v i c e s that i t was not necessary to pose every open-ended q u e s t i o n l i s t e d i n the i n t e r v i e w schedule s i n c e respondents o f t e n covered the t o p i c of i n t e r e s t before hand - hence the name s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d i n t e r v i e w . 1 See Appendix A f o r q u e s t i o n a i r e . 54 P r i o r to the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the i n t e r v i e w , respondents were presented with a consent form. 1 Respondents were a l s o v e r b a l l y asked c e r t a i n demographic q u e s t i o n - i . e . age, m a r i t a l s t a t u s , e d u c a t i o n , p r e v i o u s occupation i n t h e i r country of o r i g i n , number of o c c u p a t i o n a l changes s i n c e immigrating and; l e n g t h of employment i n t h e i r present job e t c . T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n was documented i n w r i t i n g under a code number a s s i g n e d to the p a r t i c u l a r respondent. For the purpose of e s t a b l i s h i n g rapport and t r u s t between i n t e r v i e w e r and respondent, the a c t u a l i n t e r v i e w began with l i g h t c o n v e r s a t i o n . During t h i s c o n v e r s a t i o n the respondent i n d i c a t e d a pr e f e r e n c e to use E n g l i s h or Chinese. To repeat, the researcher i n having a c o u n s e l l i n g o r i e n t a t i o n made every attempt to i n s t i l l a warm empathic atmosphere. Dat a Anal ysis A l l i n t e r v i e w s were t r a n s c r i b e d i n t h e i r e n t i r e t y . These p r o t o c o l s were then c a r e f u l l y read, r e s u l t i n g i n the formation of a q u a l i t a t i v e content category system. Once having c o n s t r u c t e d t h i s category system f u r t h e r more 1 See Appendix C f o r consent form. 55 in-depth readings of the p r o t o c o l s i d e n t i f i e d ( o f t e n repeating) b i t s of experience c a l l e d \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . f e e l i n g s , thoughts and behaviors e t c . These \"meaning u n i t s \" were then t r a n s c r i b e d verbatim upon 5 by 7 inch cards and f i l e d under a corresponding q u a l i t a t i v e category. The q u a l i t a t i v e content of these c a t e g o r i e s was then s u b j e c t e d to c l o s e a n a l y s i s so as to d i s c o v e r the u n d e r l y i n g \"phenomenological essence\" of the respondent's experience. Mostyn (1985) s t a t e s , \"... The o v e r a l l purpose of the content a n a l y s i s approach i s to i d e n t i f y s p e c i f i c c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of communication s y s t e m a t i c a l l y and o b j e c t i v e l y i n order to convert the raw m a t e r i a l i n t o s c i e n t i f i c data ...{and}... to understand the meaning of the communication - both i t s manifest and l a t e n t meanings w i t h i n the context of the respondent's own frame of r e f e r e n c e , f o r example, phenomenology how does he/she experience i t ...\" (p. 117 - 118) Val i di t y Check The f i r s t two p r o t o c o l s were reviewed by a member of the t h e s i s committee so as to a s c e r t a i n the v a l i d i t y of the data a n a l y s i s procedures. The member determined the app r o p r i a t e n e s s of our q u a l i t a t i v e c a t e g o r i e s and \"meaning u n i t s \" . These q u a l i t a t i v e c a t e g o r i e s were f u r t h e r v a l i d a t e d through use of conceptual d e f i n i t i o n s found i n the l i t e r a t u r e . F i n a l l y , t h i s researcher ( i n random fashion) 56 conducted follow-up i n t e r v i e w s with one t h i r d of the respondents i n i t i a l l y i n t e r v i e w e d . Those statements r e f l e c t i n g the respondent's emotional f e e l i n g s were focused upon to see i f any were mis-represented. T h i s follow-up d i s c u s s i o n was conducted i n the n o n - d i r e c t i v e f a s h i o n p r e v i o u s l y presented. The researcher and respondent agreed n i n e t y percent of the time on a f f e c t i v e content. Re Iiabi I ity Check In r e l a t i o n to the study's q u a l i t a t i v e c a t e g o r i e s , the r e l i a b i l i t y of the \"meaning u n i t \" was c a l c u l a t e d through the formula A x 100 = A+B+C where A i s the number of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n the c a t e g o r i e s that are i n agreement between the researc h e r and r e l i a b i l i t y a s s e s s o r ; where B i s the number of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n the category only c l a s s i f i e d by the researc h e r and; where C i s the number of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n the category only c l a s s i f i e d by the r e l i a b i l i t y a s sessor (Hartmann, 1977). For example, i f the researcher and r e l i a b i l i t y a s sessor are both i n agreement on s i x t e e n \"meaning u n i t s \" but dis a g r e e on one \"meaning u n i t \" a p i e c e fo r the p a r t i c u l a r category then; 57 16 x 1 0 0 = 89% 16+1+1 F i n a l l y , the r e l i a b i l i t y a s sessor was r e s p o n s i b l e f o r back t r a n s l a t i n g the study's s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d q u e s t i o n a i r e and those p r o t o c o l s conducted i n Chinese. Pi I ot Study To c o n t r o l f o r flaws i n t h i s r e s e a r c h design a p i l o t study was conducted on two respondents. Evidence of communication d i f f i c u l t i e s or other methodological flaws were c o r r e c t e d p r i o r to i n t e r v i e w s with other s u b j e c t s . 58 CHAPTER VI RESULTS The r e s u l t s e c t i o n i s composed of demographic and q u a l i t a t i v e data. The demographic data i s the product of i n f o r m a l q u e s t i o n i n g conducted p r i o r to the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of the s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d i n t e r v i e w . The q u a l i t a t i v e data ( i . e . content categories/meaning u n i t s e tc.) emerged from the a c t u a l s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d i n t e r v i e w . Demographic Data Although t h i s study i s q u a l i t a t i v e i n o r i e n t a t i o n , i t i s important to note that demographic data a l s o c o n t r i b u t e d s i g n i f i c a n t i n s i g h t . In reviewing the demographic data i t became i n c r e a s i n g l y apparent we had tapped i n t o three d i s t i n c t Chinese immigrant groups - i . e . those people who had o r i g i n a t e d from the P h i l i p p i n e s , Hong Kong and Mainland China ( i . e., see Table I ) . Throughout t h i s study these r e g i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n s are a major f a c t o r in understanding the the q u a l i t a t i v e r e s u l t s . 59 TABLE I Demographic I n f o r m a t i o n S u b j e c t Age C o u n t r y o f O r i g i n E d u c a t ion ( i n y r s ) E n g l i s h P r o -f i c i e n c y P e r i o d o f R e s i d e n c y T ime t o l o c a t e 1 s t Job Number o f O c c u p a t i o n H e l d Fam i 1 y S i z e i 1 29 H. K. M . A . (6) Yes k y r s . 2.3 wks 3 0 2 k2 H. K. D i p . (2) Yes k .15 y r s . 1 m t h . 1 2 3 31 H. K. M Ed . (6) Yes 3 25 y r s . 2 days 3 1 It 31 H. K. B Sc • CO Yes 2 75 y r s . 2 m t h s . li 0 5 *«5 H. C . B A . W No 2 50 y r s . 6 m t h s . 1 1 6 3^ M. C . B Sc • w No 2 y r s . 1 mth . 5 0 7 1»6 H. C . B Sc . w No 3 75 y r s . 2 d a y s 8 1 8 57 M. C . B Sc w Yes h y r s . 3 m t h s . 9 2 9 49 M. C . B Com.(M . No 3 15 y r s . 1 m t h . 12 1 10 l»l H. C . B. A . w No 3 75 y r s . 1 m t h . 7 1 11 35 P h i l . M. B . A (6) Yes 3. 50 y r s . 2 m t h s . 1 2 12 : I 1.2 P h i l . M. B . A (6) Yes 3- 50 y r s . 2.5 y r s . i 1 2 3 . i NOTE : I n i t i a l s i n d i c a t e r e s p o n d e n t ' s c o u n t r y o f o r i g i n - i . e . Hong K o n g , M a i n l a n d C h i n a and P h i l i p p i n e . 1. Age and Country of O r i g i n The sample's average age i s 40.9 y e a r s . The age range i s 29 to 57 years. Breaking down the sample i n r e l a t i o n to c o u n t r i e s of o r i g i n - two immigrants o r i g i n a t e d from the P h i l i p p i n e s , four immigrants from Hong Kong and; s i x immigrants from Mainland China. The r e s p e c t i v e average age f o r these separate immigrant groups i s 33, 38.5 and 46.8 yea r s . The Mainland China group's higher average age i s a r e f l e c t i o n of Canada's immigration - i . e . a \"point system\" to which they are exempted. It. i s seen i n the q u a l i t a t i v e data that t h i s exemption from the \"point system\" has meant many of our Mainland China immigrants are i l l - p r e p a r e d to meet the demands of the Canadian s o c i e t y . 2. E d u c a t i o n a l Attainment Eleven respondents had completed four years of u n i v e r s i t y t r a i n i n g - i . e . B.A., B.Sc., or B.Com. e t c . Four of these respondents went on to complete an a d d i t i o n a l two years of u n i v e r s i t y at the Masters' l e v e l . Only one sub j e c t completed l e s s than four years u n i v e r s i t y - a two-year c o l l e g e e n g i n e e r i n g diploma. , 1 In terms of r e g i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n s , the average amount of education f o r those 1 I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t h i s i n d i v i d u a l was the most f u l l y employed i n t h i s sample. 61 immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s i s s i x years; f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong i s 4.5 years and; f o r those immigrants from Mainland China i s 4 y e a r s . 3. E n g l i s h P r o f i c i e n c y Seven respondents p e r c e i v e d they had no d i f f i c u l t y i n communicating i n e n g l i s h . These respondents had r e c e i v e d t h e i r e d u c a t i o n a l t r a i n i n g i n the B r i t i s h school system. In f a c t , a s i d e from mastering the e n g l i s h language, these immigrants f e l t t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n a l exposure provided them with a deeper understanding of Western c u l t u r e . F i v e immigrants i n d i c a t e d a d e f i c i e n c y i n speaking e n g l i s h . A l l of these immigrants had o r i g i n a t e d from Mainland China. Again, the q u a l i t a t i v e data w i l l show t h i s d e f i c i e n c y i n e n g l i s h i s one of the major o b s t a c l e s f o r these immigrants a c q u i r i n g employment r e l a t i v e to t h e i r e d u c a t i o n . 4. P e r i o d of Residency At the time the study was conducted, the average l e n g t h of r e s i d e n c y f o r the sample was 3.4 years. 5. Time Required to Locate F i r s t Occupation The average amount of time respondents r e q u i r e d to l o c a t e t h e i r f i r s t employment was 18 weeks. In regards to r e g i o n a l groups, those immigrants from Hong Kong r e q u i r e d 62 3.75 weeks; those immigrants from Mainland China r e q u i r e d 8.33 weeks and those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s r e q u i r e d 43 weeks. The l a t t e r s t a t i s t i c i s badly skewed with one P h i l i p p i n o immigrant t a k i n g 2.5 years to a c q u i r e employment. 6. The Number of Occupations Held Since Residency Since r e s i d e n c y the t o t a l number of occupations the respondents h e l d a t o t a l of 54 jobs ( i . e . , see Table I I ) . S p e c i f i c a l l y , t h i s s t a t i s t i c works out to 4.7 jobs per immigrant or 1.5 jobs f o r the P h i l i p p i n o immigrant, 2.3 jobs f o r the Hong Kong immigrant and; 5.5 jobs f o r the Mainland China immigrant. The Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants tended to be l o c a t e d i n corpor a t e occupations -i . e . c o n s u l t i n g , computing or e n g i n e e r i n g e t c . The Mainland China immigrant mostly operated out of Chinatown i n the s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s - i . e . waiter, dishwasher, k i t c h e n h e l p e r e t c . Three respondents have he l d the same job s i n c e r e s i d e n c y - two i n the c o r p o r a t e s e c t o r and one i n the s e r v i c e i n d u s t r y . High turnover r a t e s are noted i n the s e r v i c e i n d u s t r i e s . None of the respondents were c o n s i d e r a t e d to be f u l l y employed i n comparison to those occupations they h e l d i n t h e i r country of o r i g i n . 63 TABLE II Frequency of Occupations Mentioned Occupations 1. Waiter 2. Dishwasher 3. Saleman 4. J a n i t o r 5. Kitchen helper 6. Chef a p p r e n t i c e 7. Warehouse c l e r k 8. Busboy 9. Car park attendant 10. C o n s t r u c t i o n foreman 11. Craftsman 12. Computer puncher 13. F r u i t stand s e l l e r 14. T y p i s t 15. Tutor 16. S u b s t i t u t e teacher 17. L i f e s k i l l worker 18. Homemaker 19. Management t r a i n e e Time Mentioned 8 8 7 4 4 3 2 2 64 20. Tour guide 1 .2.1. Restaurant manager 1 22. Chinese paper t r a n s l a t o r 1 23. Telephone s o l i c i t o r 1 24. P i z z a d e l i v e r y 1 7. M a r i t a l Status and Family S i z e At the time of t h i s study, ten respondents were married - the other two had d i v o r c e d . The sample's average f a m i l y s i z e was s l i g h t l y over one c h i l d (1.4) per f a m i l y . T h i s completes the demographic data s e c t i o n ( i . e., see Table III f o r .summary). TABLE III Summary of Demographic.Data 1. Sample s i z e - 12 male s u b j e c t s 2. Average age - 40.9 years 3. Age range - 29 to 57 years 4. Country of O r i g i n : P h i l i p p i n e s (N = 2) Hong Kong (N = 4) Mainland 65 China (N = 6) 5. Average Age based on Country of O r i g i n : Kong Kong (33 years) P h i l i p p i n e s (38.5 years) Mainland China (46.8 years) 6. Average P e r i o d of Residency - 3.36 years 7. Average E d u c a t i o n a l Attainment - 4.5 years of U n i v e r s i t y : Mainland China (4 years) Hong Hong (4.5 years) P h i l i p p i n e s (6 years) 8. Average Time Required to Locate F i r s t Employment - 18 Weeks : Hong Kong (3.75 weeks) Mainland China (8.33 weeks) P h i l i p p i n e s (43 weeks ) 9. Number of Occupations Since Residency - 54 jobs 10. Average number of Occupations Held - 4.7 jobs 11. Average Number of Occupations Held Per Immigrant Groups : P h i l i p p i n e s (1.5 jobs) Hong Kong (2.3 jobs) Mainland China (5.5 jobs) 12. E n g l i s h P r o f i c i e n c y : P r o f i c i e n t (N = 7) Not P r o f i c i e n t (N = 5). 13. Average Family S i z e - 1.4 c h i l d r e n 14. Occupations Most F r e q u e n t l y Mentioned : 66 Waiter Di shwasher 8 8 7 4 Salesman J a n i t o r K i t c h e n helper 4 Q u a l i t a t i v e Data The q u a l i t a t i v e data c o n s i s t s of two hundred and n i n e t y - f o u r \"meaning u n i t s \" which are organized i n t o ten general c a t e g o r i e s (Mostyn, 1985). The content category themes are e x p e c t a t i o n s , q u a l i f i c a t i o n s , i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s , a d a p t a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s , s o c i a l s e r v i c e s , f a m i l y support, p r e j u d i c e , c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons, Chinese face and e x i s t e n t i a l q u a l i t i e s ( i . e . , see Table IV). The p r e s e n t a t i o n format f o r these content c a t e g o r i e s i n c l u d e s a conceptual d e f i n i t i o n , a r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g , numerous r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l \"meaning u n i t s \" and p e r s o n a l deductive commentary. 1 The q u a l i t a t i v e data s e c t i o n concludes with an separate category of a f f e c t - i . e . , an emotional 1 Note, at times, a d d i t i o n a l q u a l i t a t i v e data w i l l supplement the above content c a t e g o r i e s - i . e . q u a l i t a t i v e data which on i t s own merits was not s u f f i c i e n t enough to warrant a separate content category. A l s o only meaning u n i t in agreement between resea r c h e r and r e l i a b i l i t y assessor were used i n the content c a t e g o r i e s . 67 p o l a r i t y model. T h i s a f f e c t category i s a c t u a l l y the c h r o n o l o g i c a l t a b u l a t i o n of emotion respondents expressed d u r i n g the s e m i - s t r u c t u r e d i n t e r v i e w - i . e . the number of time words were expressed l i k e f r u s t r a t i o n , anger, d e p r e s s i o n e t c . F i n a l l y , i t i s important to note i n the p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h i s q u a l i t a t i v e data that every attempt was made to remain t r u e to the respondent's underemployed experiences - i . e . the q u a l i t a t i v e data and p e r s o n a l comments r e s t f i r m l y upon t h e i r statements. 68 TABLE IV Qualitative Information # 1 H.K. # 2 H.K. » 3 H.K. H.K. # 5 M.C. # 6 M.C. # 7 M.C. # 8 M.C. t 9 M.C. « 10 M.C. # 11 Phil . » 12 P h i l . TOTAL Expectat ions 5 2 3 3 8 3 A 8 6 3 3 1 A9 Qual i f i c a t -ions A 3 3 A - - 1 2 1 3 A 29 1nterpersona1 Relat ions 3 1 A 2 A 1 5 2 5 5 1 37 Adaptat ion Strategies 1 3 1 6 3. 1 3 2 2 2 6 A AO Social Services - - 1 - 7 6 A 3 2 6 3 1 33 Family Support - - - - 3 1 - 1 - 2 - \" - 7 Prejud i ce 1 2 - - 2 - - 2 A 1 6 2 20 Cross-Cultural Compar isons 2 - 3 - 6 3 8 1 7 2 1 2 35 Chinese Face 7 1 3 A 2 1 2 1 1 2 2 1 27 Ex i s t e n t i a l Quali t ies 3 2 3 3 3 - - 1 - 1 1 - 17 TOTAL MEANING UNITS 26 1A 27 22 38 16 27 27 26 25 30 16 29A Expression of Affect 33 1 28 7 20 7 11 12 12 28 26 7 192 NOTE : I n i t i a l s indicate respondents' country of or i g i n - i.e. Hong Kong, Mainland China and P h i l i p p i 1. The Content Category of E x p e c t a t i o n s E x p e c t a t i o n i s d e f i n e d as a s t a t e of a n t i c i p a t i o n as beyond or i n c o n t r a s t to - as the p r o b a b i l i t y of a t h i n g ' s happening - or as emotional a t t i t u d e of watchful w a i t i n g ( C h a p l i n , 1968). T h i s content category i s composed of statements the respondents made as to those e x p e c t a t i o n s h e l d p r i o r to or a f t e r m i g r a t i o n - i . e . the respondents' e x p e c t a t i o n s i n r e l a t i o n to the past, present and f u t u r e . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of f o r t y - n i n e \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . four \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s ; t h i r t e e n \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong and; t h i r t y two \"meaning u n i t s ' f o r those immigrants from Mainland China. