Migration Working Group

 The role of emerging technology in helping newcomer children in social adjustment

 Omar Bani-Taha, Carleton University

Bani-Taha is a third-year Ph.D. candidate at Carleton University in the Information Technology (Digital Media) program and working with his supervisors (Dr. Fraser Taylor and Dr. Ali Arya). He received the BA & MA in Arts specialized in geographic information systems from The University of Jordan. Then, he obtained his second M.A in Human-Computer Interactions (HCI) at Carleton University. During his HCI degree, he carried out extensive interdisciplinary research, which combines HCI perspectives with his native discipline to implement a mobile tangible computerized atlas. The atlas is being used as an input and editorial map creation tool to preserve the narratives of Inuit and other aboriginal peoples in Canada’s north and map their relationship with their environment.

Bani-Taha's fundamental research goal is to examine people perception and interaction with space, place and technology. His research focuses on game-based learning and digital storytelling for children, in particular, newcomer children, northern community children and other target groups, to analyze the potential application of digital media in social and educational contexts. He is developing a theoretical research framework. Undertaking a literature review and investigating the potential of edutainment technology to enhance the integration and maintenance of identity of newcomer children.

 Mismatched expectations: reflecting on the “otherness” in the sponsors-sponsored refugees’ relationship among Syrian newcomers’ resettlement in Toronto

 Fabio Martinez Serrano Pucci, Federal University of São Carlos

Fabio Pucci is a third-year PhD Student at the Department of Sociology at the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar), Brazil. Currently, he is a Visiting Scholar at the Centre for Refugee Studies (CRS) of York University. Fabio’s ongoing research project addresses the resettlement of Syrian refugees in both São Paulo (Brazil) and Toronto (Canada).

 Keeping promises: the implementation of sanctuary city policies in Toronto and Montreal

 Graham Hudson, Ryerson University

Graham Hudson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Criminology at Ryerson University. He holds a BA (Hons) in History and Philosophy from York University, a JD from the University of Toronto, an LLM from Queen's University, and a PhD from Osgoode Hall Law School.

Graham is a member of several research teams, each exploring strategies for improving access to justice for migrants and persons subject to forced (im)mobility. He is leading a four-year socio-legal study of the sanctuary city movement in Canada (Profs. Idil Atak and Harald Bauder, Co-Investigators), with a focus on the law and politics of jurisdiction. Graham is also currently studying access to justice for victims of extraordinary rendition, as well as the legality of secret trials in Commonwealth jurisdictions (along with Dr. Daniel Alati).

Graham is an executive member of the Canadian Association for Forced Migration and Refugee Studies and is a member of the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society’s SSHRC Partnership Grant (Co-Applicant).

 Mireille Paquet, Concordia University

Mireille Paquet is a political scientist and conducts research on immigration policy and politics in Canada, North America and Australia. She is interested in how political institutions and bureaucracies affect the content of immigration policy. Her current projects focus on the new politics of immigration in Canada, the role of immigration departments in contemporary Quebec and Canada and new state responses to emerging immigration challenges.

She is the Concordia University Research Chair on the Politics of Immigration. With Concordia colleagues, she co-founded and co-directs the Centre for Immigration Policy Evaluation.

In 2017-2018, she was the William Lyon Mackenzie King Postdoctoral Fellow of the Canada Program at Harvard University's Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. In 2016-2017, she was the recipient of the Concordia University Research Awards ("Person and Society").

 Legacy refugee claimants in Canada: integration and substantive citizenship within a liminal space

 Mariya Postelnyak, Ryerson University

Mariya Postelnyak is studying the master’s degree in Immigration and Settlement Studies at Ryerson University’s Yeates School of Graduate Studies. She completed her HBA at The University of Toronto with a major in English and a double minor in French and Spanish. As an undergraduate, she held the role of Communications Executive for The Global Student Network, an on-campus organization that created spaces for local and international students to share experiences and opportunities. Mariya’s combined experience as an immigrant from the Ukraine and as a languages student motivated her interests in exploring the relationships between language, discourse and policy making in the context of the immigrant and refugee experience. Her Major Research Paper in the Immigration and Settlement Studies program seeks to outline the challenges faced by legacy refugees during the period of undetermined status and highlight the corresponding policy gaps.

 Following the refugee relocation scheme: Ideological interpretations of inter-state responsibility in Romania

 Raluca Bejan, Dalhousie University

Raluca Bejan recently joined Dalhousie University School of Social Work as Assistant Professor. She has a PhD and an MSW from University of Toronto, and a BA in Political Sciences from the Lucian Blaga University, Faculty of Law, Romania. Raluca held two visiting academic appointments at the Centre on Migration, Policy and Society (COMPAS), University of Oxford, UK, in 2016 and 2018. Raluca regularly writes for rabble.ca (Ottawa, ON) and she previously contributed opinion pieces to TelesurTV (Caracas, Venezuela), Verfassungsblog | On Matters Constitutional (Berlin, Germany) and LeftEast/CriticAtac (Bucharest, Romania)

In 2018, Raluca co-directed a documentary film on the Greek refugee crisis, titled Trace. It was filmed on the islands of Lesvos, Chios, Samos, and in Athens, Greece.

 Dissent interrupted: settling refugee youth

 Genevieve Ritchie, University of Toronto

Genevieve Ritchie is a doctoral candidate in Adult Education and Community Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE). In 2017, she received the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Scholarship (SSHRC) for her dissertation research with refugee youth. Genevieve’s research aims to materially situate the lived realities of refugee youth, and to interrogate the political economy of displacement and the NGOization of resettlement. Her most recent publications can be found in the International Journal of Lifelong Education and Globalisation, Education, and Societies.