Culture Shock in Aalborg - Personal Experiences and the Example of Velkomstcentre
Authors
Carlsen, Ea Cathrine ; Nielsen, Malgorzata Kowalczyk
Term
4. term
Publication year
2014
Pages
107
Abstract
This thesis examines culture shock through migrants’ personal experiences in Aalborg and uses the Velkomstcentre project as an example of a local support initiative. It builds on a shift from Oberg’s early view of culture shock as mainly disruptive to more recent perspectives that frame it as a potential process of learning and development. The study asks whether and how migrants in Aalborg experience culture shock and to what extent Velkomstcentre’s activities have helped them cope with an unfamiliar cultural environment. Additional questions address what other activities could provide support, the stressors migrants face, their coping strategies, culture learning, and social identification. Methodologically, the thesis adopts an interpretivist, constructivist stance with a deductive, qualitative case study. Data are generated through semi-structured interviews with migrants in Aalborg—both participants and non-participants of Velkomstcentre—varying in country of origin, length of stay, and reasons for migration (e.g., students, PhD candidates, labor migrants, and refugees), while short-term visitors are not the focus. The analysis uses thematic coding guided by a theoretical framework comprising Pedersen’s five stages of culture shock, Berry’s acculturation theory including acculturative stress, and the ABC framework (affect, behavior, cognition) addressing stress/coping, culture learning, and social identification. The aim is to illuminate adaptation trajectories, identify supportive measures, and assess Velkomstcentre’s role in migrants’ coping with culture shock. Findings are not reported in this excerpt.
Dette speciale undersøger fænomenet kulturchok med udgangspunkt i migranters personlige erfaringer i Aalborg og anvender projektet Velkomstcentre som eksempel på en lokal indsats. Baggrunden er en bevægelse fra Oberg’s tidlige forståelse af kulturchok som primært forstyrrende mod nyere perspektiver, der ser processen som potentiel læring og udvikling. Problemformuleringen er todelt: om og hvordan migranter i Aalborg oplever kulturchok, og i hvilken grad Velkomstcentres aktiviteter har hjulpet dem med at håndtere et fremmed kulturmiljø. Specialet stiller supplerende spørgsmål om mulige støtteaktiviteter, oplevede stressorer, mestringsstrategier, kultur-læring og social identifikation. Metodisk anlægges en fortolkningsvidenskabelig og konstruktivistisk tilgang med et deduktivt, kvalitativt casestudie. Datagrundlaget er semistrukturerede interviews med migranter i Aalborg, både deltagere og ikke-deltagere i Velkomstcentre, med variation i oprindelseslande, opholdslængde og motivationsgrundlag (fx studerende, ph.d.-studerende, arbejdsmigranter og flygtninge), mens korttidsbesøgende ikke er i fokus. Analysen gennemføres som tematisk analyse styret af et teoretisk rammeværk bestående af Pedersens fem faser af kulturchok, Berrys akkulturationsteori inkl. begrebet akkulturativt stress samt ABC-rammen (affekt, adfærd og kognition) om stress/mestring, culture learning og social identifikation. Formålet er at belyse tilpasningsforløb, identificere støttende tiltag og vurdere Velkomstcentres betydning for deltagernes håndtering af kulturchok. Resultater præsenteres ikke i dette uddrag.
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