David Ellis

Citation

Thesis Title
Returning to the Familiar, or the Foreign? Expectations and Experience of Self-Initiating Repatriate New Zealanders

Read article at Massey Research Online:

Significant numbers of expatriate New Zealanders are now returning to New Zealand to live. Mr Ellis investigated the expectations and experiences of repatriating New Zealanders who had chosen to be internationally mobile. He interviewed repatriates both before and after their moves home. Analysis revealed relatively strong similarities between their expectations and experiences in both work and personal domains. Although the decision to repatriate was often difficult, participants had remained connected with people and events in New Zealand through social media and newsfeeds. Participants also proactively investigated life in New Zealand before returning. These elements had the effect of softening readjustment difficulties, suggesting that traditional cultural readjustment theory is inapplicable to self-mobile repatriate New Zealanders. Mr Ellis developed an alternative theory, which takes account of the contemporary social information age, and he recommended a revision of remaining international mobility theory to reflect this.

Supervisors
Professor James Arrowsmith
Professor Kaye Thorn