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s e x p e c t a t i o n content category i s 75% a c c u r a t e . For h e u r i s t i c purposes, our s t a r t i n g p o i n t f o r viewing the immigrants' e x p e c t a t i o n s are those reasons they f e l t were important i n t h e i r d e c i s i o n to migrate ( i . e . , see Table V ) . The immigrant's reason f o r m i g r a t i n g tends to r e s t on o b j e c t i v e s i t u a t i o n a l f a c t o r s - i . e . an pragmatic o r i e n t a t i o n . On the other hand, the immigrant's e x p e c t a t i o n s tends to be more i d i o s y n c r a t i c based on 70 s u b j e c t i v e and somewhat s p e c u l a t i v e elements - i . e . an i d e a l i s t i c o r i e n t a t i o n . I t w i l l be seen i n the q u a l i t a t i v e data to f o l l o w , t h i s p r a g m a t i c - i d e a l i s t i c o r i e n t a t i o n towards m i g r a t i o n i s extremely v o l a t i l e r e l a t i v e to f a c t o r s such as the immigrant's age; h i s country of o r i g i n ; the amount of accurate i n f o r m a t i o n he had p r i o r to m i g r a t i o n ; h i s c u l t u r a l s u i t a b i l i t y to the host s o c i e t y and; whether h i s e x p e c t a t i o n s have or have not been confirmed i n the host s o c i e t y . TABLE V Reasons for M i q r a t i o n Reported Reasons Number of Times Mentioned P e r c e i v e d Canada as a Land of O p p o r t u n i t y / B e t t e r L i v i n g Standard/ Economic Motives 8 B e t t e r Future f o r the C h i l d r e n 7 P o l i t i c a l I n s t a b i l i t y i n Country of O r i g i n 5 Seeking Freedom 4 71 Family R e - u n i f i c a t i o n L i k e d Canada while Studying or T r a v e l l i n g In r e f e r e n c e to Table V, the e x p e r i e n t i a l f l a v o r of the immigrant's reasons f o r m i g r a t i n g are captured i n the f o l l o w i n g composite statements. 1 S e v e r a l of the immigrant's statements d e s c r i b e Canada as a land of o p p o r t u n i t y with ample resources and a high l i v i n g standard; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... Canada i s a more f r e e , stay-put s o c i e t y . . . g o o d b e n e f i t , good l i v i n g environment ...\" Mainland China Immigrant#7 \"... Honestly, I want to improve my l i v i n g standard...In Hong Kong, t h e r e ' r e l o t s of ' m a t e r i a l goods ... they import to Canton, so everyone thought f o r e i g n goods are b e t t e r ... e v e r y t h i n g i s b e t t e r than China ... they a l l want to come here 1 Note, s i n c e these statements are composites, they are not s u b j e c t e d to a r e l i a b i l i t y assessment. T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s presented p u r e l y f o r the purpose of complementing the content category of e x p e c t a t i o n s . I t should a l s o be noted that composite statements and \"meaning u n i t s \" are presented i n the grammar the immigrant used d u r i n g the i n t e r v i e w - no attempt i s made ,to c o r r e c t t h e i r E n g l i s h . F i n a l l y , a l l those immigrants whose statements appear in the q u a l i t a t i v e data are i d e n t i f i e d with a sample number (see Table IV) with r e f e r e n c e to t h e i r country of o r i g i n and i n some cases age. 72 P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... i n terms of the l i v i n g c o n d i t i o n here, at l e a s t you won't d i e of poverty here ... at l e a s t some ways of making i t - seems before, here, looked q u i t e prosperous. And on the bases of business i n the P h i l i p p i n e s , i n terms of e a r n i n g may be more s t a b l e and have more f u t u r e here ...\" Another major reason the immigrants s t a t e d f o r m i g r a t i n g p e r t a i n e d to the f a m i l y ' s f u t u r e - i . e . e s s e n t i a l l y , the c h i l d r e n ; Mainland c h i n a Immigrant #7 \"... My c h i l d r e n won't be guaranteed i n e n t e r i n g the u n i v e r s i t y because of the harsh c o m p e t i t i o n . Approximately 20 students (go) per s c h o o l . They have to go through exams a l l t h e i r l i f e ... i f they can't get i n they've to go to the farm...\" For some immigrants, p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y was a f a c t o r f o r m i g r a t i n g ; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... Canada i s a good country. In here, I can speak my own mind f r e e l y without any h e s i t a t i o n , but i n China you have to be c a u t i o u s of what you s a i d . If you p r a i s e them, i t ' s O.K. But i f you s a i d anything a g a i n s t the a u t h o r i t y then your l i f e i s at stake Mainland China Immigrant #9 \"... Canada i s f r e e to speak and f r e e to l i v e . In China, i t i s not that easy! You can't speak so f r e e l y ...\" F i n a l l y , the immigrants' c o n s i d e r a t i o n of f a m i l y r e - u n i f i c a t i o n or p r i o r exposure to Canada were a l s o 73 s t a t e d ; Mainland China Immigrant #6 \"... My wife came here f i v e years ago ... she asked me to j o i n her ...\" Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... I l i k e the environment while coming here in 1979, i t ' s l e s s crowded, spacious, c l e a n ... the t r e e s ... very l a i d back ...\" The immigrants' e x p e c t a t i o n s towards m i g r a t i o n are presented i n a b e f o r e - a f t e r format. In a phenomenological sense, the before m i g r a t i o n e x p e c t a t i o n s r e f l e c t v a r y i n g degrees of emotional-expressiveness ranging from high, to moderate, to low. I t i s with the a f t e r m i g r a t i o n e x p e c t a t i o n s where one d e t e c t s an e x p r e s s i v e - e m o t i o n a l l e v e l i n g out - i . e . the immigrant's e x p e c t a t i o n s are more pragmatic. T h i s pragmatic element c a r r i e s on through the immigrant's f u t u r e e x p e c t a t i o n s . F i n a l l y , the e x p r e s s i v e - e m o t i o n a l q u a l i t i e s of the immigrant's e x p e c t a t i o n s are seen to correspond to h i s demographic c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s . 74 Expectations Before Migration A) High E x p e c t a t i o n s In the \"meaning u n i t s \" below, high e x p e c t a t i o n s with emotion seems to be a product of the immigrant's youth; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... Yes, there i s a high e x p e c t a t i o n . Since I graduated here (1978 Manitoba U n i v e r s i t y ) , I thought I had a b e t t e r idea of what Canada i s ; and thought I would have no d i f f i c u l t i e s i n l a n d i n g a job; and si n c e a l l my f r i e n d s from Hong Kong that graduated here (immigrants before me) a l l had good and s t a b l e jobs then - so my ex p e c t a t i o n s were extremely high ...\" But the immigrant's youth i s not the so l e c o n d i t i o n f o r high e x p e c t a t i o n s - the lack o f accurate s i g n i f i c a n t i n f o r m a t i o n about the host country i s a l s o seen to play a p a r t ; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... My e x p e c t a t i o n s i s to improve my l i v i n g standard, keep my o l d job and f o r the betterment f o r my c h i l d r e n ...\" B) Moderate E x p e c t a t i o n s J u s t as the absence of accurate s i g n i f i c a n t i n f o r m a t i o n r e s u l t e d i n some immigrants having high e x p e c t a t i o n s , i t f o l l o w s the presence of such i n f o r m a t i o n seems to have a su b s i d i n g e f f e c t on e x p e c t a t i o n s r e g a r d l e s s of youth - i . e . t h i n g s do not appear so i d e a l i s t i c ; 75 Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... I knew the job s i t u a t i o n a b i t . I expected i t would be d i f f i c u l t to r e t u r n teaching ...\" F i n a l l y , f o r the immigrant who o r i g i n a t e s from a d i f f e r e n t r e g i o n , h i s e x p e c t a t i o n s appear more moderate and p r a g m a t i c a l l y i n c l i n e d ; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #12 \"... I wasn't e x p e c t a t i n g too much, only to e s t a b l i s h an export business here - as what we d i d before ...\" C) Low E x p e c t a t i o n s Again, r e f l e c t i n g the n o t i o n of s i g n i f i c a n t i n f o r m a t i o n - f o r one Mainland China immigrant, low e x p e c t a t i o n s tended to t r a n s l a t e i n t o the idea that he d i d not know what to expect i n h i s m i g r a t i o n . I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g that the f o l l o w i n g \"meaning u n i t \" shows the immigrant attempting to cope with h i s i n s e c u r i t i e s with a s e l f - h a n d i c a p p i n g s t r a t e g y ; Mainland China Immigrant #6 \"... I never dream my h e a l t h so bad when I'm i n here. I never r e a l i z e I can't do so many t h i n g s . I can't see i t those days. I j u s t thought do labour work f o r a short while, I knew i t would be hard before coming but not t h i s degree. You've to experience i t before you r e a l i z e what i t i s l i k e 76 Expect at i ons after Migration A) Present E x p e c t a t i o n s The f u l l extent of the immigrant's m i g r a t i o n i s r e f l e c t e d i n h i s present e x p e c t a t i o n s . Any i d e a l i s m has now been r e p l a c e d with the r e a l i z a t i o n that the s t r u g g l e was on ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... Now, I dare not expect. I don't care whether I ' l l have a career or not. I j u s t hope g e t t i n g a permanent job, s u r v i v e , support d a i l y l i v i n g - may be at the meantime l o o k i n g f o r b e t t e r jobs ...\" These pragmatic sentiments were a l s o v o i c e d by the Mainland China immigrant - i . e . i t seems the p o i n t of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n in e x p e c t a t i o n s f o r the immigrant groups has now c l o s e d ; Mainland China Immigrant #10 \"... Of course I have e x p e c t a t i o n s . I hope menial work i s temporary, short p e r i o d , j u s t 3 or 5 years then I can accumulate money and go i n t o business myself...\" I r o n i c a l l y , the s e v e r i t y of the immigrant's s t r u g g l e i s s a l i e n t enough to p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y o v e r - r i d e one of the p r i o r reasons mentioned f o r m i g r a t i n g - i . e . seeking freedom; Mainland China Immigrant #7 77 \"... Now, I d o n ' t h a v e any e x p e c t a t i o n s . I h a v e e x p e r i e n c e d a l o t b e i n g h e r e . I n c a p i t a l i s t i c c o u n t r y , y o u c a n ' t e x p e c t t o o much ...\" B) C hanged E x p e c t a t i o n s I t i s r e a s o n a b l e t o assume an i m m i g r a n t ' s e x p e c t a t i o n s w i l l u n d e r g o c h a n g e d e p e n d i n g on w h e t h e r t h e y h a v e r e c e i v e d c o n f i r m a t i o n ; Young Hong Kong I m m i g r a n t #1 \"... When I a p p l i e d h e r e , I e x p e c t e d t o work i n t h e D e s i g n and P l a n n i n g f i e l d a n d t h o u g h t i t w o u l d be e a s y t a s k ... I s t a r t e d t o r e a l i z e i t w a s n ' t what I had e x p e c t e d ... I f o u n d i t r a t h e r t o u g h ...\" F o r one i m m i g r a n t c h a n g e d e x p e c t a t i o n s t o o k on a d e f e n s e m e c h a n i s m q u a l i t y ; P h i l i p p i n o I m m i g r a n t #11 Tt S i n c e I came o v e r ... I s o r t o f t r y t o m e l l o w down my e x p e c t a t i o n s o r p e r s o n a l d r e a m s , may be t h a t I c a n g a i n a more c h a l l e n g i n g work i n t h e f u t u r e ...\" C) F u t u r e E x p e c t a t i o n s The i m m i g r a n t s ' e x p e c t a t i o n s f o r t h e f u t u r e were somewhat p e s s i m i s t i c , modest and p r a g m a t i c a l l y o r i e n t a t e d . A c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e d i f f i c u l t i e s o f m i g r a t i o n , i t i s a t e s t i m o n y t o t h e s e p e o p l e t h a t t h e y c o n t i n u e t o h a v e somewhat p o s i t i v e e x p e c t a t i o n s ; M a i n l a n d C h i n a I m m i g r a n t #5 78 \"... I hope someday I ' l l be able to work i n a f i e l d somewhat r e l a t e d to my t r a i n i n g . I know i t i s j u s t a dream, so my e x p e c t a t i o n i s not that high ...\" P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant 11# \"... But s t i l l e x p e c t a t i o n i s there, but may be i n the f u t u r e . I s o r t of accept what I have r i g h t now, in terms of a f a n t a s t i c o p p o r t u n i t y , I s o r t of t h i n k i n g t h a t ' s j u s t a dream, may be dreams are good but you have to be r e a l i s t i c , t h i n g s are d i f f e r e n t here ...\" F i n a l l y , i t i s p o s s i b l e to view these immigrants' e x p e c t a t i o n s i n r e l a t i o n to Maslow's needs h i e r a r c h y theory. For example, i t seems that the nature of the young Hong Kong immigrants' e x p e c t a t i o n s r e f l e c t a s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n tendency whereas; the down-to-earth pragmatic q u a l i t y of the P h i l i p p i n o and Mainland China immigrants' e x p e c t a t i o n s r e f l e c t b a s i c needs f o r food, s l e e p and s e c u r i t y . 2. The Content Category of Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s Q u a l i f i c a t i o n i s d e f i n e d as o c c u p a t i o n a l e n t i t l e m e n t a r r i v e d at through the process of academic t r a i n i n g . T h i s content category i s composed of statements the respondent made as to those q u a l i f i c a t i o n s he h e l d p r i o r to m i g r a t i o n - i . e . how the respondent p e r c e i v e d h i s own q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and how the respondent f e l t that the host s o c i e t y p e r c e i v e d h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of 79 twenty-nine \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . seven \"meaning u n i t s \" for those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , e i g h t \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Mainland China, and fourteen \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n content category was 79% a c c u r a t e . The most notable c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the q u a l i f i c a t i o n content category i s the expressed the p r i d e the respondent . had f o r h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s and the extreme d e s p a i r he f e l t i n the host s o c i e t y not r e c o g n i z i n g them. T h i s e x p e r i e n t i a l dilemma was e s p e c i a l l y t rue f o r the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants where the v i g o r s of youth and c r o s s - c u l t u r a l o c c u p a t i o n a l s i m i l a r i t y i s seen to p l a y a s i g n i f i c a n t r o l e ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #4 \"... You know, I had three years of experience i n t h i s area and had p r o f e s s i o n a l experience as w e l l . Yet, they wouldn't recognize i t . I f e l t extremely u n f a i r , the work was easy, very u n c h a l l e n g i n g and b o r i n g . I had gone through a l l the t h i n g s before and I c o u l d handle them with ease and the company j u s t kept asking me to do what other people was doing and not g i v i n g me the same s a l a r y . I was extremely unhappy ... They always claimed 'Yes, you've the experience but your experience i n here i s so s h o r t . Your experience i n A s i a we can't evaluate and we don't know how you are t r a i n e d there so I had to e x p l a i n a l l the courses I'd taken and our t r a i n i n g methods, but s t i l l they 80 wouldn't l i s t e n ...\" P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... I f e l t p r e t t y bad because i n terms of work I thi n k I had a l l these education, a l l these experiences and somehow my job i s b a s i c a l l y you don't need any experience or any education to do i t , j u s t b a s i c a l l y matching the item numbers and put i t i n the stock, so there i s no c h a l l e n g e , no f u t u r e , b a s i c a l l y a manual t h i n g . I t i s e x a s p e r a t i n g ! I had u n i v e r s i t y degrees ...\" For the Mainland China immigrant the e x p e r i e n t i a l dilemma of the other immigrant groups seems to be absent; Mainland China immigrant #10 \"... I was a teacher i n the u n i v e r s i t y . I would l i k e to work i n the u n i v e r s i t y again - l i k e working in r e s e a r c h . In here, most of the q u a l i f i c a t i o n s I've t h e y ' l l not c o n s i d e r . I understand that ...\" I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that although the Mainland China immigrants represented h a l f the study's sample, as a d i s t i n c t group they expressed fewer q u a l i f i c a t i o n \"meaning u n i t s \" i n comparison to the smaller but more y o u t h f u l Hong Kong immigrant group. Three p o s s i b l e reasons come to mind f o r e x p l a i n i n g the apparent a t t i t u d i n a l d i f f e r e n c e that the Mainland China immigrant e x h i b i t e d towards h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ; 1 . ... the Mainland China immigrant was c o n s c i o u s l y aware as to the extent c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s e x i s t between h i s country of o r i g i n and the host country, and, thus; 81 tended to down-play the value of h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s ; 2. ... the Mainland China immigrant r e a l i z e d h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n s were i r r e l e v a n t to the host country because of h i s i n a b i l i t y to speak the dominant language and; 3. ... the Mainland China immigrant was a c t u a l l y e x p e r i e n c i n g the above e x p e r i e n t i a l dilemma but due to c e r t a i n c u l t u r a l t r a i t s d i d not e m o t i o n a l l y express i t . T h i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n content category r e f l e c t s the Maslowian needs of s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . 3. The Content Category of I n t e r p e r s o n a l R e l a t i o n s The content category of i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s p e r t a i n s to those f e e l i n g s , thoughts and behaviors that the respondent has experienced towards other i n d i v i d u a l s r e l a t i v e to the o c c u p a t i o n a l or s o c i a l m i l i e u . T h i s content category i s composed of statements that the respondent made as to h i s i n t e r a c t i o n s with Caucasian people indigenous to the host s o c i e t y , and about people who are s i m i l a r to the immigrant i n v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y s t a t u s . T h i s content category c o n t i s t s of t h i r t y - s e v e n \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . s i x \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , ten \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong, and twenty-one \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from 82 Mainland China. