Hybrid perspectives : defining the relativity of culture and identity through migration experiences

This paper examines how culture and identity can be relatively defined through hybrid perspectives in relation to migration experiences. Addressing and portraying definitions of culture and identity is crucial in understanding how notions of such issues connect and initiate the migrant subject through new experiences, perspectives and ways of being. In enunciating the transitions from home to a new place, and elaborating on the rupture of an inherited culture and grounded identity, I refer to them through self-reflexive perspectives. The search for meaning through appraisals of cultural lineage and linguistic capital through a Diaspora, a post colonial history and lived life experiences from my home country, pre-empts the ambivalent and hybrid status in defining culture(s) and identit(ies). It is crucial to recognise how challenges for adaptation to new culture, language, societal norms, and differences in class, nationality, race and gender play specific roles in the migrant experience. My current experiences of migration to Australia are narrations of encountered difficulties, fears, inhibitions, new aspirations, perceptions and perspectives, which map an ‘identity crisis.’ From this narrative structure, I investigate through my ongoing PhD study, how my artistic expression and representations progress towards experiences, and themes that metaphorically reflect, inspire and enact the hybrid structures of culture(s) and identit(ies). Explored reflexively my representations suggest how the ‘liminal space’ or the ‘third space,’ (Bhabha, 1990) express transitions about the ‘self’ and my artistic expression, which enable further reflection and positions to emerge and extend to metaphorical expressions.

Ecophysiology of avian migration in the face of current global hazards

Long-distance migratory birds are often considered extreme athletes, possessing a range of traits that approach the physiological limits of vertebrate design. In addition, their movements must be carefully timed to ensure that they obtain resources of sufficient quantity and quality to satisfy their high-energy needs. Migratory birds may therefore be particularly vulnerable to global change processes that are projected to alter the quality and quantity of resource availability. Because long-distance flight requires high and sustained aerobic capacity, even minor decreases in vitality can have large negative consequences for migrants. In the light of this, we assess how current global change processes may affect the ability of birds to meet the physiological demands of migration, and suggest areas where avian physiologists may help to identify potential hazards. Predicting the consequences of global change scenarios on migrant species requires (i) reconciliation of empirical and theoretical studies of avian flight physiology; (ii) an understanding of the effects of food quality, toxicants and disease on migrant performance; and (iii) mechanistic models that integrate abiotic and biotic factors to predict migratory behaviour. Critically, a multi-dimensional concept of vitality would greatly facilitate evaluation of the impact of various global change processes on the population dynamics of migratory birds.

Habitat use throughout migration : linking individual consistency, prior breeding success and future breeding potential

1. Habitat use can influence individual performance in a wide range of animals, either immediately or through carry-over effects in subsequent seasons. Given that many animal species also show consistent individual differences in reproductive success, it seems plausible that individuals may have consistent patterns of habitat use representing individual specializations, with concomitant fitness consequences.

2. Stable-carbon isotope ratios from a range of tissues were used to discern individual consistency in habitat use along a terrestrial–aquatic gradient in a long-distance migrant, the Bewick’s swan (Cygnus columbianus bewickii). These individual specialisations represented <15% of the isotopic breadth of the population for the majority of individuals and were seen to persist throughout autumn migration and overwintering until aquatic habitats were no longer available.

3. Individual foraging specialisations were then used to demonstrate two consecutive carry-over effects associated with macroscale habitat segregation: consequences of breeding season processes for autumn habitat use; and consequences of autumn habitat use for future reproductive success. Adults that were successful breeders in the year of capture used terrestrial habitats significantly more than adults that were not successful, revealing a substantial cost of reproduction and extended parental care. Use of aquatic habitats during autumn was, however, associated with increased body condition prior to spring migration; and increased subsequent breeding success in adults that had been unsuccessful the year before. Yet adults that were successful breeders in the year of capture remained the most likely to be successful the following year, despite their use of terrestrial habitats.

4. Our results uniquely demonstrate not only individual foraging specializations throughout the migration period, but also that processes during breeding and autumn migration, mediated by individual consistency, may play a fundamental role in the population dynamics of long-distance migrants. These findings, therefore, highlight the importance of long-term consistency to our understanding of habitat function, interindividual differences in fitness, population dynamics and the evolution of migratory strategies.

Wings or winds : inferring bat migration in a stepping-stone archipelago

Eocene ocean currents and prevailing winds correlate with over-water dispersals of terrestrial mammals from Africa to Madagascar. Since the Early Miocene (about 23 Ma), these currents flowed in the reverse direction, from the Indian Ocean towards Africa. The Comoro Islands are equidistant between Africa and Madagascar and support an endemic land vertebrate fauna that shares recent ancestry predominantly with Madagascar. We examined whether gene flow in two Miniopterus bat species endemic to the Comoros and Madagascar correlates with the direction of current winds, using uni- and bi-parentally inherited markers with different evolutionary rates. Coalescence-based analyses of mitochondrial matrilines support a Pleistocene (approximately 180 000 years ago) colonization event from Madagascar west to the Comoros (distance: 300 km) in the predicted direction. However, nuclear microsatellites show that more recent gene flow is restricted to a few individuals flying against the wind, from Grande Comore to Anjouan (distance: 80 km).

Re-positioning Australia's international education in global knowledge economies : implications of shifts in skilled migration policies for universities

In recent times, many key host nations have made it easier for foreign graduates to migrate after graduation. These students are often considered ideal migrants, possessing local qualifications along with a degree of acculturation, language skills and, in many cases, relevant local work experience. For the student, the opportunity to obtain international work experience adds to the appeal of the overseas study experience and enhances the graduate skills necessary to compete in the global labour market. This paper examines recent changes to migration policy in Australia affecting the post-study work entitlements of international students studying at Australian universities and explores the underlying rationale and consequences of the recent changes in policy direction. An examination of migration policies in the United States, United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada indicates that recent changes to skilled migration policy in Australia, along with bleak economic conditions in a number of key host countries, has opened up opportunities for Australia to re-position itself favourably.

Experiences of migration and the determinants of obesity among recent Iranian immigrants in Victoria, Australia

Objectives. There is evidence to suggest that immigrant groups from low- or medium-human development index countries show a significant adoption of obesogenic behaviors and experience weight gain following migration to Australia. The objective of this study is to understand the changes that Iranian immigrants experience in relation to the determinants of obesity after migration to Victoria, Australia.

Design. We conducted five focus group discussions with 33 recent Iranian immigrants. This study took an interpretive qualitative approach to data analysis using the constant comparative method.

Results. Participants discussed individual level acculturation (e.g., in diet, body size, attitudes), as well as environmental level changes (e.g., physical/structural and sociocultural) that occurred after immigration. Stress during the initial immigration transition, which affected diet and physical activity habits, was a common experience among participants. Gender and the effect of political/religious changes were also important factors. Participants' discourse largely focused on their ability and willingness to adopt positive health behaviors after migration.

Conclusion. This study provides insight into the effect of migration on the determinants of obesity among Iranian immigrants in Victoria, Australia, and offers a contrast with the existing evidence by considering the experience of a group that is generally well educated, often emigrates for reasons related to personal freedom as opposed to material deprivation, and has rates of obesity similar to high-income countries.