Building social and community cohesion: the role of social enterprises in facilitating settlement experiences for immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds

Kong, Eric (2011) Building social and community cohesion: the role of social enterprises in facilitating settlement experiences for immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 6 (3). pp. 115-128. ISSN 1833-1882

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Abstract

Australia is a nation of immigrants. Immigration brings much needed skills and labour to Australia. It helps creating a strong economy, drives prosperity and builds Australia’s future. Diverse cultural expression enriches all Australians and makes the multicultural nation more vibrant and creative. Immigrants, including refugees, from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) are vulnerable as they often have higher unemployment rates or are at an earnings disadvantage that may lead to disaffection and community unrest in the long run. Government agencies are facing complicated issues surrounding the design and implementation of strategies that facilitate the settlement of new arrivals in Australia. This paper critically reviews the literature and argues that social enterprises and social entrepreneurship can help to facilitate life satisfaction and self-reliance for NESB immigrants in Australia. In addition, the paper provides a better understanding of what research method may best suit to examine the role of social enterprises in NESB immigrant settlement experiences and how social enterprises may help to integrate the immigrants into culturally diverse socially cohesive nation. Discussion of benefits of the proposed research method will also be provided.

Statistics for this ePrint Item

Item Type:	Article (Commonwealth Reporting Category C)
Refereed:	Yes
Item Status:	Live Archive
Additional Information:	Author retains Copyright. Readers must ask permission to reproduce, from cg-support@commongroundpublishing.com.
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre:	Historic - Faculty of Business and Law - School of Management and Marketing
Date Deposited:	12 Jan 2012 23:17
Last Modified:	24 Jul 2012 01:32
Uncontrolled Keywords:	immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds; social enterprise; social entrepreneurship; immigrant settlement services; research method
Fields of Research :	16 Studies in Human Society > 1699 Other Studies in Human Society > 169999 Studies in Human Society not elsewhere classified 15 Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services > 1503 Business and Management > 150312 Organisational Planning and Management 16 Studies in Human Society > 1608 Sociology > 160801 Applied Sociology, Program Evaluation and Social Impact Assessment
Socio-Economic Objective:	E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970115 Expanding Knowledge in Commerce, Management, Tourism and Services E Expanding Knowledge > 97 Expanding Knowledge > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society
URI:	http://eprints.usq.edu.au/id/eprint/20543

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