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r the i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s category was 85% a c c u r a t e . To some extent, the immigrants' statements about t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s with the Caucasian m a j o r i t y r e f l e c t s d i f f i c u l t i e s f e l t to be common to the a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s : Young Hong Kong Immigrant 1# \"... I s t i l l f e e l I don't know how to get i n t o t h e i r s o c i e t y ... we Chinese have our own community I am an a c t i v e member, very t a l k a t i v e and s o c i a b l e , but once I am among my c o l l e a g u e s , I become numb. I have a hard time f i n d i n g a common t o p i c to t a l k about. No matter how hard I f o r c e myself to t r y to converse with them, the harder I t r y , the worse i t becomes ... so I am s t i l l t h i n k i n g about how I can t a c k l e such a problem, how to r e l a x and adapt myself to them ...\" \"... I had t r y to i n t e g r a t e i n t o t h e i r s o c i e t y but i t was very hard. You know, I worked i n a c o n s u l t i n g f i r m , i t was very busy t h e r e . So there wasn't much time f o r people to t a l k to each other, and being i n a white man's world, and being from a d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r e , I don't do what they do, I seldom j o i n them f o r a beer a f t e r work or t a l k about f o o t b a l l , hockey, or about c a r s and boats; but what we Chinese t h i n k about i s a s t a b l e job f i r s t , then a house f o l l o w s , - a d i f f e r e n t p e r s p e c t i v e towards l i f e . I f e l t l e f t out. I f e e l there are w a l l s a l l around...\" Another immigrant avoided these f e e l i n g s of a l i e n a t i o n e n t i r e l y ; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant 11# 83 \"... I think I haven't g i v e myself enough op p o r t u n i t y to get to know them. In the sense my l i m i t e d exposure to them so f a r i s not too good. So I haven't r e a l l y t r y to be with them and not r e a l l y enjoy the experience with them. I so f a r been keeping to myself ...\" Because of c u l t u r a l d i f f e r e n c e s , t h i s immigrant p r e f e r s to av o i d i n t e r a c t i n g with those of the host s o c i e t y . T h i s does not mean he does not have the d e s i r e or need to s o c i a l i z e ; P h i l l i p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... I t i s d i f f e r e n t here, i t s o r t of makes me t r y not to r e a l l y develop c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s with them. I been a b l e to develop q u i t e c l o s e r e l a t i o n s h i p s with some people here, but they are not white people ...\" C o n s i d e r i n g the immigrants' i n i t i a l s o c i a l p o s i t i o n i n the host s o c i e t y , i t i s to be expected that h i s i n t e r a c t i o n s with f e l l o w m i n o r i t y peers may pr o v i d e a secure base upon which to i n t e g r a t e ; Mainland China Immigrant #8 \"... I was happy i n my job. I made new f r i e n d s and from them I t r i e d to understand what Canada i s and a l s o from them I understood Chinese here and Chinatown. In dishwashing, some c o l l e a g u e s are Asian s , some are White people but I seldom mix with them ...\" Any sense of s e c u r i t y the immigrant a c q u i r e s from a m i n o r i t y peer group may q u i c k l y disappear i f the peer group p e r c e i v e s the immigrant as a p o t e n t i a l t h r e a t ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 84 \"... My f r i e n d s , some of my eng i n e e r i n g f r i e n d s were here s i n c e 1981 and s t i l l haven't worked as an engineer. Some of them worked as p i z z a boys. They were extremely b i t t e r , and when they found out I worked as an engineer, they were rather j e a l o u s and when I was l a i d o f f , I t r i e d to t a l k to them and t r i e d to form a group and t a l k e d , but they r e f u s e d and s a i d 'you are not one of us, you've worked here for a year and you've l o c a l experience ... you don't understand our s i t u a t i o n ' ...\" Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... When I f i r s t s t a r t e d my job, they came and asked me a f t e r a month whether I got my r a i s e . I t o l d them about my wage and they were mad. They asked how come my pay was the same as t h e i r s when they had been there f o r twenty years. They o s t r a c i z e d me and so the boss t o l d them because I had to haul heavy goods, so t h a t , kind of q u i e t them down. Now, I have been there f o r two and a h a l f years, my c o l l e a g u e s s t i l l on my back at times, they always think I'm brown-nosing ...\" F i n a l l y , i n t e r p e r s o n a l d i f f i c u l t i e s may a l s o occur when the immigrant p e r c e i v e s an incongruency i n s t a t u s between hi m s e l f and h i s f e l l o w m i n o r i t y peers; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... We had a few classmates but we seldom see each other. Because of peer pres s u r e , don't want comparison. They have t h e i r own house, so we don't want to f e e l bad by being compared ...\" Although the immigrants' m i n o r i t y r e l a t i o n s h i p s may f a c i l i t a t e h i s a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n , the extent to which he i d e n t i f i e s with the m i n o r i t y group may a l s o have a r e s t r i c t i n g e f f e c t on h i s a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n . P o r t er (1967) 85 c a l l s t h i s the \"psychic s h e l t e r phenomenon\" where i n s t e a d of the t a k i n g an 'I and t h i s s o c i e t y ' o r i e n t a t i o n ( i . e . the m e l t i n g p o t ) ; he takes an \"Us and the s o c i e t y ' o r i e n t a t i o n ( i . e . the mosaic) - an in-group versus out-group s t r a t e g y e t c . The Maslovian needs f o r t h i s i n t e r p e r s o n a l category are s e c u r i t y , s o c i a l i z a t i o n and s e l f - e s t e e m . 4. The Content Category of Adaptation S t r a t e g i e s T h i s content category r e f e r s to those processes ( a c t u a l or implied) that the respondent i s using in adapting to the c o n d i t i o n of underemployment. T h i s content category i s composed of respondents' statements r e f l e c t i n g e i t h e r b e h a v i o r a l or p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r a t e g i e s - i . e . b e h a v i o r a l s t a t e g i e s may i n c l u d e a c t i v i t i e s such as r e t r a i n i n g , self-employment, o c c u p a t i o n a l search, emigration or r e t u r n i n g home etc - p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t a t e g i e s p e r t a i n to those mental processes of non-acceptance ( r e s i s t a n c e ) or acceptance (compliance) e t c . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of f o r t y \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . ten \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , t h i r t e e n \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Mainland China, and seventeen \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s a d a p t a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s category was 77% a c c u r a t e . 86 I t i s apparent that the immigrants' expressed b e h a v i o r a l s t r a t e g i e s seem to r e f l e c t a pragmaticism s i m i l a r i n q u a l i t y to what was o r i g i n a l l y expressed i n t h e i r present e x p e c t a t i o n s . For example, two immigrants f e l t r e t r a i n i n g was a way of contending with t h e i r underemployment; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... Your s a t i s f a c t i o n with your job are determinants of your l i f e s i t u a t i o n s . Obtain other s k i l l s to back you up. I f I had the op p o r t u n i t y to s t a r t a l l over again, I won't f u r t h e r study anymore. I ' l l go to t e c h n i c a l school and l e a r n a tra d e , l i k e r e p a i r i n g T.V., not drowning i n my i d e a l s ...\" P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... I been studying, t r y i n g to get a Canadian diploma i n accounting and a l s o t r y to brush up with my computer f i e l d - so there are my a l t e r n a t i v e s , education wise. I am t r y i n g to set myself up to work. May be i f I got l a i d o f f , I ' l l c o n s i d e r small business and be self-employed ...\" On a s i m i l a r v e i n , another immigrant opted f o r a self-employment s t r a t e g y ; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #12 \"... I don't want to work f o r people and i f you come at a c e r t a i n age, i t ' s much harder so I decided to go i n t o business myself ...\" \"... I b e l e i v e i n hard work, hard work w i l l pay o f f at l a s t . Now I am my own boss, I have a l o t of r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s . We j u s t s t a r t business, a l o t of 87 t h i n g s to work out. Very d i f f i c u l t to e s t a b l i s h c r e d i t here, so we have to work harder ...\" At the most rudimentary l e v e l , simply l o o k i n g f o r another occupation i s a p o s s i b l e s o l u t i o n to underemployment; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... I'm s t i l l l o o k i n g f o r a b e t t e r job ... But I know i t w i l l be d i f f i c u l t because of the Canadian economy ...\" F i n a l l y , the most extreme b e h a v i o r a l s t r a t e g y a v a i l a b l e to the immigrant e x p e r i e n c i n g the f r u s t r a t i o n s of underemployment i s emigration or r e t u r n i n g home; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... I have a l r e a d y a p p l y i n g f o r oversea job. I ' l l get my c i t i z e n s h i p soon ... before I had a l o t of optimism about Canada, now my optimism has changed. There i s no such t h i n g as permanent job, now i f they want to f i r e you, you get two weeks' n o t i c e , t h a t ' s i t ! So now I have no i l l u s i o n s any more, I look o u t s i d e - overseas and government jobs ...\" Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... I had thought about going to another p r o v i n c e s to t r y my luck or going back to Hong Kong or q u i t P h i l i p p i n o Immmigrant #11 \"... We (he and h i s wife) d i s c u s s q u i t e o f t e n , probably one or two years a f t e r , when we get our c i t i z e n s h i p , we w i l l go back home and s t a r t a more meaningful l i f e , but when you have k i d s , i t i s very d i f f i c u l t ...\" 88 Our immigrants' p s y c h o l o g i c a l s t r a t e g i e s v a r i e d depending upon whether they f e l t t h e i r underemployment s i t u a t i o n was or was not surmountable. For example, the following, 'meaning u n i t ' d e p i c t s an immigrant who with great emotional i n t e n s i t y r e f u s e s to accept h i s underemployment; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... In Hong Kong I f e l t more u s e f u l than being here. Hong Kong needs me more than Canada. That makes me f e e l b i t t e r . I stay because I f e e l angry. I s t i l l want to t r y . I don't want to f e e l d efeated ... A side from t h i s example, i t seems the m a j o r i t y of immigrants have p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y r e s i g n e d themselves to t h e i r underemployed s i t u a t i o n ; Mainland China Immigrant #6 \"... My mind s t a r t e d t h i n k i n g about many t h i n g s , i f I l o s t my job what can I do - t h i s always i n my mind. I have to s u r v i v e . I can't c r i t i c i z e good or bad, I have to have a job ...\" Mainland China Immigrant #10 \"... I th i n k about a l o t but what can I do ...?\" Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... Now I kind of get use to my job, i t i s not so bad as before ...\" Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... Slowly t h i n g s became q u i t e O.K. We got used to i t ...\" 89 F i n a l l y , other immigrants used the p s y c h o l o g i c a l process of r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n to cope with t h e i r underemployment; Hong Kong Immigrant #2 \"... No other a l t e r n a t i v e s . I've t r i e d my best -s i n c e the pay i s O.K., i t i s a l l r i g h t ...\" P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... I have to t e l l myself to be content with i t for now. I\"m not s a t i s f i e d with i t or content with i t , and i f ... I have to p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y persuade myself that the job i s not as bad as may be what I had before when I s t a r t e d here ...\" It i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that most of the expressed b e h a v i o r a l s t r a t e g i e s of a d a p t a t i o n f e l l to those immigrants who o r i g i n a t e d from Hong Kong and the P h i l i p p i n e s . A p p l y i n g R o t t e r ' s (1966) theory of ' i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l l o c u s of c o n t r o l ' , i t seems the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants.may r e f l e c t a g r e a t e r degree of p e r s o n a l autonomy i n comparison to the Mainland China immigrants. S p e c i f i c a l l y , the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants ( i n t e r n a l l ocus) came from c a p i t a l i s t i c c o u n t r i e s which may have encouraged development of pers o n a l autonomy whereas; the Mainland China immigrants ( e x t e r n a l l o c u s ) came from a communist country which may have discouraged the development of pers o n a l autonomy. In other words, our Mainland China immigrants may s t i l l be 90 e x p e r i e n c i n g the negative e f f e c t s of a State which once took t o t a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r t h e i r p e r s o n a l h e a l t h , education, c a r e e r s e l e c t i o n , o c c u p a t i o n a l placement, f i n a n c i a l s e c u r i t y and retirement - i . e . the 'iron-bowl syndrome' T h i s content category r e f l e c t e d , to some extent, a l l the Maslovian needs 1 5. The Content Category of S o c i a l S e r v i c e s T h i s content category i s a subset of the pre v i o u s a d a p t a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s category. I t i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n the immigrants' experiences with the s o c i a l s e r v i c e s they used i n attempting to a l l e v i a t e some of the d i f f i c u l t i e s of t h e i r underemployment. T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of respondent statements which a c t u a l l y mention i n name a s o c i a l s e r v i c e agency - i . e . the Immigration Reception Centre, Employment Canada Centres, E t h n i c S o c i a l S e r v i c e s (e.g. Success etc.) and v a r i o u s e d u c a t i o n a l i n s t i t u t i o n s e t c . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of t h i r t y - t h r e e \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . one \"meaning u n i t \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong, four \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , and twenty-eight \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from 1 For example, please see the \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r the Mainland China immigrants i n the c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparison category. 91 Mainland China. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s s o c i a l s e r v i c e category was 85% a c c u r a t e . In g e n e r a l , the immigrants' exposure to v a r i o u s s o c i a l agencies stems from t h e i r need to o r i e n t themselves c u l t u r a l l y , to l o c a t e meaningful employment, and to l e a r n the dominant language e t c . I t i s seen i n the f o l l o w i n g \"meaning u n i t s \" , t h a t , although the immigrants made use of a v a i l a b l e agencies, they d i d not do so without a c e r t a i n degree of negativism. For example, one immigrant c r i t i c i z e d the u s e f u l n e s s of the Immigration Reception Centre whose mandate i s to c u l t u r a l l y o r i e n t the newly a r r i v e d immigrant; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... They d i d have l e c t u r e s when we a r r i v e d here the f i r s t month, but what's the use of that - we d i d n ' t even understand what those t h i n g s were ...\" Other immigrants were c r i t i c a l of Employment Canada Centres. At the base of the immigrants' c r i t i c i z i s m were language d i f f i c u l t i e s and the i l l u s i o n that Employment Canada c o u l d e a s i l y l o c a t e a p p r o p r i a t e employment; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... we went to Manpower but i t was a waste of time. We d i d n ' t understand what's on the job board, i t was a l l i n E n g l i s h and we d i d n ' t know how to enquire - p r e t t y i n t i m i d a t i n g ...\" 92 \"... You know the p o s t i n g on the job board i s of no h e l p to us. I took my d i c t i o n a r y there and t r i e d to f i n d out what's s t a t e d t h e r e . I t took me more than an hour to f i g u r e them out. I don't know how and what to ask from the employment c o u n s e l l o r s , I f e e l i n t i m i d a t e d ...\" and; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... I t ' s d i f f i c u l t f o r new immigrants because of t h e i r language. I t i s f u t i l e to go to Manpower, they put your name down, t h a t ' s a l l . No experience, they won't h i r e you - they're very s e l e c t i v e . Every job the Manpower recommends there i s at l e a s t twenty people w a i t i n g . Employers l i k e people who are young and e n e r g e t i c . If you're not what they r e q u i r e , i t ' s hopeless ...\" Mainland China Immigrant #10 \"... I never to the Manpower or community s e r v i c e s . They're u s e l e s s , a waste of time. They j u s t t e l l you to work in the r e s t a u r a n t . I can f i n d those jobs myself without t h e i r h e l p . They're u s e l e s s ...\" and; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... Manpower I know but I d i d n ' t go to them and ask them to f i n d me any. I s o r t of l i k e to be a b l e to say that I f i n d something on my own r a t h e r than say from them, and i f I can f i n d something on my own why not. Why ask people to h e l p me out? ...\" Acknowledging the s p e c i a l o c c u p a t i o n a l needs of newly a r r i v i n g immigrants, i t seems reasonable to assume v a r i o u s e t h n i c s o c i a l s e r v i c e s should be more s u i t a b l e i n p r o v i d i n g a s s i s t a n c e than Employment Canada. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , i n r e f e r e n c e to our underemployed p r o f e s s i o n a l immigrants, the f o l l o w i n g \"meaning u n i t s \" show t h i s i s not the case; 93 Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... I went to 'Success' and j o i n e d an immigrant c l a s s . Ms (the c o - o r d i n a t o r ) t o l d us immigrants that f o r those who can't speak the language, there i s only two kinds of work we can do, one i s working as a chef i n Chinatown, another i s working i n the sewing f a c t o r y . I d i s c u s s e d with my uncle and he encouraged me to take a cooking course. Since the p o s s i b i l i t y of r e t u r n i n g back to my o l d job i s h a i r l i n e s l i m maybe being a chef i s not a bad idea, at l e a s t I l e a r n a trade! So I took the course and graduated w i t h i n three months. I got my diploma but no job was i n s i g h t because when I graduated the r e c e s s i o n s t a r t e d , and a l l my classmates 16 of them got no job. Not even one ...\" and Mainland China Immigrant #8 \"... 'Success' can h e l p the u n s k i l l e d ones but can't h e l p us i n our category ...\" I t i s q u i t e apparent f o r some immigrants one problem i n t h e i r a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n i s the i n a b i l i t y to speak the E n g l i s h language; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... So I f i n a l l y r e g i s t e r e d i n a l o c a l school c a l l e d 'Sesame', they only asked f o r $10 f o r three months and I got to 'Success' as w e l l and i t cost me another $25 f o r three months, so i t i s more reasonable ...\" and, Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... I went to the s o c i a l agencies ... they can't do anything ... I went to the I t a l i a n Community Centre to l e a r n E n g l i s h f o r three months then to Strathcona f o r a month ...\" F i n a l l y , i t i s u n c e r t a i n whether the immigrants' expressed 94 n e g a t i v i s m i n the above \"meaning u n i t s \" i s e x c l u s i v e l y meant f o r the s o c i a l s e r v i c e agencies i n q u e s t i o n or i s simply a consequence of the l a r g e r sometimes very s t r e s s f u l a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n p r o c e s s . It i s important to note, that the immigrants' s o c i a l s e r v i c e \"meaning u n i t s \" d i d have a p o s i t i v e s i d e - i . e . some o f f e r e d c o n s t r u c t i v e suggestions f o r improvement; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... What I hope the Manpower can do i s c a t e g o r i z e us p r o f e s s i o n a l s who can't r e t u r n to t h e i r intended occupation and who have l i m i t e d language s k i l l , to understand the p l i g h t of t h e i r s i t u a t i o n and have some Chinese o f f i c e r s t r a n s l a t e the job programs to them. Maybe set up programmes to he l p us to get around i n the employment market ...\" and; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #12 \"... They should have b e t t e r people i n c o u n s e l l i n g . Even when we go to Pender, they don't r e a l l y t e l l you much. They ask you to f i l l in forms and leave you up i n the a i r . The government should upgrade t h e i r system - have people who are r e a l l y h e l p i n g people ...\" H y p o t h e t i c a l l y , n o t i n g the d i s t r i b u t i o n of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n the category, i t i s obvious that the Mainland China immigrant's exemption from the \"point system\" has c r e a t e d a strong dependency f o r s o c i a l s e r v i c e agencies i . e . a s o c i a l s e r v i c e dependency which i s f u r t h e r supported from h i s p r e v i o u s l y being e x t e r n a l l y l o c a l i z e d i n pers o n a l 95 autonomy. On the other hand, the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants i n having to comply to the \"point system\" seemed to be more s e l f - s u f f i c i e n t i n f u l f i l l i n g t h e i r needs - i . e . a s e l f - s u f f i c i e n c y which i s complemented from t h e i r being p r e v i o u s l y i n t e r n a l l y l o c a l i z e d i n p e r s o n a l autonomy (Rot t e r , 1966). In f a c t , c l o s e examination of the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants' \"meaning u n i t s \" i n d i c a t e an r e l u c t a n c e on t h e i r part to use s o c i a l s e r v i c e agencies even d u r i n g times of p r e s s i n g need. F i n a l l y , the Maslovian needs of f o o d / s l e e p , s e c u r i t y and s e l f - e s t e e m c o n s t i t u t e t h i s s o c i a l s e r v i c e content category. 6. The Content Category of Family Support T h i s content category i s a l s o a subset to the two p r e v i o u s a d a p t a t i o n and s o c i a l s e r v i c e c a t e g o r i e s . T h i s content category i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n those s u p p o r t a t i v e experiences our respondents r e c e i v e d from e i t h e r extended or nuclear f a m i l y members. These f a m i l y members may e i t h e r have r e s i d e d with the respondent i n the host s o c i e t y or; continue to r e s i d e i n h i s country of o r i g i n . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of zero \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s ; zero \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong and; seven \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Mainland 96 China. 1 The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s f a m i l y support category was 57% ac c u r a t e . Extended Family Support The b a s i c forms of extended f a m i l y support the immigrants r e c e i v e d was accommodation and the l o c a t i n g of employment; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... I f i r s t came here, I l i v e d with my aunt. They are very n i c e . They drove me around to look f o r jobs ...\" \"... My aunt kept begging and s a i d to the owner, ' t h i s i s my nephew, I'm w i l l i n g to be r e s p o n s i b l e f o r h i s conduct. If you're not s a t i s f i e d with h i s performance, you're f r e e to s c o l d him or l a y him o f f . If not inform me and I ' l l s c o l d him for you.' So f i n a l l y , they agreed to give me a t r y ...\" In terms of p s y c h o l o g i c a l support, some immigrants seem to have minimal access to a sym p a t h e t i c - s u p p o r t a t i v e f a m i l y ear; Mainland China Immigrant #10 1 T h i s f a m i l i y support category i s one of the most ambiguous i n the e n t i r e study. To av o i d m i s l e a d i n g the reader, composite statements were e x t r a c t e d from the p r o t o c o l s - i . e . the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants d i d r e c e i v e some support from immediate f a m i l y members. Even so, f o r the most part the immigrants were not very outspoken i n t h i s content category i . e . , see the content category of C h i n e s e f a c e . 97 \"... No one can h e l p me here. I've a br o t h e r , a s i s t e r i n China. They know I am not doing w e l l . They t r y to comfort me by saying t h i s takes time. They t e l l me to get some help from f r i e n d s ...\" Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... I seldom t a l k to my uncle . He i s s i x t y somewhat years o l d and has been here n e a r l y a l l h i s l i f e . His values are not r e a l l y Chinese. You know, we begged him to go back to China f o r a v i s i t and he s a i d no. He s a i d he would r a t h e r hang himself than going t h e r e . So I can't t a l k to him about any problems. He can't r e l a t e and w i l l d e s p i s e you i f you complain ...\" Nuclear Family Support Although a l l married immigrants d i d i n d i c a t e they r e c e i v e d support from t h e i r wives - acknowledging t h i s support was o f t e n expressed i n a p a i n f u l - e v a s i v e f a s h i o n . For the immigrants, the n o t i o n of r e c e i v i n g support from the wife may have c l a s h e d with the 'head p r o v i d e r ethos' so common to the Asian f a m i l y . For example, r e l y i n g e x c l u s i v e l y on composite statements, one immigrant shamefully saw h i s wife as being j u s t as much a v i c t i m of h i s underemployment as h i m s e l f ; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... Support probably from my wife, but she i s more f r u s t r a t e d and angry than I am ... I'm f r u s t r a t e d , she's f r u s t r a t e d ... I don't know ... the only t h i n g I think i s b o t h e r i n g me i s my wife has to go out to work as w e l l as suppo r t i n g the fami l y ...\" 1 These emotional sentiments are seen to re-emerge i n the 98 In sum, the small number of \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r t h i s content category seems to have l i m i t e d the study i n g a i n i n g a d d i t i o n a l i n s i g h t i n t o t h i s asspect of the underemployed immigrant's experience. T h e o r e t i c a l l y , e x c l u d i n g the composite statements, the most s i g n i f i c a n t o b s e r v a t i o n seems to be the absence of a c t u a l f a m i l y support \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants. Mostyn (1985) s t a t e s , \"... While we as r e s e a r c h e r s are concerned with a n a l y z i n g what has been communicated and attempting to i n t e r p r e t what i t means, we may f o r g e t that what i s not s a i d may be as, or more important ...\" (p. 141 ) S p e c u l a t i n g p u r e l y w i t h i n the context of p r e v i o u s content c a t e g o r i e s , i t i s p o s s i b l e that the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants were r e f l e c t i n g a higher degree of p e r s o n a l autonomy, s e l f - e s t e e m and c u l t u r a l f a m i l i a r i t y which r e s u l t e d i n reducing t h e i r need to seek or r e l y on f a m i l y support. On the other hand, Mainland China immigrants may have a g r e a t e r need fo r f a m i l y support. However, i t i s important to note that many of the Mainland China immigrants were sponsored by r e l a t i v e s - thus e s t a b l i s h i n g e a r l y i n t h e i r m i g r a t i o n a dependent r e l a t i o n s h i p . In l i g h t of the number of \"meaning u n i t s \" 1 ( c o n t ' d ) Chinese Face content category. 99 comprising t h i s content category, i t may be p o s s i b l e to suggest that Asian immigrants may be r e l u c t a n t too r e l y on a f a m i l y member f o r support. F i n a l l y , the Maslovian needs i n t h i s f a m i l y support category are food/ s l e e p , s e c u r i t y and s e l f - e s t e e m . 7. The Content Category of P r e j u d i c e P r e j u d i c e i s d e f i n e d as an o p i n i o n , l i k e or d i s l i k e which i s formed before one has adequate knowledge or e x p e r i e n c e . P r e j u d i c e may r e s u l t i n p h y s i c a l or emotional i n j u r y which a r i s e s when one i n d i v i d u a l takes a c t i o n or makes judgment towards another i n d i v i d u a l - i . e . the v i c t i m ( C h a p l i n , 1968) T h i s content category i s composed of respondent statements d e s c r i b i n g p r e j u d i c i a l experiences which stemmed from people who are e i t h e r from the Caucasian m a j o r i t y , or who are s i m i l a r to our immigrants i n v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y s t a t u s . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of twenty \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . three \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong, e i g h t \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , and nine \"meaning u n i t s \" for those immigrants from Mainland China. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s p r e j u d i c e content category was 80% a c c u r a t e . 100 One form of p r e j u d i c e immigrants expressed was the double standard which a p p a r e n t l y e x i s t s i n the predominantly white o c c u p a t i o n a l s e c t o r ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... They l a i d me o f f because I was having problems in communicating with them. You know, they l a i d o f f the m i n o r i t y workers f i r s t . There's another guy who came from Taiwan, ten years experience working with the same f i r m , they l a i d him o f f two months a f t e r me ... the most unusual t h i n g i s t h e r e ' r e some Canadians who came a f t e r me and were my j u n i o r , the company s t i l l keep them ...\" and; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant # 1 1 \"... Programmers a l o t of Chinese but the p r o j e c t l e a d e r s are white, most of the s u p e r v i s o r s of entry heads are white. I t seems b a s i c a l l y a l i m i t i n terms of what non-white can be got on ...\" U n f o r t u n a t e l y , these o c c u p a t i o n a l double standards are not only e x c l u s i v e to the Caucasian m a j o r i t y employer - other v i s i b l e m i n o r i t y employers are a l s o q u i t e capable of h o l d i n g negative s t e r e o t y p e s ; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... In t h i s r e s t a u r a n t , they r e f u s e d h i r i n g me at f i r s t . My aunt and owner are f r i e n d s , s t i l l they h e s i t a t e d i n g i v i n g me a job. For once they knew I came from Mainland China, they f l a t l y s a i d no. Because i n Chinatown, employers are r e l u c t a n t to h i r e Chinese from China, f o r they have a bad r e p u t a t i o n of being l a z y . T h i s kind of rumour i s p r e v a l e n t here . . . Chinese and Vietnamese workers are no-no's i n Chinatown ...\" The depth of the immigrant's emotional hurt i s f u l l y 1 0 1 r e a l i z e d when the p r e j u d i c e experienced i s d i r e c t e d at the p e r s o n a l l e v e l . In the f o l l o w i n g \"meaning u n i t s \" take note of the immigrant's anger, h u r t , fear and disappointment; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 \"... they t a l k e d about damn too many immigrants t a k i n g away t h e i r jobs, so that r e a l l y ... ah ... l i k e blood running i n t o my head and I c o n f r o n t e d them that we a l l are immigrants and t h i s i s Indian's country not even yours and they s a i d 'We're not t a l k i n g to you', t h i s r e a l l y makes me angry ...\" \"... I was q u i t e h u r t , i t seems when any economic s i t u a t i o n , back home i f t h i n g s d e t e r i o r a t e , they turned a g a i n s t Chinese. Over here, the Chinese a l s o are immigrants, i t seems t h i n g s get worse, ... t h e y ' l l turn a g a i n s t immigrants, t h i s scares me because i t happened here before when they gathered the Japanese. Say Japanese couldn't be t r u s t e d , so when t h i n g s get worse and unemployment becomes very bad, t h e y ' l l say t h i s i s white country, the immigrants are t a k i n g our jobs, a l l the immigrants w i l l be shipped out, t h i s i s very scary e s p e c i a l l y I have two daughters. In my case i f t h i n g s get worse I can go back but my daughters who are growing up and embracing the Canadian c u l t u r e , but i f t h i n g s turn worse, they're s t i l l not Canadian. The Canadians w i l l t hink they are non-white because t h e i r s k i n i s not white as them. I t i s something they have to l i v e with. I t may not happen to them but may happen to t h e i r c h i l d r e n ...\" and; Mainland China Immigrant #8 \"... I f i n d most of the o l d Chinese, they are very u n f r i e n d l y . They have t h e i r own c i r c l e and don't l i k e newcomers. They s a i d , 'We l a i d down the foundation of Chinatown and you people j u s t come and r i p o f f our p r o f i t s ' . . . the young people come and they get so j e a l o u s ...\" 1 02 Although there i s no i n t e n t i o n to underestimate the p r e j u d i c e r e f l e c t e d in the above \"meaning u n i t s \" , f o r h e u r i s t i c reasons i t i s important to provide a few a l t e r n a t i v e e x p l a n a t i o n s . One immigrant d i d not agree that c e r t a i n double standards or s t e r e o t y p e s c o n s t i t u t e d the work p l a c e f o r r a c i a l m i n o r i t e s . E v i d e n t l y he f e l t more t r a d i t i o n a l f a c t o r s f o r o c c u p a t i o n a l promotion s t i l l p r e v a i l i n the work p l a c e ; Older Hong Kong Immigrant #2 \"... I do t h i n k there i s a chance. The company d i s r e g a r d s whatever race - more on your s e n o r i t y and experience ...\" I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note that immigrant was c l o s e to being f u l l y employed in a predominantly white m a j o r i t y company. Is i t p o s s i b l e that the immigrant's p s y c h o l o g i c a l s e n s i t i v i t y f o r d e t e c t i n g p r e j u d i c e decreases as he approximates f u l l employment? F i n a l l y , i t i s a l s o p o s s i b l e t h a t , f o r some immigrants, p e r c e i v e d p r e j u d i c e c o u l d be s i m i l a r i n p s y c h o l o g i c a l -function to a c o n d i t i o n h e l p l e s s n e s s or s e l f - h a n d i c a p p i n g s t r a t e g y - i . e . u n w i t t i n g l y some immigrants may be a v o i d i n g t a k i n g p e r s o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y f o r c o r r e c t i n g t h e i r underemployment s i t u a t i o n ; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #11 103 \"... yes I think before I have t h i s image that Canada though white are f a i r , b a s i c a l l y I have t h i s . n o t i o n the country i s r i c h , may be they would do the r i g h t t h i n g s , but i t seems they are not ... may be i t i s not f a i r t h i n g to say they are not f a i r ... I don't know, but my experience i s that they are more f a i r to white than to c o l o r e d people ...\" To conclude, t h i s p r e j u d i c e content category r e f l e c t s the Maslovian needs of s e c u r i t y , s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . 8. The Content Category of C r o s s - C u l t u r a l Comparisons T h i s content category p e r t a i n s to c e r t a i n c r o s s - c u l t u r a l d i s t i n c t i o n s the respondents v e r b a l i z e d about t h e i r country of o r i g i n and the host s o c i e t y . S p e c i f i c a l l y , these c r o s s - c u l t u r a l ''meaning u n i t s \" provide a more macro-perspective as to the respondents' m i g r a t i o n . For the most p a r t , to c o n t r o l f o r p o s s i b l e o v e r l a p with p r e v i o u s data, each c r o s s - c u l t u r a l \"meaning u n i t \" was s y n t a c t i c a l l y i d e n t i f i e d with the word phrase ... \"In China ... In Hong Kong ... In Canada ...