Shinya Uekusa
Biographic Data
| ID | 77796 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Shinya Uekusa |
| GIVEN NAMES | Shinya |
| FAMILY NAME | Uekusa |
| SIGNATURE | UEKUSA S |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Canterbury |
| ORCID | 0000-0003-2694-5144 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 32 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 100 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 31 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 1 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2019 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Reflexive insiderness in peer research
This article critically reflects on the experiences of a research team of 11 peer researchers (PRs) and three principal investigators who conducted a large-scale qualitative study on multilingual disaster communication during the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand. The project relied on PRs’ (perceived) insiderness to recruit and interview participants from within linguistic minority communities. However, PR involvement sometimes complicated – and …
“The Visa Situation Was Far More Stressful Than Covid”
This study explores the experiences of temporary migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID‐19 pandemic, situating their narratives within broader regional and global patterns of mobility restriction and migrant precarity. Drawing on 85 in‐depth interviews with participants from linguistic minority backgrounds in Christchurch—including 29 temporary migrant visa holders—we investigate how visa‐related insecurity, family separation, restrict…
Rationalizing exploitation in care work among Japanese migrant care workers in Aotearoa New Zealand
This study explores how Japanese care workers in New Zealand rationalized and accepted exploitative labor conditions in the care industry. Drawing on 10 in-depth interviews and analyzed through Bourdieu’s symbolic violence, the paper highlights several interpretative strategies participants employed to make sense of and rationalize their social suffering. These included relying on a dual frame of reference that compared their experiences in New Z…
I felt overlooked”
The public health communication strategies of the Aotearoa New Zealand government during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic have been widely commended; however, for linguistic minorities, experiences of this communication were conflicted. We examine these experiences by drawing on 85 in-depth interviews conducted in 14 languages, showing that, while participants widely appreciated the clear visuals and regular COVID-19 updates in the Eng…
Social ties have helped our well-being”
Purpose This study aims to explore the wellbeing of undocumented Nepalese immigrants in Portugal, focusing on the impacts of “illegalization” on their lives and how they navigate structural violence through the mobilization of social capital. It aims to explore various wellbeing dimensions – living environment, physical health, economic stability and emotional, social and spiritual wellbeing – identifying key factors that may mitigate or exacerba…
Whanaungatanga and social capital
This article examines the experiences of Māori unpaid caregivers during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on whanaungatanga (relationships, kinship) as crucial components of social capital. Through 35 in-depth interviews conducted between May 2023 and April 2024, we explore how the disruption of familial gatherings due to lockdowns impacted participants in our study, but also how digital technology and strong whānau (family) and community connectio…
Isolated from a ‘single source of truth’
This paper explores the formats and sources of COVID‐19 information that 85 linguistic minority participants in Christchurch, New Zealand, engaged with during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Based on in‐depth interviews conducted in 13 minority languages and English, our findings highlight varied information consumption patterns and the importance of both written and audio/audiovisual information formats. Local news, governmental sources, and personal net…
Employers and Education Providers as Sources of Support for Former Refugee and Migrant Workers and Students During the Covid ‐19 Pandemic
The paper contributes to the literature on social support theory by considering the social support offered by employers and education providers to former refugee and migrant workers and students during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with 85 former refugees and migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand—74 of whom were engaged in work or study during the early phase of the pandemic—this study explores how employers and education provi…
Cultural expectations, tensions and support systems for Māori carers in Aotearoa New Zealand during the pandemic
The qualitative study reported here explored the experiences of Māori carers in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Drawing on 35 in-depth interviews, the research examined how Māori caregiving responsibilities intersected with Māori cultural values. Using thematic analysis, findings identified that carers navigated complex cultural responsibilities while facing systemic barriers, social injustices and limited external suppo…
