@phdthesis{Motalebi,
  author    = {Motalebi, Mahgol},
  title     = {Immigrant's Home in the Making through Spatial Practice; The Case of Iranians in Berlin},
  doi       = {10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.6426},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20230925-64266},
  school      = {Bauhaus-Universit{\"a}t Weimar},
  pages     = {237},
  abstract  = {Due to the significant number of immigrants in Europe, especially Germany, integration is an ongoing subject of debate. Since the 1970s, with the emergence of the discussions on 'place,' it has also been realized that the immigrant experience is associated with location. Nevertheless, due to the challenges in capturing the place and migration relevance, there is a gap in understanding the role of the migrant's geography of experiences and its outcomes (Phillips \& Robinson, 2015). This research aims to investigate the extent to which both the process of objective integration and the socio-spatial practices of high-skilled Iranian immigrants in Berlin outline and influence their sense of belonging to Berlin as the new "home." The embedded mixed-method design had employed for this study. The quantitative analysis through Pearson's correlation technique measured the strength of the association between Iranians' settlement distribution and the characteristics of Berlins' districts. The quantitative analysis provides contextual data to get a greater level of understanding of the case study's interaction with place. The units of place intend to demonstrate the case study's presence and possible interaction with places around their settlement location that relatively shapes their perception. The qualitative analysis comprises ethnographic fieldwork and semi-structured in-depth interviews with a homogeneous sample of Iranian immigrants in Berlin that provide data on individual and ethnic behaviors and trajectories and analyze the complex interactions between the immigrant's experience and the role of place. This research uncovers that Iranian highly skilled immigrants are successful in integrating objectively; However, in regards to their state of belonging, it illustrated the following: The role of socio-ethnic culture of the case study in denotation of home and belonging; Iranian high-skilled immigrants' efforts towards reaching a level of upward mobility overshadow their attempt to shape social and spatial interaction with Berliners and Berlin itself, which manifests both in their perception and use of urban space; and finally, the identification practice and the boundary-making as an act of reassurance and self-protection against the generalization of adjacent nationalities, demonstrated in the intersection of demographical settlement distribution of Iranians in Berlin and the ethnic diversity, impact the sense of belonging and place-making.},
  subject      = {Migration},
  language  = {en}
}
@misc{MendoncadeAlmeida,
  type      = {Master Thesis},
  author    = {Mendon{\c{c}}a de Almeida, Karina},
  title     = {Why isn't Google welcome in Kreuzberg? Social movement and the effects of Internet on urban space},
  doi       = {10.25643/bauhaus-universitaet.4244},
  url       = {http://nbn-resolving.de/urn:nbn:de:gbv:wim2-20200924-42446},
  school      = {Bauhaus-Universit{\"a}t Weimar},
  pages     = {132},
  abstract  = {Advances in information and communication technologies such as the Internet have driven a great transformation in the interactions between individuals and the urban environment. As the use of the Internet in cities becomes more intense and diverse, there is also a restructuring of urban space, which is experienced by groups in society in various ways, according to the specificity of each context. Accordingly, large Internet companies have emerged as new players in the processes of urbanization, either through partnerships with the public administration or through various services offered directly to urban residents. Once these corporations are key actors in the digitalization of urban services, their operations can affect the patterns of urban inequality and generate a series of new struggles over the production of space. Interested in analyzing this phenomena from the perspective of civil society, the present Master Thesis examined a social movement that prevented Google to settle a new startup campus in the district of Kreuzberg, in Berlin. By asking why Google was not welcome in that context, this study also sought to understand how internet, as well as its main operators, has affected everyday life in the city. Thus, besides analyzing the movement, I investigated the particularities of the urban context where it arose and the elements that distinguish the mobilization's opponent. In pursuit of an interdisciplinary approach, I analyzed and discussed the results of empirical research in dialogue with critical theories in the fields of urban studies and the Internet, with emphasis on Castells' definitions of urban social movements and network society (1983, 2009, 2015), Couldry's and Mejias' (2019) idea of data colonialism, Lef{\`e}bvre's (1991, 1996) concepts of abstract space and the right to the city, as well as Zuboff's (2019) theory of surveillance capitalism. The case at hand has exposed that Google plays a prominent role in the way the Internet has been developed and deployed in cities. From the perspective accessed, the current appropriation of Internet technologies has been detrimental to individual autonomy and has contributed to intensifying existing inequalities in the city. The alternative vision to this relies mainly on the promotion of decentralized solidarity networks.},
  subject      = {Soziale Bewegung},
  language  = {en}
}