\" e t c . T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of t h i r t y - f i v e \"meaning u n i t s \" - i . e . three \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s , f i v e \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong Kong, and twenty-seven \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Mainland China. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparison category was 73% a c c u r a t e . 104 In t h i s content category most of the immigrants' c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons are seen to deal with s o c i a l , economic and o c c u p a t i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n s . For example, in the f o l l o w i n g \"meaning u n i t \" , one comes to a p p r e c i a t e the c u l t u r a l importance s o c i a l i z i n g played i n the immigrants' country of o r i g i n - a s o c i a l - c u l t u r a l phenomenon that seems to be absent i n the host s o c i e t y ( i . e . note the u n d e r l y i n g af f e c t ) ; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... I f i n d l i f e i n Canada p r e t t y b o r i n g . I t i s very d i f f i c u l t to get to know people. In China, f r i e n d s h i p i s p r e t t y important. A f t e r work, people u s u a l l y go to v i s i t each other and have a chat, everyone i s so i n f o r m a l and g l a d to open t h e i r doors to f r i e n d s . Here, everyone i s so busy, i t i s d i f f i c u l t to make any connections. L i f e here i s b o r i n g , monotonous and extremely d u l l ...\" In r e f e r e n c e to economic comparisons, i t was noted i n the l i t e r a t u r e s e c t i o n , some immigrants may have i n i t i a l l y viewed t h e i r e n t i r e m i g r a t i o n as an upwardly mobile socio-economic process - an upwardly mobile view which through a c t u a l experience was not without a c e r t a i n degree of d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t or p e r c e i v e d p s y c h o l o g i c a l expense; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... From my p o i n t of view, I l i k e the Canadian system. You can go to the bank and withdraw as much as you want. In China, you can't do that ... here you can buy anything you want as long as you can a f f o r d i t and; 105 \"... In China, everyone wants to come here. T.V. says l i f e i s good here. People dress w e l l - f r i d g e , car e t c . At f i r s t I had the same i l l u s i o n , thought everyone w e l l - d r e s s e d and c i v i l i z e d , but I was shocked when being here, no one wears three p i e c e s u i t - very much l i k e a r u r a l area here ...\" and; \"... Being here - i t has opened my scope. We got s p o i l e d in China, though m a t e r i a l l y i t i s b e t t e r here - but there i s too much worries ...\" R e l a t i v e to p o t e n t i a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s , i n our op i n i o n some of the most i n s i g h t f u l \"meaning u n i t s \" i n t h i s content category p e r t a i n s to the Mainland China immigrants' \"mind s e t \" towards p r i o r and p r e s e n t l y experienced o c c u p a t i o n a l systems - the \" i r o n bowl\" system; 1 Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... In China, you have a job whether you work hard or not, i t i s nobody's business, most are s t a t e run, as long as you don't s t e a l or sabotage, you are guaranteed a job f o r l i f e , so there i s no i n c e n t i v e f o r working hard, no one can f i r e you and 1 s i n c e there i s no such word as l a y - o f f ... Here, i t ' s very p r a c t i c a l , i f you don't work as hard, you are f i r e d ...\" and; \"...In China, there's no such t h i n g as unemployment, the State plans f o r you - so you don't have to worry. When you graduate from u n i v e r s i t y , you a u t o m a t i c a l l y land a job ...\" and; Mainland China Immigrant #9 1 See the content category of a d a p t a t i o n s t r a t e g i e s . 1 06 \"... In China, you don't have any w o r r i e s , you have a job and you keep i t f o r e v e r . E v e r y t h i n g i s so d i f f e r e n t here. You got a w e l l p a i d job when you graduate at home Here, you graduated from u n i v e r s i t y and you're unemployed. In China, no unemployment, no w o r r i e s ! . . . \" and; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... In China, the b e n e f i t i s you're guaranteed a job i f you can enter the u n i v e r s i t y , you are set for l i f e . The country p r o v i d e s you room and board, l e i s u r e money e t c . and a w e l l paying job upon gra d u a t i o n . You don't have to look f o r a job, no l a y - o f f u n t i l you r e t i r e . You get 75% s a l a r y a f t e r retirement - the ' i r o n bowl' syndrom, so I'm r e a l l y not used to the system here ...\" Although most of the immigrants' c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons are t a r g e t e d to the above s p e c i f i c t o p i c s , the f i n a l \"meaning u n i t \" c l e a r l y demonstrates i n an a l l encompassing fashion-how i n t r i c a b l y l i n k e d the issue of underemployment i s to the person's t o t a l e x p e r e n t i a l w e l l - b e i n g ( i . e . note the u n d e r l y i n g a f f e c t ) ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... A l l the time I always compare. Looking at my i n t e r p e r s o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p , s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n , s e l f - e s t e e m , my r e l a t i o n s h i p with my f a m i l y , my pay s c a l e increment etc ...\" and; \"... At f i r s t I thought Hong Kong i s b e t t e r than Canada - now i t ' s very much the same. My job decides how I f e e l about t h i s p l a c e ...\" 1 07 Acknowledging that the immigrant groups i n t h i s study c o n t a i n v a r y i n g numbers of s u b j e c t s , we s t i l l cannot h e l p but n o t i c e the m a j o r i t y of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n t h i s content category f a l l to the Mainland China immigrants. Viewing t h i s skewed d i s t r i b u t i o n from a t h e o r e t i c a l p e r s p e c t i v e , two somewhat mutually r e l a t e d t h e o r i e s come to mind - (a) F e s t i n g e r ' s (1957) c o g n i t i v e dissonance theory and (b) Runciman's (1967) r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n theory. 1 In g e n e r a l , F e s t i n g e r ' s (1957) theory of c o g n i t i v e dissonance suggests that i n d i v i d u a l s d i s l i k e i n c o n s i s t e n c y amongst t h e i r v a r i o u s a t t i t u d e s or between t h e i r a t t i t u d e s and o v e r t b e h a v i o r s . The s t a t e of c o g n i t i v e dissonance i s experienced as being unpleasant. In attempting to c o r r e c t f o r t h i s negative experience, the i n d i v i d u a l may change one or more of those a t t i t u d e s which are r e s p o n s i b l e f o r i t s occurrence. I t i s those a t t i t u d e s which are l e a s t r e s i s t e n t to change that are a l t e r e d i n the problematic c o g n i t i v e s e t . Sue (1977) s t a t e s , \"... When m i n o r i t y i n d i v i d u a l s encounter i n f o r m a t i o n / o r experience which i s i n c o n s i s t e n t with p r e v i o u s l y accepted values and b e l i e f s - they may respond by d e l v i n g f u r t h e r i n t o m i n o r i t y h e l d views and thus r e j e c t the host s o c i e t y view a l l 1 These t h e o r i e s are presented as an a l t e r n a t i v e to Maslow's need h i e r a r c h y p o s i t i o n . 108 together ...\" (p. 195) 1 Thus, through the r e s o l u t i o n of the c o g n i t i v e dilemma, the i n d i v i d u a l a r r i v e s at a more p l e a s a n t l y experienced c o g n i t i v e l y congruent p o s i t i o n . On a s i m i l a r v e i n , Runciman's (1967) theory of r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n suggests that an i n d i v i d u a l may experience a n x i e t y , f r u s t r a t i o n or a l i e n a t i o n when engaging i n comparative ( i . e . m a t e r i a l ) or normative ( i . e . b e l i e f s , v alues or o p i n i o n s e t c ) e v a l u a t i o n s with others who are p e r c e i v e d as having a d e s i r a b l e something ( i . e . s t a t u s , p r e s t i g e , power or money etc) which, because of circumstance, ( i . e . , p s y c h o l o g i c a l , s o c i o l o g i c a l or p o l i t i c a l etc.) i s f e l t to be u n a t t a i n a b l e . Sue(l977) s t a t e s , \"... Asian Americans' a n x i e t y and a l i e n a t i o n may s u r f a c e as a r e s u l t of t h e i r achievement r e l a t i v e to that of Anglo Americans, p a r t i c u l a r l y when the Asian Americans' a s p i r a t i o n s exceed t h e i r a c t u a l achievement ...\" (p. 420-429) R e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n i s a l s o experienced n e g a t i v e l y . Rather than the i n d i v i d u a l being exposed to t h i s negative experience, he may take the p r e v e n t i v e approach of engaging only i n more r e a l i s t i c or l e s s t h r e a t e n i n g e v a l u a t i o n s 1 Note that c o g n i t i v e dissonance i s one of the stages in Sue's (1979) M i n o r i t y I d e n t i t y Development Model. 109 i . e . those comparative or normative e v a l u a t i o n s which are f e l t to be w i t h i n h i s s u b j e c t i v e group. On the other hand, i f the i n d i v i d u a l i s unable to exert t h i s covert' o p t i o n , the magnitude of experienced d i s c o m f o r t may be s u f f i c i e n t to e l i c i t o vert a c t i o n designed towards changing the mediating c o n d i t i o n s . S p e c u l a t i n g from an e m p i r i c a l stance, i n comparison to the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants, the l a r g e r number of c r o s s - c u l t u r a l \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r the Mainland China immigrants may i n d i c a t e the presence of a higher degree of dissonance or r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n . I m p l i c i t l y c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s statement i s the n o t i o n that the extent of experienced dissonance or r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n c o u l d be a f u n c t i o n of the immigrant's i n i t i a l f a m i l i a r i t y with or c u l t u r a l s i m i l a r i t y to the p a r t i c u l a r host s o c i e t y . For example, i t i s p o s s i b l e that Mainland China immigrants c o u l d be h a n d l i n g p e r c e i v e d c u l t u r a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n s (ambiguity) by d e l v i n g back i n t o p r e v i o u s images, b e l i e f s or behaviors - hence the number of c r o s s - c u l t u r a l comparisons. T h i s phenomenon was not as pronounced f o r the Hong Kong or P h i l i p p i n o immigrants perhaps because c u l t u r a l f a m i l i a r i t y or s i m i l a r i t y has 110 r e s u l t e d i n t h e i r being l e s s s e n s i t i v e to apparent c u l t u r a l c o n t r a d i c t i o n s . In terms of r e f e r e n c e group psychology, the Mainland China immigrants may i d e n t i f y only with those that they f e e l most comfortable i n with the host s o c i e t y - i . e . once again, the Chinatown or \"psychic s h e l t e r \" phenomenon. I t f o l l o w s , f o r the same reasons, that the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants may f e e l more e n t i t l e d to an expanded comparative base. T h e o r e t i c a l l y , i t i s expected i n the face of experienced d e p r i v a t i o n that none of these immigrant groups would engage in c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n . As mentioned p r e v i o u s l y , the Mainland China immigrants are seen to be e x t e r n a l l y centered - thus lack the degree of p e r s o n a l autonomy which i s necessary to change t h e i r s elf-imposed r e s t r i c t i o n s . For the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants the s u b j e c t i v e magnitude of any experienced d e p r i v a t i o n may not be s u f f i c i e n t to e l i c i t c o r r e c t i v e a c t i o n - i . e . a tendency, Runciman f e e l s i s q u i t e the norm f o r the g e n e r a l p o p u l a t i o n . F i n a l l y , the Maslovian needs e x e m p l i f i e d i n t h i s content category are s e c u r i t y , s o c i a l and s e l f - e s t e e m . 9. The Content Category of Face 1 1 1 Since face i s an i n t r i c a t e p a r t of Asian c u l t u r e , to f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e the concept we have expanded the standard d e f i n i t i o n a l format. 1 The Oxford d i c t i o n a r y d e f i n e s face ( i . e . l i e n ) ... as composure, c o o l n e s s , e f f r o n t a r y - to have face, i s to be shameless enough - to save one's face i s to evade shaming one s e l f openly. To l o s e face ( i . e . t i u l i e n ) , i s to be h u m i l i a t e d , d i s g r a c e d or shamed - to l o s e one's c r e d i t or good name - such as a condemnation or blemish on the c h a r a c t e r . Face i s a s c r i b e d at b i r t h and achieved through l i f e . A s c r i b e d face or l i e n r e presents the person's b a s i c moral i n t e g r i t y . Achieved face or mien-tzu i s i t s accumulation ( i . e . , i n c r e a s e or decrease) r e l a t i v e to a person's p r o d u c t i v i t y . Although, the l o s s of mien-tzu engenders v a r y i n g degrees of d i s c o m f o r t , t h i s does not always r e s u l t i n an accompanying d e p r e c i a t i o n i n l i e n - i . e . , the poor s t i l l r e t a i n a sense of p r i d e e t c . On the other hand, l i e n t u i leads to to h u m i l i a t i o n , shame or g u i l t with a d e p r e c i a t i o n i n mien-tzu - i . e . , wealth r e a l i z e d 1 Note, t h i s content category d i s c u s s e s face only to the extent of p r o v i d i n g the necessary d e f i n i t i o n a l base. Those r e q u i r i n g g r e a t e r e l a b o r a t i o n are encouraged to review Hu's (1946) a r t i c l e . 112 d i s h o n e s t l y r e c i e v e s l e s s s o c i a l a d o r a t i o n than wealth made hon e s t l y e t c . L i e n t u i i s c u l t u r a l l y and p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y an a l l or none p r o p o s i t i o n . Depending on the circumstances, l i e n and mien-tzu can be d i s t i n c t l y separate or mutually dependant aspects of f a c e . L i e n t u i i s the equivalence of \"Non-being\". Very e a r l y i n l i f e , the c h i l d l e a r n s face i s l o s t f o r behaviors that runs c o n t r a r y to f a m i l y or s o c i a l e x p e c t a t i o n s (Sue, 1977). Since A s i a i s e x t e n s i v e l y group o r i e n t a t e d , the c h i l d soon r e a l i z e s that o f f e n d i n g behaviour not only r e s u l t s i n h i s l o s i n g face - but a l s o leads to the l o s s of face of s i g n i f i c a n t others i n the person's l i f e - i . e . , f a m i l y , f r i e n d s , educators, c o l l e a g u e s or s u p e r i o r s e t c . In a m o t i v a t i o n a l sence, the person, as p a r t of a h i g h l y s e n s i t i v e ego system, c o n t i n u a l l y attempts to r e f l e c t c r e d i t on the group. Hu (1946) s t a t e s , \"... Ego almost always belongs to a c l o s e l y i n t e g r a t e d group on which i s r e f l e c t e d some of h i s g l o r y or shame. His f a m i l y , the wider community of f r i e n d s , and h i s s u p e r i o r s , a l l have an i n t e r e s t i n h i s advancement or set-back - a person does not l o s e h i s own face ...\" Should the person l o s e face, the degree of experienced uncomfortableness i s seen to be f u n c t i o n a l l y r e l a t e d to 1 13 s o c i a l s t a t u s . For example, white c o l l a r p r o f e s s i o n a l s are keenly aware of the need to maintain face through the demonstration of competent behaviors - anything l e s s leads to the d e p r e c i a t i o n of fac e . S u f f i c e to say, i t i s not necessary f o r the person to a c t u a l l y l o s e face f o r i t to f u l f i l l i t s r e g u l a t o r y purpose - the f e a r of l o s i n g face i s s u f f i c i e n t . To summarize, Hu (1946) s t a t e s , \"...'Don't l o s e l i e n (face) f o r us!' not only implants i n the mind of the young person the concept of l i e n , but g i v e s him or her the consciousness of the c o l l e c t i v e r e s p o n s i b i l i t y which h i s fami l y bears i n regards.to h i s behavior ... Serious infringement of the s o c i a l code on the par t of the ego w i l l c ast a shadow not only on h i s own c h a r a c t e r and the r e p u t a t i o n of h i s f a m i l y , but w i l l r a i s e doubts as to the judgement and i n t e g r i t y of a l l those who educated and promoted him i n l i f e ... the higher the s o c i a l standing of a person the more d i g n i t y he has to maintain, and the more v u l n e r a b l e t h i s l i e n becomes ... L i e n i s not only an e x t e r n a l s a n c t i o n f o r behavior that v i o l a t e s moral standards, but c o n s t i t u t e s an i n t e r n a l s a n c t i o n as w e l l ...\" T h i s content category c o n s i s t s of respondents' statements about face i n r e l a t i o n to f r i e n d s , extended and immediate fam i l y members. Twenty-seven \"meaning u n i t s \" formulate t h i s content category - i . e . , three \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from the P h i l i p p i n e s ; nine \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Mainland China and f i f t e e n \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r those immigrants from Hong 1 1 4 Kong. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s content category was 70% a c c u r a t e . Most immigrants seem to agree on how to handle the i s s u e of underemployment artd f r i e n d s - i . e . , they simply d i d n ' t t e l l them. While i t i s expected that t h i s s t r a t e g y should minimize some of t h e i r d i s c o m f o r t , the \"meaning u n i t s \" below s t i l l r e f l e c t a strong presence of shame and g u i l t ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... People evaluate others on what kind of job they have and they s a i d , 'What's wrong with you you been here f o r so long and have no 'jobs. What's wrong with you? I am not l a z y , but these p r e s s u r e s are worse than f i n a n c i a l problems. I t ' s t h i s kind of human pressure ...\" and; Mainland China Immigrant #7 \"... Never seldom would I w r i t e my f r i e n d s i n China, i f they knew my s i t u a t i o n , t h e y ' l l say I'm u s e l e s s ...