Linguicism in Caregiving
Language communication in caregiving between care recipients and care workers is essential for the well-being and overall care experiences of both parties. However, challenges arise in language communication when care workers and/or recipients are linguistic minorities. With the increasing reliance on migrant workforces in the care industry globally, language communication challenges require careful attention. Research indicates that migrant care…
Autoethnography and Collaborative Autoethnography for Early-Career Researchers' Professional Development and Empowerment
This autoethnographic article aims to advocate for the use of autoethnography (AE) and collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as both methodological tools and avenues for professional development and empowerment among early-career researchers (ECRs). Through an exploration of the significance of AE and CAE, particularly for ECRs, this article underscores their value in decolonizing research practices and shaping the future of scholarly inquiry. Draw…
Older adult's experiences during the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
The COVID-19 global pandemic has highlighted the morbidity and mortality risks of older adults as well as their heterogeneity and resilience. The immediate need to address psychosocial and health issues among this age group is driven by global concerns about the growing number of disaster occurrences, the growing ageing population, and widening inequalities. Using an inductive analysis of written comments about their experiences by 1,400 older pe…
Bourdieu and early career researchers (ECRs) in disaster research
This collaborative autoethnography (CAE) by five emerging disaster researchers explores the transformative role of Bourdieu's theories in the realm of disaster research. Despite the rapid expansion of disaster scholarship since the late 1970s, the field's theoretical foundations and frameworks have been relatively underdeveloped. The authors, united by their engagement with Bourdieu's work in their doctoral research, reflect on how his theories s…
A conceptual exploration of researcher positionality and critical reflexivity in disaster research through the lens of Bourdieu
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the current discourse on researcher positionality in disaster research and it aims to enhance disaster researchers’ reflexivity, using Bourdieu’s capital, field and habitus theories. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper relies on secondary literature from empirical and theoretical works and incorporates critical self-reflection from author’s own research experience. Bourdieu’s theor…
Understanding older Māori informal caregivers’ experiences during the Covid‐19 pandemic through Te Whare Tapa Whā
Drawing upon Tā Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model, this research explores the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of older Māori informal caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Utilising information from 35 in‐depth interviews conducted with Māori informal/whānau caregivers, this study identifies that the pandemic impacted the physical and mental health of Māori informal caregivers, facing challenges due to lockdown measu…
Reinvestigating social vulnerability from the perspective of Critical Disaster Studies (CDS)
This article argues that resilience has been overemphasised in popular and scholarly discourse, while social vulnerability has been comparatively overlooked. We therefore need to shift the focus from resilience and adaptation towards vulnerability and the various structures that engender and maintain systemic inequality and disadvantage. This necessitates a shift from strict hazard management and resilience building to considerations of social ju…
Hidden costs of providing care
Recognising the increasingly vital yet precarious role that Asian migrant care workers (MCWs) play within Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) health system, this paper delves into the qualitative exploration of the experiences encountered by Japanese MCWs amidst everyday challenges and injustices during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Aotearoa. Gaining in‐depth understanding of their lived experiences, encompassing challenges inherent in their care roles an…
Understanding risk-taking behaviours through the practice-oriented risk habitus and multiple-capital model (P-HAC)
There is a scant literature discussing how risk-taking behaviour is influenced by the interplay of agency and social structures. This article seeks to fill this void by utilising Bourdieu's theory of practice to develop the Practice-Oriented Risk Habitus and Multiple-Capital Model (P-HAC) to account for Vietnamese farmers' risk-taking practice. Risk habitus is the durable organising principles of risk-relating practice. Drawing on a qualitative c…
Preparing multilingual disaster communication for the crises of tomorrow
This paper offers a conceptual discussion about how multilingualism can provide an unusual yet effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy in multilingual societies. Language barriers (or disaster linguicism) in disasters can be deadly. The general approach to respond to, and solve, this issue is to disseminate disaster information in multilingual formats or to use bi-/multilingual interpreters and (automated) translators. However, this pape…
