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Use of Computer Technology to Enhance Immigrant Families' Adaptation
Author(s) -
Tsai Jenny HsinChun
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of nursing scholarship
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.009
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1547-5069
pISSN - 1527-6546
DOI - 10.1111/j.1547-5069.2006.00082.x
Subject(s) - disconnection , adaptation (eye) , immigration , the internet , psychology , narrative , health care , ethnography , participant observation , gerontology , nursing , medicine , sociology , computer science , world wide web , political science , social science , linguistics , philosophy , neuroscience , anthropology , law
Purpose : To summarize how computer technology influenced immigrant families' adaptation to life in the United States.Design : Critical ethnography.Methods : Data were collected from 1998 to 2000 from 13 parents and 16 children from nine Taiwanese immigrant families using semi‐structured interviews and a questionnaire. Narrative analysis was used with interview data.Findings : Participants faced the demands of language proficiency, economic survival, loss of social networks, and social disconnection during resettlement. Computer technology provided participants with new occupational opportunities and strategies to overcome the barriers and stress created by resettlement. Internet and E‐mail access greatly facilitated these participant families' adaptation.Conclusions : Study findings warrant further exploration to assess how new computer technology promotes immigrant families' adaptation and alleviates stress associated with resettlement, including information about their health and health care.