\" and; P h i l i p p i n o Immigrant #12 \"... I d i d not t e l l my f r i e n d s what I was doing here. I t ' s a pain lowering y o u r s e l f . Everynight when I r e t u r n home I thought i t i s not worth i t ... Of p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t i s the immigrant who a c t u a l l y makes d i r e c t r e f e r e n c e to the concept of f a c e ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 1 15 \"... My e x - c o l l e a g u e s , they don't have any idea what my s i t u a t i o n i s l i k e . Because I am a f r a i d of peoples comments, even i f they don't comment, I myself f e e l i n f e r i o r , l o s i n g s e l f - e s t e e m . No face Noting the importance of f a m i l y o b l i g a t i o n s i n Asian s o c i e t y , our immigrants in being unable to f u l f i l l them were l e f t l i t t l e c h o i c e but to share t h e i r m i s f o r t u n e ( i . e . , d i s g r a c e ) with f a m i l y members. Such f a i l u r e , c u l t u r a l l y b r i n g s i n t o q u e s t i o n the person's moral i n t e g r i t y ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... There i s some human p r e s s u r e . My f a m i l y , my r e l a t i v e s ( i n Hong Kong) what do they t h i n k of me -s i n c e my e x p e c t a t i o n i s so high? But i t has ended up so bad. So mentally, i t i s a b i g s t r u g g l e ! . . . \" a n d ; \"... There i s a l o t of pressure from my f a m i l y i n Hong Kong. I'm the only son i n the f a m i l y , I f e e l enormous p r e s s u r e . My f a t h e r passed away and my Mom i s i n Hong Kong. I've promised to b r i n g her here when I have a good job, but I can't c a r r y i t out -and secondly i t i s important f o r me to send money home. A l o t of g u i l t f e e l i n g s ...\" Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... My immediate f a m i l y know I work as a waiter i n a r e s t a u r a n t , they always t r y to comfort me and ask me not to worry about my mom. I send $50.00 Canadian each month home to support my mom. My s i s t e r s and b r o t h e r s t e l l me not to send any money home j u s t take care of myself, but how can I do that? My brother and s i s t e r make around 50 Yuan per month and they have to support t h e i r f a m i l y . I 1 1 6 can't s l e e p i n peace i f I don't share the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y . My mother i s 72 g e t t i n g on 73 years o l d , I want her here to enjoy her o l d age. You know she hasn't too much time l e f t . What i s the use i f I become a m i l l i o n a i r e l a t e r and she i s not there? ... F i n a l l y , the f u l l emotional impact of face i s p a i n f u l l y e v i dent i n the immigrants' i n t e r a c t i o n s with t h e i r wives -i . e . , the immediate f a m i l y . Once again, the c e n t r a l i s s u e i s t h e i r f a i l u r e to f u l f i l l one's expected r o l e ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #1 \"... My wife works, i t a l l e v i a t e s some of the f i n a n c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s . But mentally i t i s very d i f f i c u l t because we p l a n to have a f a m i l y but cannot c a r r y i t out, and I'm suppose to support her and the f a m i l y and be the bread winner. We are very unhappy and sometimes we f i g h t . . . \" and; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... I'm not use to being supported by my w i f e . Because I want to go to work, be the bread winner and my wife takes care of the baby ... I am not use to that upside down 'man takes care of baby, the woman goes to work.' In Chinese philosophy, t h i s i s upside down - the man should go to work , but i f h i s wife wants to go to work then we have a s i t t e r . Now i f my wife q u i t s her job and I only have a homemaker job, i t ' s very i n s e c u r e ...\" Sometimes the immigrant may value face to the extent of d i s s o l v i n g the marriage; Mainland China Immigrant #10 \"... I've a l o t of problems. I'm separated npw. I don't want my wife to support me. You know educated people have p r i d e . I can't ask my wife to support me ...\" 1 17 A f t e r s u r v e y i n g the \"meaning u n i t s \" i n t h i s category, i t appears that statements as to face may i n d i c a t e an important m a t u r a t i o n a l d i s t i n c t i o n - i . e . , the younger immigrants appear to be mien-tzu s e n s i t i v e and the o l d e r immigrants l i e n t u i s e n s i t i v e . R e f l e c t i n g the c u l t u r a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s of having to provide face to s i g n i f i c a n t o t h e r s , the young Hong Kong immigrants were very cognizant of the p r o d u c t i v e demands of mien-tzu. While c o n t i n u i n g to convey a strong sense of l i e n , the emotional i n t e n s i t y of t h e i r \"meaning u n i t s \" ranged from a n x i e t y , f r u s t r a t i o n , anger (mien-tzu q u a l i t i e s ) to i n s e c u r i t y , d e s p a i r and shame ( l i e n - t u i q u a l i t i e s ) . For these people, immigration was f e l t to be the main o b s t a c l e p r e v e n t i n g t h e i r r e a l i z i n g important c u l t u r a l e x p e c t a t i o n s - i . e . , immigration seems to have made an a l r e a d y t u r b u l a n t p e r i o d i n Asian l i f e a l l the more problematic •. I t seems reasonable to assume that i n the long run, continued d i f f i c u l t i e s i n a t t a i n i n g mien-tzu would have a profound e f f e c t on l i e n . The young immigrants were a l s o very aware of t h e i r foreboding \"Non-being\". While a l s o cognizant of mien-tzu, the o l d e r immigrants r e f l e c t e d a key phenomenological d i f f e r e n c e . E s s e n t i a l l y , 118 t h e i r \"meaning u n i t s \" d i d not seem to c o n t a i n the same emotional i n t e n s i t y found i n our younger immigrants' e x p e r i e n c e s . Taking a phenomenological stance, a few ideas present themselves which may he l p to e x p l a i n why t h i s i s the case; (a) as o l d e r people who have at a previous time a c t u a l i z e d some of the e s s e n t i a l c u l t u r a l t a s k s , i n the context of the immediate moment, mien-tzu demands may not be p e r c e i v e d as having the same sense of urgency; (b) as ol d e r people who are al r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d household heads, not only are they s t i l l expected to continue to pr o v i d e face to s i g n i f i c a n t others but they are a l s o occupying the s o c i a l p o s i t i o n of r e c e i v i n g face from t h e i r wives, s i b l i n g s and other f a m i l y members; (c) no t i n g that immigrating i s p e r c e i v e d i n t h e i r country of o r i g i n as being a s o c i a l l y upward mobile process, these people are r e c e i v i n g face from t h e i r f e l l o w countrymen simply because they decided to immigrate; (d) f o l l o w i n g the o l d school of thought where l o s s of face e l i c i t s f e e l i n g s of inadequacy, v u l n e r a b i l i t y or shame, these people may f e e l somewhat r e l u c t a n t i n d i s c u s s i n g in-depth face s e n s i t i v e i s s u e s with a t o t a l s t r anger and; (e) on the b a s i s of pre v i o u s a c t u a l i z a t i o n , these people knew b e t t e r than anyone e l s e the gains and l o s s e s that are a t t r i b u t a b l e to t h e i r 119 d e c i s i o n to immigrate - i . e . , i n r e l a t i o n to t h e i r age and c u l t u r a l circumstance the l i k e l i h o o d of t h e i r r e - e s t a b l i s h i n g themselves as they were before immigrating i s h i g h l y u n l i k e l y e t c . R e f l e c t i n g l i e n - t u i c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , t h e i r \"meaning u n i t s \" d e p i c t e d shame, g u i l t and d e p r e s s i o n . \"Non-being\" i s very much a part of our o l d e r immigrants' experiences of l i e n - t u i . F i n a l l y , the Maslovian needs i d e n t i f i a b l e i n t h i s content category are s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n . 10. The Content Category of E x i s t e n t i a l Q u a l i t i e s T h i s content category was e s t a b l i s h e d on those e x i s t e n t i a l premises f i r s t presented i n the l i t e r a t u r e s e c t i o n . A l l the content c a t e g o r i e s c o u l d be seen to r e f l e c t to v a r y i n g degrees the e x i s t e n t i a l c o n d i t i o n of \"Being-in-the-world\", t h i s category i s s p e c i f i c a l l y i n t e r e s t e d i n \" B e i n g - a s - i t - i s - i n - t h e - p r o c e s s - o f - B e c o m i n g \" . E s s e n t i a l l y , the category c o n t a i n s those statements that the respondents made which i n d i c a t e d the s u b j e c t i v e presence of a n x i e t y ( \" L i f e \" ) or g u i l t (\"Death\"). The e x i s t e n t i a l l i t e r a t u r e c i t e d i n chapter four acted as the d e f i n i t i o n a l base f o r documenting these \"meaning u n i t s \" . Seventeen \"meaning u n i t s \" formulate t h i s content category -i . e . , one \"meaning u n i t \" f o r the P h i l i p p i n o immigrants, 1 20 f i v e \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r the Mainland China immigrants, and eleven \"meaning u n i t s \" f o r the Hong Kong immigrants. The r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g f o r t h i s content category was 62% a c c u r a t e . The importance of \"Becoming\" i s v i v i d l y captured i n the metaphors one young Hong Kong immigrant used i n d e s c r i b i n g h i s underemployed s i t u a t i o n . Noting intense f e e l i n g s of d e p e r s o n a l i z a t i o n , a l i e n a t i o n , despondency, f i n a l i t y and d i s g r a c e , these \"meaning u n i t s \" epitomize the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Non-being\" - i . e . , l i f e seemed to have l o s t i t s sense of immediacy and v i t a l i t y ; Young Hong Kong Immigrant #3 \"... I don't l i k e my present job, i t i s very d i f f e r e n t from my p r e v i o u s one. No way can I plan anything, j u s t l i v i n g day by day, l i k e a walking robot ...\" and; \"... But g r a d u a l l y l e s s and l e s s chances, now j u s t l i v e day by day, my mood i s l i k e a walking zombie. Because you are not a c t i v e you have no c o n t r o l of your l i f e , i t i s d i c t a t e d by the e x t e r n a l environment, g r a d u a l l y t h i s a f f e c t s my outlook i n l i f e . My outlook i s grim and p a s s i v e , i t i s great d i f f e r e n c e from when I j u s t graduated from s c h o o l . I r e a l i z e my chances. I f e e l ashame of my s t a t e of mind. I'm j u s t 31 years o l d ...\" P a r a d o x i c a l l y , \"Non-being\" f o r the Mainland China immigrants r e t a i n e d a sense of \"Becoming\". Noting the 121 c o l l e c t i v e m e n t a l i t y of the Asian c u l t u r e , i t seems the face gained from the e f f o r t s of t h e i r c h i l d r e n has helped to minimize (to some extent) the d i s c o m f o r t s of \"Non-being\" - i . e . , even though i t i s not t h e i r own , l i f e c o n t i n u e s to have a sense of immediacy and v i t a l i t y ; Mainland China Immigrant #5 \"... Furthermore, my u n c l e s ' s l e t t e r made me have no i l l u s i o n of g e t t i n g back to my o l d job. I s a i d to myself even i f I have to wash d i s h e s I am w i l l i n g t o, f o r my daughter would have a b e t t e r f u t u r e then ...\" and; Mainland China Immigrant #8 \"... For myself, my c a r e e r , my hope i s my son. He i s g e t t i n g good education, t h a t ' s my hope, my l i f e ... I have only one c h i l d , he i s my hope, my f u t u r e »! ... F i n a l l y , one immigrant f e l t g r a t e f u l , modest, bored and worried (anxiety) about h i s underemployment. Since i t seems that these f e e l i n g s tend to run counter to what i s expected of the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Non-being\" i t i s tempting to s p e c u l a t e as to the presence (however s u b t l e ) of o n t o l o g i c a l a n x i e t y ( l i f e ) . While t h i s immigrant r e a l i z e d \"Being\" had d e p r e c i a t e d , he a l s o was aware that i t had s t a b i l i z e d . His sense of foreboding Nothingness was d i s t a n t or under c o n t r o l . \"Being\" continues to b e l i e v e , d e s i r e and d r i v e towards f u r t h e r a c t u a l i z a t i o n . T h i s immigrant continued to have hope f o r the f u t u r e - i . e . , l i f e had not 1 22 l o s t i t s sense of immediacy or v i t a l i t y ; Hong Kong Immigrant #2 \"... In my p r e v i o u s job, I had to read a l o t , a t t e n d conferences to keep up with the new s t u f f . I t h i n k what I miss i s the c h a l l e n g e s , and secondly when you are away from the job you g r a d u a l l y l a g behind. I t makes i t d i f f i c u l t to get back i n t o the same f i e l d . I know my own progress, I worry about i t ...\" and; \"... Though what I'm now doing i s nothing to brag about (not i d e a l ) but when compared to o t h e r s , I'm s t i l l f o r t u n a t e than those unemployed. If there i s a chance I ' l l t r y to get back to my own f i e l d . My job now i s very monotonous and b a s i c . You do not have to use your b r a i n . My p r e v i o u s job was more c h a l l e n g i n g ...\" 1 Proposing a \"Being ... Becoming ... Non-being\" continuum, the m a j o r i t y of the \"meaning u n i t s \" i n t h i s category tended to lean towards the negative p o l e . While at f i r s t glance, t h i s negative weighting towards \"Non-being\" c o u l d l e a d to the assumption that the worst p o s s i b l e s c e n a r i o - i . e . , \"Being\" i s not i n the process of 1 A c a u t i o n a r y note i s i n order. Although t h i s person does appear to be somewhat o p t i m i s t i c about f u t u r e p o t e n t i a l i t i e s , t h i s person was a l s o the only i n d i v i d u a l i n our sample who even remotely approximated the s i t u a t i o n of f u l l p o t e n t i a l employment. I t i s d i f f i c u l t to view t h i s apparent optimism i s an e x p r e s s i o n of a p o s i t i v e Maslovian need - i t may simply be a r e f l e c t i o n of a more f a v o r a b l e o c c u p a t i o n a l s i t u a t i o n . At i s s u e here i s the p s y c h o l o g i c a l s a l i e n c y of the person's present Ground of E x i s t e n c e . 1 23 \"Becoming\" because i t i s e x i s t e n t i a l l y Dead - a c l o s e r look at even the gloomiest of \"meaning u n i t s \" i n d i c a t e d that t h i s i s not e x a c t l y t r u e . Although the person who d e s c r i b e d himself as a robot or a zombie was m a n i f e s t i n g \"Non-being\", phenomenologically s t a y i n g open to these symbols can provide other i n s i g h t s : (a) these symbols may i n d i c a t e the extent to which t h i s person has i n t e r n a l i z e d those e x t e r n a l o b s t a c l e s that he was so d e s p e r a t e l y t r y i n g to overcome; (b) these symbols may i n d i c a t e j u s t how alone, f r i g h t e n e d and powerless he f e l t i n d e a l i n g with h i s underemployment and; (c) these symbols may convey a dynamic q u a l i t y - i . e . , robots do move and are p r o d u c t i v e whereas, even i f zombies are dead they continued (have chosen?) to walk amongst the l i v i n g - the person continues to demonstrate p o t e n t i a l f o r movement. Maslow (1968 a) s t a t e s , \"... T h i s inner nature i s not strong and overpowering and unmistakable l i k e the i n s t i n c t s of animals. I t i s weak and d e l i c a t e and s u b t l e and e a s i l y overcome by h a b i t , c u l t u r a l p r e s s u r e s , and wrong a t t i t u d e s toward i t . Even though weak, i t r a r e l y d isappears on the normal person - perhaps not even on the s i c k person. Even though denied, i t p e r s i s t s underground f o r e v e r p r e s s i n g f o r a c t u a l i z a t i o n ...\" (p.4) For t h i s person movement (health) began with h i s g e t t i n g i n touch with these symbols i . e . , g e t t i n g i n touch with h i s Ground of E x i s t e n c e . T h i s e x i s t e n t i a l p o i n t w i l l be 1 24 reviewed again i n the d i s c u s s i o n s e c t i o n . F i n a l l y , the Maslovian needs i n t h i s content category are s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n ( i . e . , see Table VI and Table VII for summary of q u a l i t a t i v e d a t a ) . 1 1 Note, Appendix D presents three p r o t o c o l s in t h e i r e n t i r e t y - i . e . , one f o r each immigrant group. TABLE VI Summary of C a t e g o r i e s per Immigrant Group Number of Meaning U n i t s Category H.K. MLC PHIL T o t a l Rel Ex p e c t a t i o n s 13(3.25) Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s 14(3.50) I n t e r p e r s o n a l R e l a t i o n s 10(2.50) Adaptat ion S t r a t e g i e s Soc i a l S e r v i v e s Family Support P r e j u d i c e C r o s s - c u l t u r a l Comparisons 5(1.25) Chinese Face 15(3.75) E x i s t e n t i a l Q u a l i t a t i e s 11(2.75) T o t a l 0(0.00) 3(0.75) 32(5.33) 4(2.00) 49(4.08) 75% 8(1.33) 7(2.42) 29(2.42) 79% 21(3.50) 6(3.00) 37(3.08) 85% 17(4.25) 13(2.17) 10(2.00) 40(3.33) 77% 1(0.25) 28(4.67) 4(2.00) 33(2.75) 85% 7(1.17) 0(0.00) 7(0.58) 57% 9(1.50) 8(4.00) 20(1.67) 80% 27(4.50) 3(1.50) 35(2.92) 73% 9(1.50) 3( 1 .50) 27 (2.55) 70% 5(0.83) 1(0.50) 17(1.42) 62% 126 Meaning U n i t s 89(22.25) 159(26.5) 46(23.0) 294(24.5) 74% Ex p r e s s i o n s of A f f e c t 69(17.25) 90(15.0) 33(16.5) 192(16.0) N/A 1 27 TABLE VII The Rank Ordering of the Content C a t e g o r i e s per Immigrant Group 1 . 2. 3. Hong Kong Adaptation S t r a t e g i e s Chinese Face Q u a l i t a t i v e E x p e c t a t i o n s 5. E x i s t e n t i a l Q u a l i t i e s 6. I n t e r p e r s o n a l R e l a t i o n s 7. C r o s s - c u l t u r a l Comparisons 8. P r e j u d i c e 9. S o c i a l S e r v i c e s Mainland China E x p e c t a t i o n s S o c i a l S e r v i c e s C r o s s - C u l t u r a l Comparisons I n t e r p e r s o n a l R e l a t i o n s Adaptation S t r a t e g i e s P r e j u d i c e Chinese Face Q u a l i f i c a t i o n s Family Support P h i l i p p i n o Adaptat ion S t r a t e g i e s P r e j u d i c e Q u a l i t a t i v e I n t e r p e r s o n a l R e l a t i o n s E x p e c t a t i o n s Soc i a l S e r v i c e s C r o s s - c u l t u r a l Comparisons Chinese Face E x i s t e n t i a l Q u a l i t i e s 128 10. Family E x i s t e n t i a l Family Support Q u a l i t i e s Support 129 An E x i s t e n t i a l Perspect ive on Our Immigrants' Af f e c t i ve Responses 1 Endeavoring to understand the phenomenological and e x i s t e n t i a l breath of the immigrants' emotional responses, the r e s e a r c h e r has borrowed h e a v i l y from W e l l i k ' s (1970) p r i n c i p l e of emotional p o l a r i t y . E s s e n t i a l l y , W e l l i k t h e o r i z e s that emotional groupings can be organized (on the bases of c e r t a i n dimensions) along a continuum of opposing p o l e s - i , e . , i n t e n s i t y vs depth, e x t r o v e r s i o n vs i n t r a v e r s i o n , i d - f e e l i n g s vs e g o - f e e l i n g s e t c . As an example, W e l l i k s t a t e s , \"... p o l a r i t y i n v o l v e s the m a n i f o l d v a r i a t i o n s of emotional a t t i t u d e s and d i s p o s i t i o n s . A man's emotional d i s p o s i t i o n may tend predominantly or almost e x c l u s i v e l y toward e x p l o s i v e a f f e c t i v i t y or, on the other hand, may tend predominantly or almost e x c l u s i v e l y toward profound experience ... e x p l o s i v e n e s s of a f f e c t seems to , be opposed to depth of emotion ...