Exploring the role of language ideology in disaster contexts
During/after disasters, language communication (or the lack thereof) can be a matter of life or death, particularly for "Indigenous/Tribal, Minority and Minoritized languages and peoples" (ITMs). Disaster and language studies have identified language barriers as critical because some ITMs do not understand basic risk communication, evacuation warnings, and recovery information. There are three major approaches to lowering these barriers in disast…
A Decade of Disaster Experiences in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Overcoming disaster linguicism
This article presents an autoethnography (AE) of my experience of improvising disaster communication with community translators in Denmark through the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the author, who is a novice in Danish, those who are not competent in the dominant language(s) of communication are deemed to be more vulnerable in disaster situations, such as the current pandemic, due to language barriers and disaster linguicism. However…
Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial Covid-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand
Economic hardship and social capital provide targets for supporting psychological wellbeing of older caregivers during periods of pandemic restrictions
Conceptualising disaster social capital
Social capital discourse occupies an important place in disaster studies. Scholars have adopted various inflections of social capital to explain how those with greater amounts of this crucial resource are generally more resilient to disasters and experience speedier recovery. Disaster scholars have also discovered that people typically display altruistic tendencies in the wake of disasters and develop novel networks of mutual support, known as 'c…
Multidimensional, complex and contingent
This paper is a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) by three international PhD students from Bangladesh, Japan and Nepal who pursued (or who are currently pursuing) their studies in New Zealand. In contrast to previous research which largely advanced a simplistic, downward social mobility experience of international PhD students or highly skilled migrants in general, we argue that this experience is dynamic, complex and multidimensional in nature…
Collaborative autoethnography
Purpose The authors’ aim in this commentary is to critically assess the potential benefits and limitations of collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a research tool to be used by qualitative researchers during this unprecedented, methodologically challenging time when physical isolation and distancing are the best strategies to prevent spread of the virus. Design/methodology/approach The authors probe into the potential of collaborative reflectio…
Conceptualising disaster social capital
Social capital discourse occupies an important place in disaster studies. Scholars have adopted various inflections of social capital to explain how those with greater amounts of this crucial resource are generally more resilient to disasters and experience speedier recovery. Disaster scholars have also discovered that people typically display altruistic tendencies in the wake of disasters and develop novel networks of mutual support, known as 'c…
Disaster linguicism
Language is a means of communication but it functions as much more than this in social life. In emergencies and disasters, it can also be a matter of life and death. Language barriers and effective communication in disaster contexts (i.e. distributing critical disaster information and warnings) are the central concern in current disaster research, practice, and policy. However, based on the data drawn from qualitative interviews with linguistic m…
Theorizing disaster communitas
Disaster scholars have long complained that their field is theory light: they are much better at doing and saying than analyzing. The paucity of theory doubtless reflects an understandable focus on case studies and practical solutions. Yet this works against big picture thinking. Consequently, both our comprehension of social suffering and our ability to mitigate it are fragmented. Communitas is exemplary here. This refers to the improvisational …
Strategic invisibilization, hypervisibility and empowerment among marriage-migrant women in rural Japan
This paper draws upon qualitative interview data to explore the everyday experiences of marriage-migrant women in Tohoku, Japan – particularly in the disaster-affected Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. What is it like to live in rural farming and fishing communities as marriage-migrant women? What are their prospects for ‘passing’? Although many chose to live in rural communities and to deal with oppression by strategically invisibilizing …
Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial Covid-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand
Economic hardship and social capital provide targets for supporting psychological wellbeing of older caregivers during periods of pandemic restrictions
Multidimensional, complex and contingent
This paper is a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) by three international PhD students from Bangladesh, Japan and Nepal who pursued (or who are currently pursuing) their studies in New Zealand. In contrast to previous research which largely advanced a simplistic, downward social mobility experience of international PhD students or highly skilled migrants in general, we argue that this experience is dynamic, complex and multidimensional in nature…
Surfing with Bourdieu! A Qualitative Analysis of the Fluid Power Relations among Surfers in the Line-Ups
This study demonstrates an example of the fluid power dynamics among surfers in the water. The data was collected via my ethnography of surfers at a surf spot in California, accompanied by a small number of in-depth interviews. Drawing upon Bourdieu's theories, surfers use multiple capital to exercise their power to increase the likelihood of catching high-quality waves, which appear to be scarce commodities. Focusing on the experiences of vulner…
Isolated from a ‘single source of truth’
This paper explores the formats and sources of COVID‐19 information that 85 linguistic minority participants in Christchurch, New Zealand, engaged with during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Based on in‐depth interviews conducted in 13 minority languages and English, our findings highlight varied information consumption patterns and the importance of both written and audio/audiovisual information formats. Local news, governmental sources, and personal net…
Understanding older Māori informal caregivers’ experiences during the Covid‐19 pandemic through Te Whare Tapa Whā
Drawing upon Tā Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model, this research explores the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of older Māori informal caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Utilising information from 35 in‐depth interviews conducted with Māori informal/whānau caregivers, this study identifies that the pandemic impacted the physical and mental health of Māori informal caregivers, facing challenges due to lockdown measu…
Reinvestigating social vulnerability from the perspective of Critical Disaster Studies (CDS)
This article argues that resilience has been overemphasised in popular and scholarly discourse, while social vulnerability has been comparatively overlooked. We therefore need to shift the focus from resilience and adaptation towards vulnerability and the various structures that engender and maintain systemic inequality and disadvantage. This necessitates a shift from strict hazard management and resilience building to considerations of social ju…
Hidden costs of providing care
Recognising the increasingly vital yet precarious role that Asian migrant care workers (MCWs) play within Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) health system, this paper delves into the qualitative exploration of the experiences encountered by Japanese MCWs amidst everyday challenges and injustices during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Aotearoa. Gaining in‐depth understanding of their lived experiences, encompassing challenges inherent in their care roles an…
Methodological Challenges in Social Vulnerability and Resilience Research
Objective This article discusses the methodological challenges in social vulnerability and resilience research I encountered while conducting qualitative research on immigrants’ and refugees’ experiences in disasters. Methods These challenges and issues will be critically analyzed based on my reflections and social capital theory. Results This article highlights the institutional practices, linguistic barriers, timing, and issues of overstudying …
Methodological Challenges in Social Vulnerability and Resilience Research
Objective This article discusses the methodological challenges in social vulnerability and resilience research I encountered while conducting qualitative research on immigrants’ and refugees’ experiences in disasters. Methods These challenges and issues will be critically analyzed based on my reflections and social capital theory. Results This article highlights the institutional practices, linguistic barriers, timing, and issues of overstudying …
Disaster linguicism
Language is a means of communication but it functions as much more than this in social life. In emergencies and disasters, it can also be a matter of life and death. Language barriers and effective communication in disaster contexts (i.e. distributing critical disaster information and warnings) are the central concern in current disaster research, practice, and policy. However, based on the data drawn from qualitative interviews with linguistic m…
Surfing with Bourdieu! A Qualitative Analysis of the Fluid Power Relations among Surfers in the Line-Ups
This study demonstrates an example of the fluid power dynamics among surfers in the water. The data was collected via my ethnography of surfers at a surf spot in California, accompanied by a small number of in-depth interviews. Drawing upon Bourdieu's theories, surfers use multiple capital to exercise their power to increase the likelihood of catching high-quality waves, which appear to be scarce commodities. Focusing on the experiences of vulner…
The paradox of social capital
Collaborative autoethnography