\" (p. 283) E x t r a p o l a t i n g W e l l i k ' s reasoning to t h i s study, our emotional continuum c o n s i s t s of emotions of Being ( i . e . , happiness, a n x i e t y , f r u s t r a t i o n , anger etc) which are f e l t to have an e x t e r n a l l o c u s , and emotions of Non-beingi.e., 1 The purpose of t h i s s e c t i o n i s to complement the content c a t e g o r i e s . T h i s s e c t i o n i s p u r e l y s p e c u l a t i v e i n o r i e n t a t i o n . T h i s s e c t i o n was not subjected to the same methodological c o n t r o l s found i n the content c a t e g o r i e s . 1 30 d i s p a i r , d e p r e s s i o n , a n x i e t y etc) which are f e l t to have an i n t e r n a l l o c u s . 1 Reviewing the p r o t o c o l s f o r these emotions i n d i c a t e d that 57.5% of a l l those documented tend toward the e x t e r n a l - Being s i d e of the continuum. On the other hand, viewing t h i s aggregate s t a t i s t i c r e l a t i v e to s p e c i f i c immigrant groups showed a d e f i n i t e s h i f t towards the i n t e r n a l - Non-being a x i s - i . e . , the P h i l i p p i n o immigrants were 47% ; the Hong Kong immigrants were 45% and ; the Mainland China immigrants were 10 % Being o r i e n t e d . 2 As what i s to be expected of the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm, f o r the most p a r t , the immigrants continued to engage in the Being - Becoming process r e l a t i v e to t h e i r present o c c u p a t i o n a l circumstance. 1 See Appendix E f o r an example of the l i s t i n g of three immigrants' emotional responses. 2 Note, in comparing these s t a t i s t i c s , the l a t t e r c o u l d be i n d i c a t i n g the presence of a stronger t r a d i t i o n a l c u l t u r a l r e l u c t a n c e to express o n e s e l f on an emotional l e v e l . In a c t u a l f a c t none of these s t a t i s t i c s should be c o n s i d e r e d as being a pure r e f e l e c t i o n of the Being s t a t e . 131 CHAPTER VII DISCUSSION Having addressed the e x p e r i e n t i a l consequences of the immigrants' underemployment from a v a r i e t y of d i f f e r e n t o r i e n t a t i o n s - that i s , f u l f i l l i n g the o b l i g a t i o n s of an e x p l o r a t o r y paper - t h i s d i s c u s s i o n s e c t i o n w i l l now attempt to provide f u r t h e r understanding i n t o t h i s t o p i c through the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm. D e s i r i n g a c l e a r p e r s p e c t i v e upon which to conduct t h i s d i s c u s s i o n , i t i s of value to b r i e f l y review some of the c e n t r a l e x i s t e n t i a l premises. E s s e n t i a l l y , e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s b e l i e v e ( H a l l & Lindzey, 1970); 1. man i s b a s i c a l l y good; 1 2. man i s motivated by a sovereign d r i v e to a c t u a l i z e himself through the r e a l i z a t i o n of a v a i l a b l e p o t e n t i a l i t i e s ( i . e . , c h o i c e s ) - f a i l u r e to do so engenders the s t a t e of \"Non-being\"; 3. the extent to which man r e a l i z e s h i s p o t e n t i a l i t i e s i s determined through h i s p a r t i c u l a r ground of e x i s t e n c e ; 4. a man's p a r t i c u l a r ground of e x i s t e n c e i s s t a t i c at b i r t h and dynamic over l i f e - i . e . , one's ground can 1 The word \"man\" i s used i n r e f e r e n c e to the human c o n d i t i o n . 132 expand or c o n t r a c t over time and; 5. f i n a l l y , i t i s understood that one's ground of e x i s t e n c e i s a c t u a l l y one's ground of r e s i s t e n c e -i . e . , at best, man i s an approximation of what he c o u l d t r u l y \"Become\". 1 T h i s study, almost from i t s i n c e p t i o n , i m p l i c i t l y took the p o s i t i o n that the immigrants' d e c i s i o n to immigrate was d e p i c t i n g the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \" B e i n g - a s - i t - i s - i n - t h e - p r o c e s s - o f - B e c o m i n g . \" I t a l s o took the p o s i t i o n that the mmigrants' underemployment ( i . e . , a consequence of t h e i r d e c i s i o n to immigrate) d e p i c t e d the e x i s t e n t i a l s t a t e of \"Being\" as i t i s i n the process of contending with an emerging or always present omnipotent \"Non-being\". S y m b o l i c a l l y , immigration represented improvement, expansion, f l u i d i t y , and growth whereas; underemployment represented d e t e r i o r a t i o n , c o n t r a c t i o n , s t a g n a t i o n and non-growth. Through the content c a t e g o r i e s an attempt was made to show phenomenologically the yin-yang nature of the immigrants' immigration and underemployed ex p e r i e n c e s . 1 T h i s l a t t e r p o i n t i s c r u c i a l to the d i s c u s s i o n s e c t i o n . 133 Noting that the t r a d i t i o n a l c o u n s e l l o r tends to view the p s y c h o l o g i c a l problem as r e p r e s e n t i n g d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed elements which the c l i e n t i s unable to r e s o l v e , i t appears on the s u r f a c e at l e a s t , an i n t r a - p s y c h i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n has merit f o r understanding the immigrants' underemployment dilemma. In other words, i n a s t r u c t u r a l sense, t h e i r experienced d i f f i c u l t i e s c o u l d r e f l e c t p s y c h o l o g i c a l m a l f u n c t i o n i n g . While i t i s true these immigrants experienced d i f f i c u l t i e s f o r some time without any a p p r e c i a b l e s i g n of improvement, an important e x i s t e n t i a l f a c t remains - that i s , these people as one time p r o f e s s i o n a l s have demonstrated they d i d possess the a b i l i t y to a c t u a l i z e when s u f f i c i e n t o p p o r t u n i t i e s presented themselves. Although one c o u l d expect l a s t i n g p s y c h o l o g i c a l e f f e c t s from long term underemployment, i t appears that the i n t r a - p s y c h i c model i s not wholly s u i t a b l e i n d e s c r i b i n g the immigrants' present s t a t e - o f - a f f a i r s . E s s e n t i a l l y , the immigrants' d i f f i c u l t i e s stem from t h e i r e x p e r i e n c i n g a new but o v e r l y r e s t r i c t i v e ground of e x i s t e n c e - i . e . , t h e i r immigrating to Canada r e s u l t e d i n l i m i t i n g the number of a v a i l a b l e c h o i c e s necessary f o r f u r t h e r p e r s o n a l a c t u a l i z a t i o n . 134 Since the immigrants t r a n s i t i o n i n t o t h i s . new r e s t r i c t i v e ground was rather abrupt, the ensuing emotions experienced tended to be a l l encompassing and extreme - i . e . , t h e i r f e e l i n g s ranged from i s o l a t i o n , g u i l t , and de p r e s s i o n to a n x i e t y , f r u s t r a t i o n and anger e t c . The data showed that how an immigrant f e l t about h i s underemployment depended on which of the demographically d e f i n e d immigrant groups he happened to represent - i . e . , the Mainland China, Hong Kong or P h i l i p p i n o immigrant groups. E x i s t e n t i a l l y , the nature of the immigrants' emotional experiences depended upon the degree of r e s t r i c t i v e n e s s which was present i n t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r ground of e x i s t e n c e . For example, i n r e l a t i o n to t h e i r homeland our Mainland China immigrants were e x p e r i e n c i n g a s e v e r e l y r e s t r i c t e d ground - i . e . , i n i t i a l exemption from the \"point system\", a d e f i c i e n c y i n e n g l i s h , d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l and p s y c h o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n s and an advanced average age being the c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s . R e f l e c t i n g the phenomenological nature of t h i s r e s t r i c t i v e ground, the emotions that the Mainland China immigrants expressed appeared low i n energy, wide i n e x t e n s i t y and i n t e r n a l l y sourced - i . e l o n e l i n e s s d e s p a i r , shame, g u i l t , and depression e t c . E x i s t e n t i a l l y , f o r these people \"Being-is-not-in-the-process-of-Becoming\" 135 f o r i t was predominantly engulfed by \"Non-being\". T h e i r r e s t r i c t i v e ground allowed them to r e a l i z e only the b a s i c of Maslovian needs - i . e . , higher order s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s were almost n o n - e x i s t e n t . While i t should not be i n t e r p r e t a t e d that these people had completely l o s t t h e i r sovereign d r i v e f o r f u r t h e r a c t u a l i z a t i o n , i t d i d appear that these people were w e l l on t h e i r way to p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y i n t e r n a l i z i n g ( i n a permanent sense) the negative consequences of t h e i r underemployed s i t u a t i o n . Thus, a p o s i t i v e prognosis f o r these immigrants was dependant upon t h e i r d e s i r e , a b i l i t y and o p p o r t u n i t y to expand the o f f e n d i n g ground. Meanwhile, r e f l e c t i n g the t r a d i t i o n a l values of the Asian s o c i e t y , the Mainland China immigrants continued to d e r i v e some comfort of \"Being\" by i d e n t i f y i n g themselves with the p o t e n t i a l success of t h e i r c h i l d r e n . While the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants were a l s o e x p e r i e n c i n g a r e s t r i c t i v e ground of e x i s t e n c e r e l a t i v e to t h e i r homeland, the degree of s e v e r i t y was not the same as experienced by the Mainland China immigrants - i . e . , o b l i g a t e d to f u l f i l l the \"point system\", p r o f i c i e n c y i n e n g l i s h , p r i o r western exposure, a somewhat s i m i l a r 136 c u l t u r a l and p s y c h o l o g i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n and, on average, l e s s advanced in age being the c o n t r i b u t i n g f a c t o r s . Since, phenomenologically, t h i s r e s t r i c t i v e ground was l e s s l i m i t i n g , the emotions these immigrants expressed were h i g h l y e n e r g i z e d and e x t e r n a l l y sourced - i . e . , a n x i e t y , d i s g u s t , h u r t , f r u s t r a t i o n , and anger e t c . E x i s t e n t i a l l y , these immigrants were e x p e r i e n c i n g the \"Being - Non-being -Becoming\" pr o c e s s . T h e i r l e s s r e s t r i c t i v e ground has f r e e d them to engage i n some of Maslow's higher order needs i . e . , s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n e t c . 1 Again what t h i s r e s t r i c t i v e ground meant to the immigrants' s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s depended upon the p a r t i c u l a r immigrant group i n v o l v e d . For example, r e s t r i c t i v e ground f o r the young Hong Kong immigrants meant an i n c r e a s e i n those p r e s s u r e s a l r e a d y thought to be o c c u r r i n g i n t h e i r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s , whereas r e s t r i c t i v e ground f o r the o l d e r Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants meant an e x p e r i e n t i a l re-enactment of previous e x i s t e n t i a l m ilestones which were now o c c u r r i n g r e l a t i v e to the immediate needs of the f a m i l y . The major d i f f e r e n c e between the groups being that the young (somewhat 1 See Table VIII f o r the frequency of Maslowian needs mentioned per immigrant group at the end of t h i s d i s c u s s i o n s e c t i o n . 1 37 i d e a l i s t i c ) Hong Kong immigrants were having d i f f i c u l t y making concessions as to t h e i r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s whereas; the o l d e r (somewhat pragmatic) Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants tended to b r i n g t h e i r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s i n l i n e with the f a m i l y ' s w e l l - b e i n g - i . e . , the f a m i l y took precedence over i n d i v i d u a l a c t u a l i z a t i o n . F i n a l l y , i n t h i s s e c t i o n as to t h e i r expressed a f f e c t , i t c o u l d be s a i d that the Hong Kong and the P h i l i p p i n o immigrants seemed evenly balanced between \"Being and Non-being\" p r o p e r t i e s . While f o r the most p a r t , i t i s t r u e these people expressed negative emotions, they seemed capable of expanding t h e i r r e s t r i c t i v e ground - i . e . , t h e i r emotional energy i s the f u e l f o r f u r t h e r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n however d e f i n e d . 1 38 TABLE VIII The Frequency of Maslovian Needs Mentioned per Immigrant Group MLC H.K. PHIL Food 3 ( 0 . 5 ) 0 1 ( 0 . 5 ) S e c u r i t y 5 (.83) 1 (0.25) 3 (1.5) S o c i a l i z a t i o n 3 (0.5) 1 (0.25) 1 (0.5) Self-esteem 3 (0.5) 7 (1.75) 7 (3.5) S e l f - a c t u r a l i z a t i o n 1 (0.16) 5 (1.25) 3.(1.5) 139 I m p l i c a t i o n s f o r C o u n s e l l i n g T h e o r e t i c a l l y , i n i t s quest to understand and a s s i s t the c l i e n t , c o u n s e l l i n g i s h e a v i l y dependent on acc u r a t e and a p p r o p r i a t e communication. While true f o r a l l t h e r a p i e s , i n a c r o s s - c u l t u r a l sense, i s s u e s of communication are e s p e c i a l l y c r i t i c a l . f o r e f f e c t i v e c o u n s e l l i n g . Sue (1977) s t a t e s , \"... C o u n s e l l i n g i s seen as a process of i n t e r p e r s o n a l i n t e r a c t i o n s and communication which r e q u i r e s accurate sending and r e c e i v i n g of both v e r b a l and non-verbal messages. When the c o u n s e l l o r and c l i e n t come from d i f f e r e n t c u l t u r a l backgrounds, b a r r i e r s to communications are l i k e l y to develop, l e a d i n g to misunderstanding that d e s t r o y rapport and render c o u n s e l l i n g i n e f f e c t i v e ... process m a n i f e s t a t i o n s of c u l t u r a l b a r r i e r s pose a s e r i o u s problem i n m i n o r i t y g r o u p / c r o s s - c u l t u r a l c o u n s e l l i n g ...\" (p.14) In the methodology s e c t i o n , i t was noted as a r e s u l t of c e r t a i n c u l t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s common to Asian people, standard c o u n s e l l i n g methods may be t e c h n i c a l l y i n a p p r o p r i a t e . For example, c r o s s - c u l t u r a l l i t e r a t u r e (Sue & Sue, 1977) i n d i c a t e s that Asian people p r e f e r emotional r e s t r a i n t versus emotional spontaneity or s e l f - d i s c l o s u r e ; p r e f e r one-way communication from a u t h o r i t y or p a r e n t a l f i g u r e s to person versus an open-ended, n o n - d i r e c t i v e approach and; p r e f e r a short term p r a c t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n to - 140 problem s o l v i n g versus a long term a b s t r a c t , r e f l e c t i v e or t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n to problem s o l v i n g e t c . . Since the goal of c o u n s e l l i n g i s to p rovide a \" n u r t u r i n g e c o l o g i c a l system\" conducive to the c l i e n t ' s p e r s o n a l growth, one's t h e r a p e u t i c approach must account f o r these c u l t u r a l t r a i t s (Sue, 1977). I t would seem a p p r o p r i a t e at l e a s t i n i t i a l l y , t hat the c o u n s e l l o r ' s t h e r a p e u t i c approach should be humanistic i n o r i e n t a t i o n . Only a f t e r rapport has been e s t a b l i s h e d with the m i n o r i t y c l i e n t and the s i t u a t i o n warrants i t should the c o u n s e l l o r ( i . e . , i f at a l l ) attempt a more standard c o u n s e l l i n g method. While communication processes are the foundations f o r good c o u n s e l l i n g , the e f f e c t i v e n e s s of i n t e r v e n t i o n can only be enhanced by t h e - c o u n s e l l o r who has taken the time to a c q u i r e a good working knowledge of the c l i e n t ' s dilemma and u n d e r l y i n g psychology. Hence the reason for the d e t a i l s found i n the content c a t e g o r i e s . T h e r a p e u t i c a l l y , f o l l o w i n g the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm, i t i s understood that '... e x i s t e n t i a l i s t s b e l i e v e that a person who longs to r e a l i z e h i s / her f u l l p o s s i b i l i t i e s i s s a i d to be l i v i n g an a u t h e n t i c l i f e - i . e . \"Being\". Since an a u t h e n t i c l i f e i s designed r e l a t i v e to those 141 p o s s i b i l i t i e s of one's ground of e x i s t e n c e - the person, i n a c t u a l i z i n g , must remain phenomenologically open at a l l times i n order f o r the p o s s i b i l i t i e s to present themselves. On the other hand, a person who denies or r e s t r i c t s the f u l l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of h i s / h e r ground or permits h i s / h e r s e l f to be dominated by others or by the environment i s s a i d to be l i v i n g an i n a u t h e n t i c l i f e ' - i . e . , \"Non-being\" ( H a l l & Lindzey, 1970). In an a p p l i e d sense, t h i s study has gone to great l e n g t h to show that immigrants are not c u l t u r a l l y or p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y predisposed to denying the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of t h e i r ground - that i s , the reason f o r t h e i r i n a u t h e n t i c i t y i s e i t h e r the r e s u l t of another person or an o v e r l y harsh environment. Since at a p r e v i o u s time i n P l a t o n i c terms, we d i d d e f i n e one's ground of e x i s t e n c e as a c t u a l l y being one's ground of r e s i s t e n c e , the immigrants are e s s e n t i a l l y v i c t i m s of an harsh environment - i . e . , immigrating to Canada has r e s u l t e d i n c r e a t i n g an o v e r l y r e s t r i c t i v e ground. Taking the p o s i t i o n that the mechanisms f o r h e a l t h r e s i d e w i t h i n the i n d i v i d u a l - c o u n s e l l i n g i s mainly s u p p o r t i v e i n f u n c t i o n . F i r s t , c o u n s e l l i n g would attempt to 142 e s t a b l i s h a c u l t u r a l l y s e n s i t i v e , empathic m i l i e u wherein the immigrants would f e e l comfortable i n d i s c u s s i n g t h e i r e xperiences - i . e . , as much as p o s s i b l e a face f r e e environment. Second, c o u n s e l l i n g would encourage the immigrants to explore t h e i r r e s t r i c t i v e ground f o r the purpose of d e t e c t i n g those p o s s i b i l i t i e s which may have escaped t h e i r a t t e n t i o n - i . e . , to he l p them to remain phenomenologically open to the p o t e n t i a l p o s s i b i l i t i e s of \"Being\". T h i r d , c o u n s e l l i n g would encourage the immigrants to develop f u r t h e r s k i l l s capable of expanding t h e i r r e s t r i c t i v e ground - i . e . , to h e l p them to gain b e t t e r c o n t r o l over t h e i r foreboding \"Non-being\". Fourth, c o u n s e l l i n g would make use of those n a t u r a l t h e r a p e u t i c processes which e x i s t w i t h i n the immigrants' m i n o r i t y c u l t u r e - i . e . , b e l i e f s , v a l u e s , a t t i t u d e s or s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s etc (Sue, 1979). Throughout, c o u n s e l l i n g would be t a i l o r e d to the p a r t i c u l a r needs of the immigrant c l i e n t . Since the Mainland China immigrants i n the study had been e x p e r i e n c i n g a s e v e r e l y r e s t r i c t e d ground f o r some time, i t i s very l i k e l y they would have undergone c e r t a i n d e t r i m e n t a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l changes. E s s e n t i a l l y , these people were not the same a s p i r i n g e x i s t e n t i a l beings they 143 had been p r i o r to t h e i r immigration. S p e c i f i c to these people, a t h e r a p e u t i c approach ( i . e . , s k i l l s p e r m i t t i n g ) would tend towards a i n t r a - p s y c h i c - pragmatic o r i e n t a t i o n . 