Purpose The authors’ aim in this commentary is to critically assess the potential benefits and limitations of collaborative autoethnography (CAE) as a research tool to be used by qualitative researchers during this unprecedented, methodologically challenging time when physical isolation and distancing are the best strategies to prevent spread of the virus. Design/methodology/approach The authors probe into the potential of collaborative reflectio…
Strategic invisibilization, hypervisibility and empowerment among marriage-migrant women in rural Japan
This paper draws upon qualitative interview data to explore the everyday experiences of marriage-migrant women in Tohoku, Japan – particularly in the disaster-affected Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures. What is it like to live in rural farming and fishing communities as marriage-migrant women? What are their prospects for ‘passing’? Although many chose to live in rural communities and to deal with oppression by strategically invisibilizing …
Multidimensional, complex and contingent
This paper is a collaborative autoethnography (CAE) by three international PhD students from Bangladesh, Japan and Nepal who pursued (or who are currently pursuing) their studies in New Zealand. In contrast to previous research which largely advanced a simplistic, downward social mobility experience of international PhD students or highly skilled migrants in general, we argue that this experience is dynamic, complex and multidimensional in nature…
Theorizing disaster communitas
Disaster scholars have long complained that their field is theory light: they are much better at doing and saying than analyzing. The paucity of theory doubtless reflects an understandable focus on case studies and practical solutions. Yet this works against big picture thinking. Consequently, both our comprehension of social suffering and our ability to mitigate it are fragmented. Communitas is exemplary here. This refers to the improvisational …
A Decade of Disaster Experiences in Ōtautahi Christchurch
Overcoming disaster linguicism
This article presents an autoethnography (AE) of my experience of improvising disaster communication with community translators in Denmark through the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Like the author, who is a novice in Danish, those who are not competent in the dominant language(s) of communication are deemed to be more vulnerable in disaster situations, such as the current pandemic, due to language barriers and disaster linguicism. However…
Longitudinal Cohort Study of Depression and Anxiety Among Older Informal Caregivers Following the Initial Covid-19 Pandemic Response in Aotearoa New Zealand
Economic hardship and social capital provide targets for supporting psychological wellbeing of older caregivers during periods of pandemic restrictions
Conceptualising disaster social capital
Social capital discourse occupies an important place in disaster studies. Scholars have adopted various inflections of social capital to explain how those with greater amounts of this crucial resource are generally more resilient to disasters and experience speedier recovery. Disaster scholars have also discovered that people typically display altruistic tendencies in the wake of disasters and develop novel networks of mutual support, known as 'c…
Understanding risk-taking behaviours through the practice-oriented risk habitus and multiple-capital model (P-HAC)
There is a scant literature discussing how risk-taking behaviour is influenced by the interplay of agency and social structures. This article seeks to fill this void by utilising Bourdieu's theory of practice to develop the Practice-Oriented Risk Habitus and Multiple-Capital Model (P-HAC) to account for Vietnamese farmers' risk-taking practice. Risk habitus is the durable organising principles of risk-relating practice. Drawing on a qualitative c…
Preparing multilingual disaster communication for the crises of tomorrow
This paper offers a conceptual discussion about how multilingualism can provide an unusual yet effective disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy in multilingual societies. Language barriers (or disaster linguicism) in disasters can be deadly. The general approach to respond to, and solve, this issue is to disseminate disaster information in multilingual formats or to use bi-/multilingual interpreters and (automated) translators. However, this pape…
Exploring the role of language ideology in disaster contexts
During/after disasters, language communication (or the lack thereof) can be a matter of life or death, particularly for "Indigenous/Tribal, Minority and Minoritized languages and peoples" (ITMs). Disaster and language studies have identified language barriers as critical because some ITMs do not understand basic risk communication, evacuation warnings, and recovery information. There are three major approaches to lowering these barriers in disast…
Older adult's experiences during the second year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Aotearoa New Zealand
The COVID-19 global pandemic has highlighted the morbidity and mortality risks of older adults as well as their heterogeneity and resilience. The immediate need to address psychosocial and health issues among this age group is driven by global concerns about the growing number of disaster occurrences, the growing ageing population, and widening inequalities. Using an inductive analysis of written comments about their experiences by 1,400 older pe…
Bourdieu and early career researchers (ECRs) in disaster research
This collaborative autoethnography (CAE) by five emerging disaster researchers explores the transformative role of Bourdieu's theories in the realm of disaster research. Despite the rapid expansion of disaster scholarship since the late 1970s, the field's theoretical foundations and frameworks have been relatively underdeveloped. The authors, united by their engagement with Bourdieu's work in their doctoral research, reflect on how his theories s…
A conceptual exploration of researcher positionality and critical reflexivity in disaster research through the lens of Bourdieu
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to deconstruct the current discourse on researcher positionality in disaster research and it aims to enhance disaster researchers’ reflexivity, using Bourdieu’s capital, field and habitus theories. Design/methodology/approach This conceptual paper relies on secondary literature from empirical and theoretical works and incorporates critical self-reflection from author’s own research experience. Bourdieu’s theor…
Understanding older Māori informal caregivers’ experiences during the Covid‐19 pandemic through Te Whare Tapa Whā
Drawing upon Tā Mason Durie’s Te Whare Tapa Whā model, this research explores the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on the health and wellbeing of older Māori informal caregivers in Aotearoa New Zealand. Utilising information from 35 in‐depth interviews conducted with Māori informal/whānau caregivers, this study identifies that the pandemic impacted the physical and mental health of Māori informal caregivers, facing challenges due to lockdown measu…
Reinvestigating social vulnerability from the perspective of Critical Disaster Studies (CDS)
This article argues that resilience has been overemphasised in popular and scholarly discourse, while social vulnerability has been comparatively overlooked. We therefore need to shift the focus from resilience and adaptation towards vulnerability and the various structures that engender and maintain systemic inequality and disadvantage. This necessitates a shift from strict hazard management and resilience building to considerations of social ju…
Hidden costs of providing care
Recognising the increasingly vital yet precarious role that Asian migrant care workers (MCWs) play within Aotearoa New Zealand (Aotearoa) health system, this paper delves into the qualitative exploration of the experiences encountered by Japanese MCWs amidst everyday challenges and injustices during the COVID‐19 pandemic in Aotearoa. Gaining in‐depth understanding of their lived experiences, encompassing challenges inherent in their care roles an…
Isolated from a ‘single source of truth’
This paper explores the formats and sources of COVID‐19 information that 85 linguistic minority participants in Christchurch, New Zealand, engaged with during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Based on in‐depth interviews conducted in 13 minority languages and English, our findings highlight varied information consumption patterns and the importance of both written and audio/audiovisual information formats. Local news, governmental sources, and personal net…
Employers and Education Providers as Sources of Support for Former Refugee and Migrant Workers and Students During the Covid ‐19 Pandemic
The paper contributes to the literature on social support theory by considering the social support offered by employers and education providers to former refugee and migrant workers and students during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Drawing on in‐depth interviews with 85 former refugees and migrants in Aotearoa New Zealand—74 of whom were engaged in work or study during the early phase of the pandemic—this study explores how employers and education provi…
Cultural expectations, tensions and support systems for Māori carers in Aotearoa New Zealand during the pandemic
The qualitative study reported here explored the experiences of Māori carers in Aotearoa New Zealand during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Drawing on 35 in-depth interviews, the research examined how Māori caregiving responsibilities intersected with Māori cultural values. Using thematic analysis, findings identified that carers navigated complex cultural responsibilities while facing systemic barriers, social injustices and limited external suppo…
Linguicism in Caregiving
Language communication in caregiving between care recipients and care workers is essential for the well-being and overall care experiences of both parties. However, challenges arise in language communication when care workers and/or recipients are linguistic minorities. With the increasing reliance on migrant workforces in the care industry globally, language communication challenges require careful attention. Research indicates that migrant care…
Sociology (22 works) · Disaster Management and Resilience (13 works) · Political science (10 works) · Aotearoa (9 works) · Gender Studies (9 works) · Medicine (9 works) · Psychology (9 works) · Geography (8 works) · Social science (8 works) · Migration, Health and Trauma (7 works)