1 While not abandoning the e x i s t e n t i a l focus, i t would be important f o r these people to r e a l i z e the p o s s i b i l i t i e s of t h e i r ground, i t would be e s s e n t i a l f o r them to have a s o l i d p s y c h o l o g i c a l foundation from which they can draw -i . e . , t h e i r s e l f - e s t e e m and s e l f c o n f i d e n c e were almost n o n - e x i s t e n t . I t was apparent that these people were extremely discouraged about the ' p o s s i b i l i t y of never a t t a i n i n g the same p r o f e s s i o n a l s t a t u s once enjoyed i n t h e i r homeland. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , i n a t h e o r e t i c a l sense, i t i s probably t h i s very energy spent i n \"maintaining\" t h i s d e p r e s s i o n which a c t s as another reason f o r t h e i r i n a b i l i t y to r e a l i z e even marginal growth - i . e . , the e x i s t e n t i a l being who i s in a weakened s t a t e through circumstance only beckons \"Non-being\" to advance. For these people h e a l t h would begin with making the choice to l e t go of t h e i r p r i o r p r o f e s s i o n a l conception of themselves - only then, with the a v a i l a b i l i t y of new founded energy, c o u l d t h e i r r e s t r i c t i v e ground become more manageable. Assuming we were able p s y c h o l o g i c a l l y to prop these people up, we would then 1 Note, the f o l l o w i n g i n t e r v e n t i o n s take i n t o account those c r o s s - c u l t u r a l f a c t o r s p r e v i o u s l y d i s c u s s e d . 1 44 encourage them to o r i e n t themselves to and take as much as p o s s i b l e c o n t r o l over t h e i r ground ( i . e . , d e v e l o p i n g f u r t h e r language and o c c u p a t i o n a l s k i l l s e t c . ) , to seek out and share t h e i r experiences with other peers who are i n a s i m i l a r p o s i t i o n , and to view the f a m i l y ( i . e . , other than i n A sian terms) as a v a l u a b l e s u p p o r t i v e r e s o u r c e . The l i k e l i h o o d that t h i s t h e r a p e u t i c approach would be s u c c e s s f u l would depend upon the c o u n s e l l o r ' s a b i l i t y to c o n t r o l f o r the negative aspects of f a c e . F i n a l l y , r e g a r d l e s s of the s e v e r i t y of a person's ground, as suggested by Maslow (1968a), i t i s assumed that one never l o s e s the c a p a c i t y f o r f u r t h e r movement. For the Mainland China immigrants t h i s movement would d e f i n i t e l y take on d i f f e r e n t q u a l i t i e s to those which they had become accustomed. 1 Since the Hong Kong and P h i l i p p i n o immigrants had been e x p e r i e n c i n g a l e s s severe r e s t r i c t i v e ground ( i . e . , one which has o f f e r e d some o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r movement), at l e a s t to t h i s p o i n t , i t i s l e s s l i k e l y that these people had undergone p s y c h o l o g i c a l change above what c o u l d be expected of the immigration p r o c e s s . E s s e n t i a l l y these 1 I t should be apparent to the reader, the Mainland China immigrants were the most problematic i n t h i s study. 145 p e o p l e were t h e same a s p i r i n g e x i s t e n t i a l b e i n g s t h e y were p r i o r t o t h e i r i m m i g r a t i o n - i . e . , t h e y c o n t i n u e t o n a t u r a l l y p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e \" B e i n g - N o n b e i n g - B e c o m i n g \" p r o c e s s . 1 A c k n o w l e d g i n g t h e r e s t r i c t i v e g r o u n d o f t h e s e i m m i g r a n t s h a s meant c e r t a i n c o m p r o m i s e s i n r e g a r d s t o t h e i r s e l f - a c t u a l i z a t i o n p u r s u i t s , i t s t i l l seemed p o s s i b l e on t h e b a s e s o f t h e i r p s y c h o l o g y and t h e e n e r g y c o n t a i n e d t h e r e i n , t h e r e i s a good p o s s i b i l i t y f o r f u r t h e r g r o w t h . A g a i n t h i s movement may t a k e on v a r y i n g q u a l i t i e s . F i n a l l y , h a v i n g t o be c a u t i o u s o f f a c e , i t a p p e a r e d t h a t t h e w i v e s o f t h e s e i m m i g r a n t s c o u l d be a v a l u a b l e s u p p o r t i v e r e s o u r c e d u r i n g t i m e s o f s e v e r e e x i s t e n t i a l b l o c k a g e . M e t h o d o l o g i c a l R e v i s i o n s R e v i s i t e d I n a d d i t i o n t o t h o s e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l r e v i s i o n s r e s u l t i n g f r o m t h e i n i t i a l p i l o t s t u d y , t h e f i n a l r u n a l s o i d e n t i f i e d o t h e r p r o b l e m a r e a s w h i c h w a r r a n t comment. F o r c o n v e n i e n c e , t h e s e m e t h o d o l o g i c a l r e v i s i o n s a r e p r e s e n t e d i n p o i n t f o r m ; 1. ... N o t i n g t h a t t h e t o p i c o f u n d e r e m p l o y m e n t a p p e a r s t o be f a c e s e n s i t i v e , t h e p o s s i b i l i t y e x i s t s t h a t t h e r e s e a r c h e r ' s g e n d e r may h a v e r e s u l t e d i n an i n t e r v i e w 1 A e x i s t e n t i a l - h u m a n i s t i c o r i e n t a t i o n t o t h e r a p y i s a ssumed. 1 46 b i a s - i . e . , the immigrants a l r e a d y f e e l i n g v u l n e r a b l e may have f e l t somewhat uneasy d i s c u s s i n g t h e i r underemployment with a female of s i m i l a r s o c i a l background e t c . As a c o r r e c t i v e measure, two i n t e r v i e w e r s of d i f f e r e n t gender c o u l d be counter-balanced across the i n t e r v i e w regime; ... As noted e a r l i e r , only a f t e r t a b u l a t i n g the study's demographic data was i t r e a l i z e d that three d i s t i n c t immigrant groups had been i n v o l v e d . While Mostyn (1985) suggests a v a r i e d sample i s d e s i r a b l e i n e x p l o r a t o r y r e s e a r c h , t h i s should not d i s t r a c t from the f a c t each of the immigrant groups i s worthy of separate study. In such a study, t i g h t e r demographic c o n t r o l s would have to be implemented so as to assure s e l e c t i o n of the p a r t i c u l a r immigrant group; ... Another i s s u e p e r t a i n i n g to sampling was the 'one to four year re s i d e n c y c r i t e r i a ' . T h i s r e s i d e n c y range c r i t e r i a was too long to provide d e f i n i t a t i v e r e s u l t s -i . e . , o f t e n the immigrants' underemployed experiences seemed d i s t a n t from the processes of immigration or a c c u l t u r a l i z a t i o n . To i n c r e a s e the study's s e n s i t i v i t y the r e s i d e n c y c r i t e r i a should be reduced. ... S i m i l a r l y , because the researcher was a l s o 147 r e s p o n s i b l e f o r determining the c u t - o f f p o i n t s f o r the \"meaning u n i t s \" , another p o t e n t i a l f o r b i a s e x i s t e d . Again, two people who are independent from the study should review the p r o t o c o l s and determine the \"meaning u n i t s \" r e l a t i v e to the p r e - d e f i n e d c a t e g o r i e s ; 5. ... T h e o r e t i c a l l y , Mostyn (1985) i m p l i e s content c a t e g o r i e s have an optimal s i z e when i t comes to documenting i n s i g h t f u l data - i . e . , small content c a t e g o r i e s are unable to fathom g l o b a l phenomenological p a t t e r n s whereas l a r g e content c a t e g o r i e s are i n s e n s i t i v e to unique phenomenological p r o p e r t i e s e t c . Although i t was r e a l i z e d e a r l y i n the study that some of the content c a t e g o r i e s were l e s s than p e r f e c t , s i n c e t h i s was an e x p l o r a t o r y study, we were w i l l i n g to overlook i t - i . e . , methodology was not as major a concern to us as was the in-depth documentation of the immigrants' experiences e t c . Now that the study has f u l f i l l e d i t s mandate of p r o v i d i n g r e s e a r c h a b l e m a t e r i a l , c o n s t r u c t i n g optimal content c a t e g o r i e s must be addressed. E s s e n t i a l to t h i s process i s the i m p a r t i a l s c r u t i n i z a t i o n of the p r o t o c o l s . Once the content c a t e g o r i e s were d e f i n e d , they c o u l d then be s u b j e c t e d to a r e l i a b i l i t y formula s i m i l a r to the one 1 48 used f o r a s s e s s i n g the \"meaning u n i t s \" i n t h i s study. ... Noting the Chinese language has many s u b t l e t i e s , the r e s e a r c h e r d i d experience some d i f f i c u l t y t r a n s l a t i n g c e r t a i n p r o t o c o l s - i . e . , e s p e c i a l l y those r e p r e s e n t i n g Mainland China. N e i t h e r r e s e a r c h e r or r e l i a b i l i t y a s sessor had the f u l l l i n g u i s t i c scope which was necessary to a c c u r a t e l y v a l i d a t e each ot h e r ' s t r a n s l a t i o n s . Since i t i s v i t a l to a phenomenological study to have a c l e a r understanding of the respondent's s u b j e c t i v e experiences ( i . e . , a f f e c t i v e e x pressions) attempts should be made to improve the t r a n s l a t i o n p r o c e s s e s . Aside from the safe guard e f f e c t s of the follow-up i n t e r v i e w s , a m b i g u i t i e s r e s u l t i n g from t r a n s l a t i o n c o u l d be c o n t r o l l e d f o r through the use of a t h i r d t r a n s l a t o r . In a s t a t i s t i c a l sense, more numerous t r a n s l a t i o n c o u l d h e l p to zero i n on that u n i t a r y meaning which best r e f l e c t s the respondent's experience, and; ... Of p a r t i c u l a r concern to the e x i s t e n t i a l category was i t s low r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g and few \"meaning u n i t s \" . Before the reader d i s c a r d s t h i s study f o r reasons of meth o d o l o g i c a l unsoundness or quest i o n s the a p p l i c a b i l i t y of the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm to Asian 149 immigrants, a few important remarks are i n order. F i r s t , i t i s p o s s i b l e that the c a t e g o r i e s ' r e l a t i v e l y low r e l i a b i l i t y r a t i n g i s more a r e f l e c t i o n of something p e r t a i n i n g to the r e l i a b i l i t y a s sessor than a flaw i n the r e s e a r c h d e s i g n . Resources d i d not permit comprehensive i n s t r u c t i o n of the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm to the r e l i a b i l i t y a s s e s s o r . Second, s i n c e the e x i s t e n t i a l premise d e r i v e d from an apparent need to have a m o t i v a t i o n a l c o n s t r u c t upon which to understand the immigrants - i t i s unfortunate that t h i s need was not noted u n t i l the q u a l i t a t i v e q u e s t i o n a i r e had been a d m i n i s t e r e d . In other words, our q u a l i t a t i v e q u e s t i o n a i r e s was not completely c a l i b r a t e d to the e x i s t e n t i a l paradigm. Both problems can be e a s i l y c o r r e c t e d f o r i n any f u t u r e study. Suggestions f o r F u r t h e r Research and a Cautionary Note As t h i s e x p l o r a t o r y study nears completion i t s two main o b j e c t i v e s have been r e a l i z e d ; a) i t has provided the c o u n s e l l o r with an in-depth workable e x p e r i e n t i a l view of the a c c u l u r a l i z i n g underemployed immigrant and; b) i t has p r o v i d e d the s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t with m a t e r i a l on a r e l a t i v e l y 150 unknown subject which may at a l a t e r time be s u b j e c t e d to e m p i r i c a l a n a l y s i s . Addressing the l a t t e r , i t i s important to note throughout t h i s study where p o s s i b l e , the r e s e a r c h e r d i d attempt to demonstrate the u n i v e r s a l a p p l i c a b i l i t y of western based psychology to c r o s s - c u l t u r a l phenomenon. 1 Thus, a s i d e from the e x i s t e n t i a l / p h e n o m e n o l o g i c a l b i a s , other more hard core p s y c h o l o g i e s were a l s o f r e e l y used f o r g a i n i n g f u r t h e r i n s i g h t i n t o our underemployed immigrants' experiences i . e . , r e f e r e n c e group theory ( F o r s y t h , 1983), emotional p o l a r i t y theory ( W e l l i k , 1970), c o g n i t i v e dissonance theory ( F e s t i n g e r , 1957), r e l a t i v e d e p r i v a t i o n theory (Runciman, 1966) and i n t e r n a l - e x t e r n a l l o c u s of c o n t r o l theory ( R o t t e r , 1966) e t c . In regards to a f u t u r e study on t h i s t o p i c , two a d d i t i o n a l p s y c h o l o g i c a l t h e o r i e s come to mind - a) Kubler-Ross's (1969) g r i e v i n g process concept and b) Sue's (1979) M i n o r i t y I d e n t i t y Development Model. Applying Kubler- Ross's model to our underemployed immigrants - to l o s e one's p r o f e s s i o n may have s i m i l a r p s y c h o l o g i c a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s as to the man who i s coming to terms with h i s 1 See-conclusions i n the content c a t e g o r i e s f o r some suggested hypotheses. 151 impending death i . e., d e n i a l , b a r g a i n i n g , anger, d e p r e s s i o n and acceptance e t c . On the other hand, Sue's model c o u l d demostrate our immigrants are d e p i c t i n g c e r t a i n i d e n t i t y developmental stages i . e . , conformity, dissonance, r e s i s t e n c e and immersion, i n t r o s p e c t i o n and s y n e r g e t i c a c t i c u l a t i o n and awareness. I t i s now important to s t a t e , while t h e o r i e s are u s e f u l t o o l s i n coming to know a p a r t i c u l a r phenomenon, i n c r o s s - c u l t u r a l r e s e a r c h they a l s o can be a major source of b i a s . When a p p l y i n g supposely u n i v e r s a l theory to unique indigenous p o p u l a t i o n s one always runs the r i s k of c u l t u r a l e n c a p s u l a t i o n . While the resear c h e r had no d i f f i c u l t y e t h i c a l l y i n a p p l y i n g western theory to c r o s s - c u l t u r a l phenomenon, i t was done so only to the extent that i t was p o s s i b l e to remain phenomenologically open to the unique experience of the underemployed immigrant. C o n c l u s i o n F i n a l l y , t h i s paper began with a h i s t o r i c a l overview of Canada's immigration p o l i c y . To t h i s day immigration continues to p l a y a major p a r t i n Canada's development. 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Which of the two c o u n t r i e s do you p r e f e r ? f ^ 'A K i t & % $ ~ - # > • ^ • \\\\ fc. k #• ff - ^ 7 How long a f t e r a r r i v i n g i n Canada d i d you o b t a i n your f i r s t job? Did you r e c e i v e h e l p from any government 167 agency i n l o c a t i n g i t ? Is t h i s f i r s t job the one you are p r e s e n t l y employed i n now? ^ l U f ^ *C k Please d e s c r i b e as f u l l y and as best you can how you f e e l about your present employment? '4 i £ * A *J 4*. W * 5 & & • Do you p e r c e i v e any advancement or f u t u r e with t h i s employment? Do you f e e l you have been t r e a t e d f a i r l y or u n f a i r l y i n regards to advancement with your employment? * % 4 & ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ fa & %: ^ E x p l a i n as best you can some of the d i f f i c u l t i e s you are f e e l i n g about your employment - p e r s o n a l , i n t e r - p e r s o n a l or task requirements etc? *4 % -A Ajf. *k % *- YF & 1 s I f f. 168 9. How do you f e e l about t h i s job i n comparison to your occupation i n your country of o r i g i n ? t 4 I i i tt ^ fa ^ ifi m . h% % *L ^ 1 10. To what extent, do you f e e l there i s a f u t u r e f o r you i n Canada? % % % *< ^ & ^ ^ • 11. I t seems a l o t of immigrants go through a p e r i o d of adjustment i n adapting to a new country. For some immigrants, t h i s p e r i o d of adjustment i s easy - f o r others i t i s d i f f i c u l t . How was t h i s adjustment f o r you? If) , *f /\\% 4 $L fa C ^ • 12. Do you f e e l people i n your s i t u a t i o n can over the years become pa r t of the Canadian community? Do you f e e l that Canada can be your home one day? a k 1 * «L i i 169 13. Is there any emotional support or pressure from your f a m i l y ? How and why? lit L *» %k ^ A 4 & 4| *f ^ it *&. & 14. Do any of your f r i e n d s or r e l a t i v e s or f r i e n d s ( i n country of o r i g i n ) know about your present employment? How do you f e e l about i t ? h% *| ^ ft a % \\%. 4J f| % ? 15. I f the present economic s i t u a t i o n c o n t i n u e s (and you're i n the same p o s i t i o n ) are there any other a l t e r n a t i v e s you may take? If so, how w i l l you go about such a l t e r n a t i v e s ? # # h ^ ^ l i t . 16. What do you f e e l might be h e l p f u l i n a l l e v i a t i n g some of your d i f f i c u l t i e s ? % & %, % 'A & « f y% % # -170 17. How can the s o c i a l s e r v i c e s or agencies be of b e t t e r use to you or to others who are i n a s i m i l a r p o s i t i o n ? % K ifo * 4 ® *L hv